Ulu Ulu Resort

Ulu Ulu Resort, Ulu Temburong National Park, Brunei

Opened in 2008, Ulu Ulu Resort is one of Brunei Darussalam’s premier accommodations and the only resort inside the country’s Ulu Temburong National Park. The resort is two hours away from the Brunei International Airport and accessible through three modes of transportation, a speed boat ride from Bandar Seri Begawan, overland journey from Bangar to Batang Duri jetty and long boat (temuai) ride. Ulu Ulu Resort played host to the Grand Finale of the 2nd Borneo Bird Race 2014 from 1–2 October.

History

Ulu Ulu Resort was set up in November 2008 through privatization of the Forestry Department’s facilities in the Ulu Temburong National Park. This development is regarded as the first Public-Private Partnership (PPP) between a private sector company, Sunshine Borneo Tours & Travel Sdn. Bhd. and the government of Brunei Darussalam.

Location

The resort is nestled on the banks of the Temburong and Belalong rivers in the heart of the 50,000 hectares of rainforest of Ulu Temburong National Park, Brunei Darussalam. To limit human activities inside the park, only 100 hectares of land is designated for visitation. With no human or modern encroachment except a field research centre in Ulu Belalong and the resort, the national park is pristine and ideal for nature-based tourism.

Features

There are 17 rooms (Standard: dormitory, Superior: twin-share & family suite and Deluxe: Double bedded) within the resort’s 8 tropical wooden villas, resembling local houses built in the 1920s using Malay architecture. Room are equipped with individually-controlled air-conditioning units, ceiling fan, and water heater. Other facilities offered by the resort include:

• Valley Café
• Club Lounge
• 16 capacity-Meeting Room
• 60-capacity Cinema/ Auditorium
• Gift shop
• Pool table
• Multipurpose Hall
• Sundeck & Hammock

Activities

The resort caters to mainly nature or wildlife enthusiasts and birders. Standard activities include trekking to the National Park’s canopy walkway, hiking to mini waterfall, guided night jungle walk (frog trail), kayaking and tubing. The resort activities are integrated with accommodation and full board meals are sold in packages. Team building, bird watching and wellness packages are among the innovated programs introduced by the resort in recent years.

Awards

Ulu Ulu Resort bagged the ASEAN Green Hotel Award 2011–2015 in recognition of the Green Initiatives that serve as its operational guideline.

Green Initiatives

• Community-Directed Benefits - Outsourcing land transportation to a local company in Temburong. Enlisting long boat services from the Batang Duri villagers. Providing job opportunity to locals and sourcing for local food supplies
• Minimal Environment Impact - Taking several initiatives to preserve the rainforest including limiting development within the park.
• Low density - Keeping the accommodation limited to 17 rooms thus minimizing the number of visitors staying at the resort.
• No Plastic Bottles - Ulu Ulu Resort provides complimentary stainless steel bottles for all overnight guests for water refill at the resort. The intention is to end all wastage of plastic bottles and lessen carbon footprints at the National Park.
• Recycle and Reuse of containers, driftwood as craft items, composting and enzyme making for food compost.
• Food composting - Food leftovers are added with enzyme and used as fertilizers for plants.
• Initiated own farming - planting selected vegetables and fruits as one of the ways to cut down carbon footprints in logistic.
• Toiletries - Provides eco-friendly hair shampoo and body wash to complement environment protection.
• Health conscious - Creating an environment of zero electronic “distractions” and enable guests to reconnect with one another. Being in a remote destination, the resort is detached from the digital world including television, mobile and internet coverage. Ulu Ulu Resort cuts down deep fried food to provide a healthier menu and to reduce production of cooking oil wastage. MSG, recycled oil and artificial colorings and processed food are taken off from the shelves. Selected organic vegetables, herbs, fruits are planted at the resort and most menus served are “set meals” to lessen wastage.

References

^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]}

1. ↑ "Ulu Ulu Resort's official website"
2. ↑ Fitri Shahminan. "Ulu-Ulu National Park Resort bags Asean Green Hotel Award", The Brunei Times, Tuesday, January 26, 2010.
3. ↑ Sally Piri. "Borneo Bird Race to be held soon", The Brunei Times, Friday, September 12, 2014.
4. ↑ "The 2nd Borneo Bird Race 2014'
5. ↑ Rafidah Hamit. "Resort raises environment awareness through green vacation", The Brunei Times, Monday, October 6, 2014.
6. ↑ Ubaidillah Masli. "Ulu Ulu National Park Resort 'added bonus' for tourism", The Brunei Times, Sunday, May 4, 2008.
7. ↑ Raghadah Agus. "Detoxing the body, resting the mind at Ulu Ulu Temburong", The Brunei Times, Monday, October 27, 2014.