Great little hotel in Penang, Malaysia, recently refurbished and decorated in local style but with all modern amenities. Very kind service, large breakfast room, nice little swimming pool. Close to the historic parts of Penang. If you can't afford the Eastern & Oriental, if you can't get a room at the Blue House, then no problem, go to the Penaga, there will be no regrets!

Really impressed by our room. We were on the Hutton road side and had a huge & impeccably clean room with king four poster bed, plenty more space around plus an enormous shower room and (too hot to want it but) a jacuzzi bath too! Every detail in terms of furnishing carefully thought out - artwork, sofas etc plus various mod cons (e.g. Large LED Samsung TV). The only downside I can see is that, for lighter sleepers (My wife and I are not!), I imagine the noise from the road might be an issue. It's certainly not excessive but then we generally sleep very soundly. What else to add? Small but perfectly reasonable pool (jet lag got us up early and the staff looked a little shocked to see us doing 20 lengths at 7am!), staff always helpful and friendly. To ensure I give a balanced review, there are a couple of things that weren't quite perfect (almost though). Georgetown sights are very walkable so would not call out as a negative but if you like to be smack bang in the hub, this isn't quite there (clutching at straws a little as you're only a 5-10 minute walk away - no more). The one genuine area for improvement would be breakfast. A reasonable selection and the option to order freshly cooked eggs however you want them. That aside though, much of the "hot" food was luke warm at best. Tasty (esp the Malaysian curry) but lacking warmth! Generally though, a great pit stop in Penang and wouldn't hesitate to recommend.

I have read lots of reviews on this hotel. We were there for New Year's Day. It is only coming up on 1 year since opening. Its cultural blend of Asian antiquities and modern art, resident artist activity, and the history of how the row shops were combined into this great hotel makes the stay well worth the while. All the staff were super - from the reception, to the managers, to the kitchen and wait staff, to the cleaning staff you meet walking through the garden. We did not try the spa, but the garden area was relaxing. Contrary to comments by others - if you have a deluxe balcony garden view - which does cost more - the traffic is not noticeable. Our room was clean, spacious, and holding to historical culture. Every floor and every room is unique. The manager gave us a tour of the two-story suites which are customized. The gift shop was closed but they staff opened it for us so we could browse - and no one rushed us at any time through our stay. Great place, great service - and as far as I am concerned - the hotel, as well as the city - has the nicest-friendliest-and most pleasant people in Malaysia. I have been to Southeast Asia dozens of times over the last 15 years - but this was my first time in Malaysia. This hotel, and staff, made my stay worthwhile, even compared to the 5 star hotels I have stayed at in KL.

The hotel staff and the wait staff were all really friendly, patient and very pleasant. The staff at the shop (Entrepôt) was also very friendly and courteous. The rooms, however, had VERY dusty furniture, dusty fittings (cobwebs on bathroom door etc.) and bedding that smelled really musty (probably been there for quite some time). Ants were crawling all over the sideboard, the bathroom and sitting in the really nice balcony allows one to feed the mozzies. The cupboard (nice repro) was not functional as you are not able to hang even a t-shirt properly because the shelf is too close to the clothes rail, making the space too short to hang anything in. Impressive art collection all around, tastefully furnished but this hotel can do away with the turndown service and pay more attention to cleaning the rooms properly.