It is hard to believe that this hotel had just went through a refurbishment just 3 years ago. It seems like they only redesigned the lobby and nothing else. The carpets are old, the toilets are old, they give you zero toilet amenities except for a small bar of soap and some liquid that you can use to clean yourself (if you choose to).

The rooms still has non flat screen TVs with minimal satellite channels. Bed is hard and firm. Be sure not to throw yourself down onto the bed you minute you step in the hotel if you have that habit.

The location of the hotel is the Key selling point. It is walking distance to:
1. The infamous Lorong Selamat Char Kuey Teow (5 mins)
2. Big malls - 1st Avenue and Penang Times Square (15 - 20mins)
3. Sun Yat Sen Memorial Center (5 mins)
4. Lots of clean hawker food. (10 steps)

The staffs are extra friendly. They go all out to make you feel at home. It does help to make up for the bad condition of the rooms.

I stayed here for three nights with my mother in June 2011. The hotel is really nice, I really can't fault the rooms at all. Clean, really big, good bathroom, big TV, and tea coffee etc. The staff here were also so friendly and helpful, especially the bell boy. Huge buffet breakfast included too. The location is the only downside, about a 40-50 minute walk to all the sites in George Town, so you need to get taxis back if you're out at night. This is not the cheapest hotel also, rooms are about $60 AUD a night, so you are paying for the comforts of the room. But if you want to be in the thick of things, maybe don't stay here, especially if you're on a budget.

Enjoyed a very pleasant stay over Chinese New Year. Friendly helpful staff, comfortable clean room and OK breakfast for a reasonable cost.

Note: Had booked "on-line" to stay in Grand Paradise opposite but on arrival found this hotel unsatisfactory and relocated immediately to Red Rock.

Visited relatives in Penang and stayed here for 6 nites with family. We chose this hotel due to its affordability for a longer stay. We were not given a room upgrade at all. No free meals/breakfasts, but they did knock off the additional weekend/public holiday surcharge of RM100 for New Year's Eve & New Year.

We were given Room 308, on third floor, with a massage parlour and convention rooms on same floor. It was noisy on the last nite of our stay. Housekeeping was poor - were not given enough towels for 4 people (we had booked a family room with 2 comfortable king beds) . No floor mat or hand towels were supplied, and were only given upon request.The hotel should replace all their bath towels with new ones as they looked more like worn out bath mats - rather disgusting. However, they promptly gave us additional pillows upon request after one of my kids fell ill with food poisoning, and needed to rest in a more comfortable position..

The hotel does not have non-smoking rooms. Our room smelled of cigarette smoke initially. We requested to change to a room in other higher floors, but were told there were none available as they were fully booked. Reception said when they have room vacancies after the New Year period , they will look into giving us another room but it would be charged at a higher rate. They never got back to us, and neither did we bother as we only had 2 more nites of stay before we checked out. Location wasn't ideal, had to take taxis to everywhere (they don't use meters) .

Plenty of hawker stalls and coffee shops in the area, but they didn't look clean.The place was very dusty with lots of traffic on the main road in front of hotel. The only good thing was the convenience of buying daily newspapers,bottled drinking water and other necessities from a pharmacy, a convenience store and a newsagent (in a wooden shed) across the road.