Exploring Eastern & Oriental Hotel
Farquhar Street, George Town, Penang
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The Eastern & Oriental Hotel, often known as the E & O Hotel, is one of the most elegant hotels in the Orient. It was the first of a chain of hotels founded by the four Armenian brothers, Martin, Tigran, Aviet and Arshak Sarkies, collectively known as the Sarkies brothers. Some of the best known hotels in the Far East were started by them, including the Raffles Hotel in Singapore and the Strand, in Rangoon, Myanmar. By 1892, the brothers were spread across Southeast Asia. The youngest, Arshak Sarkies, took up the management of the E & O while Tigran Sarkies manages the Raffles Hotel and Aviet was stationed in Rangoon. The eldest, Martin Sarkies, has by then retired.
The idea to set up the hotel business came about in 1885 when the Sarkies brothers met the Khaw family in Bangkok, and was encouraged by them to set up a hotel in Penang. The Khaws built two separate hotels which the Sarkies managed. These were the Eastern Hotel, completed in 1884, and the Oriental Hotel, in 1885. It became immediately apparent that these two hotels should be combined, and hence the Eastern & Oriental Hotel was formed. In addition, the Sarkies also managed the Crag Hotel on Penang Hill.
The merger of these two hotels created one of the finest hotel establishments in the region. It boasted of having the world's longest sea-front lawn, which is 842 feet in length. Famous personalities who arrived at the E&O (many of whom also turned up at the Raffles Hotel) included Noel Coward, Douglas Fairbanks, Hermann Hesse, Rudyard Kipling and Somerset Maugham.
Eastern & Oriental Hotel, Farquhar Street, Penang.
View of the sea from the Eastern & Oriental Hotel.
Chooi Yoke and Tim at the Eastern & Oriental Hotel.
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