If you are in Penang and looking for old world charm, good food and creature comforts, look up The Gurney Resort Hotel & Residences Penang. Together with Shawn, I stayed at this lovely place for 2 nights, and here’s 7 reasons why we think you should too!
1) It’s right smack in the middle of everything!
For starters, it’s a short 15 min walk (or a couple of minutes via Grab/Uber) from popular shopping malls Gurney Paragon and Gurney Plaza. These malls have everything you need! We spent about half a day in Gurney Paragon alone, splurging on clothes and then enjoying a movie on couple beanbag seats. Gurney Paragon is a destination in its own right.
Just next to Gurney Paragon are the famous hawker stalls, where there’s more food than you can eat over the course of your trip to Penang. Some of the food here is really good, but more on that in another post!
The Gurney Resort Hotel & Residences Penang is also near key must-go areas such as the Georgetown UNESCO World Heritage Area, Penang Road Chendol and the Batu Ferringhi Night Market.
2) Spacious and Affordable rooms
At just SGD$60+ (may change according to availability) per night with breakfast and an amazing sea view, the Studio Suite is a steal. The rooms at The Gurney Resort Hotel & Residences Penang are bigger than most other hotels in the area, and have been maintained extremely well despite the hotel being around for a long time.
If you’re travelling to Penang with your family, be sure to get their 2-Bedroom Suite which goes for SGD$110+ per night.
Most of their rooms are sea facing too, so you are almost guaranteed a awesome view.
Watch our video for a tour of the room!
3) Your very own private bath with jaccuzzi
Each room comes with a private bathtub with jacuzzi, which is perfect for relaxing if you have spent the day mural-hunting in Georgetown.
The bathtubs are pretty clean and have been very well maintained, which means you can bring along your favourite bath bombs to enjoy without worries!
4) Old world charm
One thing that drew us to The Gurney Resort Hotel & Residences Penang is its ‘old world charm’ which seems perfectly in place with the UNESCO heritage vibe of Georgetown. The hotel feels authentic, as if you’re part of a time when everything was slower and more personal.
Instead of yet another sterilised modern chic hotel, The Gurney Resort Hotel & Residences Penang has personality.
It’s not just the décor that brings out the vibes. The service staff plays a big role as well, which brings us to our next point…
5) Service that makes you feel at home
One of the best things about staying in The Gurney Resort Hotel & Residences Penang is the service. With 20+ years of experience in the industry, we think they have gotten their customer service training down to a pat.
A breakfast at the hotel is evident enough.
Besides the happy smiles and interactions with the greeting and serving staff, we noticed that the waiters would never interrupt us to clear the plates while we were talking (happens often at many other hotels) and had even offered to prepare and bring over our drinks from the buffet line.
6) Clubhouse facilities in a hotel
The Gurney Resort Hotel & Residences Penang feels like a club house with its recreational area on the 7th floor. A pool table, arcade games, a children’s water playground (currently under construction) and even a small football area adorn the deck of the 7th floor.
To us, the highlight of the 7th floor has got to be the infinity pool. This pool overlooks the sea and is a good place to do laps or simply soak in the atmosphere. If you prefer to keep dry and read a book, lounge chairs are awaiting nearby.
If you’re more of a gym rat or a spa person, The Gurney Resort Hotel & Residences Penang has got you covered as well!
7) Good traditional cuisine
We tried their restaurant meals during lunch/dinner and found their traditional food really good. Go for their Weekday Treats which consist of dishes such as ‘Char Koay Teow’, ‘Seafood Hor Fun’ and ‘Mee Mamak’ for only RM19.90.
Feeling a little cheeky, we gave their ‘Singapore Fried Beehoon’ and ‘Hainanese Chicken Rice’ a go, typical Singaporean dishes, along with a fruit platter and some juice. First things first, the main course portions are generous and made Shawn a happy man. While slightly different from our Singaporean style, (the bee boon was a little more sweet/savoury than usual and chicken rice more ‘meaty’ and less sweet), we felt that the dishes were of good standard.
We also tried their western styled food, a lamb chop and beef steak. Qi Yun enjoyed her lamb chop (she always does!) while Shawn felt that his beef steak was OK.
#Bonus – A medical holiday
As we discovered during our stay in Penang, many travellers come from Indonesia and other parts of Malaysia for medical services. The Gurney Resort Hotel & Residences Penang caters to this crowd with a shuttle to the nearby Gleneagles Medical Center. If you’re looking to go Penang for medical purposes, do consider The Gurney Resort Hotel & Residences Penang too!
The Gurney Resort Hotel & Residences
Address: 18, Persiaran Gurney, 10250 Georgetown, Penang
Office: +604 370 7000
Fax: +604 370 4000
Website: http://www.gurney-hotel.com.my
While this is a sponsored review, all words and opinions are of our own. This post is in collaboration with my photographer friend, Wei En from HWE Studio. All other images in this post are of my own and unless otherwise stated. Copyright rules apply. Visit my Instagram for daily updates!
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