Just Duvet Guesthouse, George Town, Penang

Just Duvet Guesthouse, George Town, Penang (14 January 2015)


Just Duvet Guesthouse (GPS: 5.41877, 100.33794) is a budget guesthouse on Boatmen Alley, the finger alley with addresses on Stewart Lane. It offers six rooms, mostly dormitories, for budget travellers. There is even a tub-size swimming pool inside.

I made an inspection visit on Just Duvet Guesthouse on 14 January, 2015. It did not go down very well. My promise to the owner is that I will make a future visit, when he has had a chance to fix the issues I come across, for it is my desire to give a better review.

Apparently Just Duvet Guesthouse is being run by a family with businesses spread across town and on the mainland. It so happens that on the day of my visit, a staff had recently resigned, so they were shorthanded.

I arrived at the empty and locked guesthouse. I pressed the bell but nobody came to the door. How curious. I knew they knew I was coming. I phoned the girl who was supposed to welcome me. She said to wait a bit and she would be on the way.

This is how Just Duvet Guesthouse looked like from the outside (14 January 2015)


While waiting outside, I had a good look at the front of Just Duvet Guesthouse, and it makes me feel rather unsafe - whether I am outside or inside the guesthouse. There is a solid iron grill across the front. Upstairs, all the windows are sealed off. It feels like a prison. What if there is a fire? How would the guests get out?

After a wait of some 10 minutes or so, a Chinese girl and an Indian man appeared down the alley. The Indian man proceeded to unlock the iron grill and front door. He went inside without so much as a hello. The girl was also on the passive side, and I had to initiate the ice breaker.

We went inside. The inside is quite spacious and not too bad. The front desk is decorated with ornaments and star-shaped lamps. Some of these are very pretty. I asked if these ornaments are for sale, and was given an answer that they probably were. Maybe these are from another branch of their business, with an outlet elsewhere.

Decorative ornaments and star-shaped lamps at the front desk of Just Duvet Guesthouse (14 January 2015)


Decorative ornaments at the side wall of Just Duvet Guesthouse (14 January 2015)


The girl was not completely sure how to handle me. So I told her I want to see the rooms. We went up the very narrow staircase to view the rooms upstairs. Three of the rooms have bunk beds, serving as dormitory. There is also another room with a king size bed. I do not see any windows in the first dorm that I visited. Perhaps these have been sealed off. I did see the wooden window frames in the second dorm. I believe these wooden windows can be opened. However, I also saw iron bars across the windows, so again my concern for fire escape remained intact.

Dormitory at Just Duvet Guesthouse (14 January 2015)


Another dormitory at Just Duvet Guesthouse, with wooden windows, but note the iron bars (14 January 2015)


Yet another dormitory at Just Duvet Guesthouse, similar to the one before (14 January 2015)


The Just Duvet Guesthouse bedroom (14 January 2015)


A short corridor leads to the toilet. To the left, and to my surprise, there is a swimming pool. Or rather, a tub-size pool which was without any water. I asked the girl why the pool was not filled. She told me they had to clean it up because one of the guests poured milk into it. What a pity.

The swimming pool at Just Duvet Guesthouse (14 January 2015)


I noticed that there is an opening across from the toilet. I did not go anywhere near that opening to check whether it is safe for people to escape, in case of fire. On the other hand, if it is safe for people to get out from there, then that opening is also an outlet for intruders to get in, and that renders all the grilling moot.

The corridor towards the bathroom at Just Duvet Guesthouse (14 January 2015)


As I turned around to get off that corridor, there was a cracking sound under me. I looked at my socked foot. Yikes, I had stepped on a cockroach! I tossed the dead cockroach from my foot and mentioned to the girl what I had stepped on. For a moment she did not know what to do. So I said, "You have to take care of that."

Apart from the dead cockroach, the guesthouse looked neat and clean. Perhaps I should not ask for much from an establishment calling itself "just duvet". All the beds are neat and appear unused. The walls are spotless. The dark colour scheme makes the room feel smaller than they actually are. That, and the fact that there are no windows to view the outside, makes me a bit claustrophobic in there.

This is the first floor landing. Appears neat, except that, if you look closely to the floor, bottom right, you will see the dead cockroach I stepped on. (14 January 2015)


Leaving the dead insect on the floor, we returned to the groundfloor and I told the girl I have seen everything I need to see. After I got home, the first thing I did was to inform the owner. What I told him is exactly what I am telling you here, except the description on this page is longer.

The owner is extremely apologetic for my experience, but there are issues that I need fixing, particularly the one concerning fire escape. I am sympathetic, and promised the owner that, once he has fixed the issues I mentioned, I am very happy to return and I long to give Just Duvet Guesthouse an improved report.

With this experience on hand, I also encourage all accommodation providers that there is a good reason why hotels and guesthouses are called the "hospitality industry". The people who run it are expected to project the hospitality to guests and visitors.

There is a degree of professionalism involved in handling people, in appearing cheerful and be proactive in greeting them, rather than wait for them to greet you. I acknowledge that people in the mainstream hotels have been polished up on that, but everybody else who wants to be an accommodation provider also has to work on that, and not let the low price of their accommodation be a compensating factor. On top of that, the guests need to feel safe. Often, by the time they arrive, it is already too late. People read what I write. My credibility depends on describing what I see truthfully, and not cloaking the truth. So, it is probably not a good idea to invite me until you are ready to show off your place, and upon seeing it, I can sing undiluted praises too. I definitely want to come back to Just Duvet again.

Address

Just Duvet Guesthouse
29 Stewart Lane
10200 George Town, Penang

Getting there

If you are coming from the direction of Pitt Street (Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling), go along Stewart Lane until it makes a bend to the right. You will see an alley in front of you. Continue down this alley, and Just Duvet Guesthouse is on your left.

Just Duvet Guesthouse is on the Map of Boatmen Alley, George Town, Penang

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