Location of hotels in Penang, as seen on Google Map Each red pin on the map below represents a hotel. On each hotel listed, I also provide a short description to help you select one that is most appropriate for your use. View Larger Map
Rather than simply providing you a list of hotels in Penang, I believe it is more useful to give you some tips for choosing the right one. This should be done based on the reason you are coming to Penang, where you will most likely to be, and your budget. If you are looking for simply a nice, clean bed, then go to the Budget Accommodation Guide for Visiting Penang (coming soon).
Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, boutique hotel experience in George Town.
When choosing a Penang hotel, you should first determine the location, and then your budget. Basically, the hotels in Penang can be grouped into three categories:
Beach Hotels: These are located between Tanjong Bungah and Teluk Bahang. These are located on the north side of Penang Island, and cater mostly to holiday makers wanting to get away from it all. They include the 5-star resorts as well as the smaller, family-oriented hotels. If your idea of a holiday in Penang is to laze about at the beaches, then these hotels are for you. You can get most of what you need, including shopping and restaurants, within the vicinity of the hotels, especially around Batu Ferringhi. However, be aware that the city of George Town is quite a distance away, about 15-20km. You can certainly get there by bus - look at the Rapid Penang schedule. Taxi to George Town will be quite expensive, as would be expected. Some have free shutter bus services to the city.
Writes Peter McNamara of Australia:
When I come to Penang, which has been yearly recently, I have been staying at the Golden Sands in Batu Ferringhi. I find the complex suits me very ideally. The rooms are spacious, the sea view relaxing, the pool area refreshing as is the bar service (happy hour each day), breakfast is entertaining, the omelettes are to die for, with the turkey/bacon and chicken/ham to cater for all tastes (there is real bacon and eggs at Mario's across the road for the diet un-consious!), music at night at Sigi's as the sun sets and in the Lobby Lounge til late.Night market and food stalls on the road outside.
Complimentary buses to and from Georgetown (Traders) make it easy to get around. There is a taxi rank across the road and Rapid buses stop outside the door.Hire car place is nearby as well. The hotel is very family orientated as well with a kids club recently installed. Up class Rasa Sayang is next door and you can use the facilities there as well. Unfortunately for ready cash there was only one ATM in the building across the road.
Now that the Rasa Sayang has re-opened, the Golden Sands may be due for re-furbishment in the future. If this comes about, I may move next door to the Lone Pine or further down the road to the Holiday Inn but still within the Batu Ferringhi area. If you care to share with us your travel tip, just like the one above, please send it to me here.
Among the beach hotels in Penang are Copthorne, Paradise Sandy Beach and Crown Prince, almost one after another, at Tanjong Bungah. You can see from map that Tanjong Bungah is the closest to the city. Further down are the hotels in Batu Ferringhi, including Hydro Majestic Hotel (formerly called Ferringhi Beach Hotel), Rasa Sayang Resort and Spa (presently the most expensive beach hotel in Penang, run by the Shangri-La group), The Golden Sands Resort (also run by Shangri-La group, and a short distance from Rasa Sayang) and Lone Pine Hotel (one of the earliest hotels in Batu Ferringhi). A short walk way are Holiday Inn and Parkroyal Penang. These are all hotels within the Batu Ferringhi village, a commercialized part of Batu Ferringhi. Further away, and in a more serene surroundings, is the Bayview Beach Resort. Two hotels along this stretch, the Casuarina and the Penang Mutiara, are presently closed. The Casuarina may reopen as the Hard Rock Hotel.
Eastern & Oriental, the grandest hotel in Penang.
City Hotels: These are located within George Town. Many of these are business hotels, but also included are some boutique hotels and 5-star establishments.
The cream of the crop among the city hotels is the elegant Eastern & Oriental (E&O) Hotel, along Lebuh Farquhar, built by the Sarkies Brothers who also founded the Raffles Hotel in Singapore. It's the place in Penang for the peacocks of society to flaunt themselves. A stone's throw away from the E&O is Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, home of one of the richest men in Southeast Asia during the early 20th century, and now turned into a boutique hotel. It caters to discerning travelers looking for a unique travel experience, and has the pocket to foot it.
The Equatorial Hotel, Bukit Jambul, Penang.
Free Trade Zone Hotels: These are situated around the Bayan Lepas area, in support of the accommodation needs of executives and workers visiting the Free Trade Zones. There are presently three hotels in this area, namely the Equatorial, Vistana and Seri Malaysia. In terms of standard, they are the top range, middle range and entry-level, respectively. The Equatorial is located on Bukit Jambul, with a panoramic view of Bayan Lepas, including the township of Bayan Baru, the Free Trade Zone and the Penang International Airport. Vistana Hotel is located at the foot of Bukit Jambul. In addition to providing a lower-priced alternative to Equatorial, Vistana also offers service apartments for those needing to stay for extended periods. At the basic level is Seri Malaysia, located in a newly developed section of Bayan Baru.
Booking Hotel Rooms Online
To book hotel rooms online, use the console below. Key in the date of your arrival and departure, and the system will display a list of hotel rooms available on the chosen dates.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I want to thank Peter McNamara for their contribution and input on the content of this page.
About the Author
Penang Travel Tips is researched and written by Timothy Tye, a Council Member of the Penang Heritage Trust. The information provided is in goodwill and is believed to be correct. We are not responsible for its usage. Text in this website is made available under terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. To contact us, write to:
