Which Penang Hotel to Choose?

You are visiting Penang soon, and are looking for a hotel room - which is the right one for you? In this Penang Travel Tips guide, I want to help you find the hotel that is right for your needs and budget. To do that, I will cluster the hotels in my guide based on their location. From there, I will provide you some details and recommendations.

Tips for choosing your hotel in Penang (6 February 2013)

Location, location, location

For the purpose of this guide, I have divided the hotels on Penang State into the following locations.

In order for me to recommend the right hotel to you, I first need to find out the reason you are visiting George Town. If you are a tourist, and exploring the George Town World Heritage Site ranks high in priority, you would naturally want a hotel that is within walking distance of the attractions within the heritage site.

Accommodation at The Blue Mansion (28 February 2004)

Within the World Heritage Site

Among the hotels within the World Heritage Site, the most opulent is probably The Blue Mansion, aka Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, on Leith Street. This is a rich man's mansion that has been carefully restored and turned into a boutique hotel. Since the inscription of George Town as a World Heritage Site, many houses within the World Heritage Site have been restored and turned into inns and hotels.

Chulia Mansion, one of the many hotels along Chulia Street (15 November 2004)

Chulia Street

Chulia Street was the traditional backpacker haven, but with World Heritage inscription, many of the budget guesthouses have given themselves a makeover, and are now spruced up for the moderate-priced to high-priced accommodation providers.

GLOW Penang (15 November 2014)

City Hotels

Business travellers to Penang will find that the majority of business hotels in George Town are along Penang Road or its vicinity.

Tune Hotel Penang (3 February 2013)


Hotel rooms in George Town don't have to cost a fortune. On the budget end there are no-frill places such as Tune Hotel and Hotel Mingood, both of which within walking distance to the city centre.

Penang is a paradise for street food. If it's street food you're after, I would suggest you pick a hotel nearest to the two main street food destinations in George Town: New Lane and Kimberley Street.

Hotel Sentral, George Town, Penang (20 March 2013)


There's plenty to choose from on New Lane. The biggest is Sunway Hotel. A short distance away are Hotel Sentral Georgetown and Heliconia Hotel. As for Kimberley Street, the nearest would be the recently refurbished New Asia Heritage Hotel. Not too far away is Campbell House.

g Hotel, Penang (28 January 2013)

Gurney

The Gurney neighbourhood is the coastal stretch on the northern part of George Town. It is lined with upscale hotels offering great views of the sea.

If you want to be right on Gurney Drive, your choices are Evergreen Laurel, G Hotel and The Gurney Resort. G Hotel has the added advantage of being located between Gurney Plaza and Gurney Paragon, two of the biggest shopping malls in George Town, but it is also a very pricey hote1.

The Northern Coast

As you move north beyond Gurney, you pass through the neighbourhood of Tanjong Tokong and then Tanjung Bungah. After Tanjung Bungah is Batu Ferringhi, the famous beach belt.

Four Points by Sheraton (2 November 2013)

Tanjong Tokong & Tanjung Bungah

Hotels in this two neighbourhoods offer you the best of both worlds, being half way between the beaches of Batu Ferringhi and the city of George Town.

Lone Pine Hotel, Batu Ferringhi (5 January 2014)

Batu Ferringhi

The zigzag coastal road winds its way from Tanjung Bungah to arrive in the coastal plain of Batu Ferringhi. Here, you'd find a big congregation of hotels, the majority of which right on the beach.

Hotel Equatorial (2 Dec 2006)

Bayan Lepas

The Bayan Lepas area is a major industrial area on Penang Island. If you are visiting any of the factories or multi-national corporations in this area, you can find a selection of hotels for accommodation.

Along the Bayan Lepas coast is the Queensbay area, anchored by Queensbay Mall.

Penang Mainland

Penang Mainland is a big area with many towns, so where you choose to stay will depend on where you intend to spend most of your time. For Butterworth, consider De Garden Hotel, for Perai consider Pearl View, for Seberang Jaya, there's Sunway Hotel Seberang Jaya, and for Bukit Mertajam, consider The Summit.

List of Hotels in Penang and Hotels in Malaysia