Muntri Grove — Hotel in George Town

If you like the peranakan look and feel & you’re looking for a small boutique-est accommodation in the heart of Georgetown, you can’t go wrong here. Rooms are large comprising of a King bed, dressing table, desk & chair, daybed, two lounge chairs and table, a/c and ceiling fan, separate WC and shower ensuite. Everything is spotlessly clean, and cosy. ||The ground floor rooms hv an additional outdoor public walkway type patio with two metal chairs and table facing a garden. The upstairs rooms have wooden flooring with a high vaulted ceiling and easy access to the outdoor pool and kitchenette. Here you can get filtered water and instant hot water, free ice cream, and tea & local kuih served on Fri/Sat evenings. ||My personal preference is upstairs but I think many request for the downstairs rooms because of the extra table and garden access. ||For me this accommodation feels like a home away from home and is better suited to couples rather than families due to the private settings, the small pool, the king bed, and the shower and WC with no lock on the doors and see-thru frosted doors. Would not recommend for friends or families due to this, but the place is perfect for couples. There are also bars around which also don’t seem conducive to kids and there are no other facilities for children. ||We had a large family stay the first two nights and we wondered how they fit so many people into 2 rooms, (there were 7-8 of them) plus they completely ruined the serene peaceful pool atmosphere and turned it into their own private waterpark with splashes all over the chairs, tables and floors. It was a disaster to say the least and also very noisy. No one else could make use of the pool & the entire surrounding area because of this family alone. Once they checked out, peace & tranquility resumed. ||While I have no issues generally with well behaved families and children, I still think this accommodation fits a maximum of 3 adults per room, should be adult only and not receive guests under the age of 16 since the surrounding areas are pretty adult in nature, and there are no activities for children at all while the small pool is definitely too small to host families with children, at most 2 couples and that would be the max. My one critique is that the hotel should be strict about how many people are allowed to stay in each room, because the loud and boisterous shenanigans of inconsiderate guests shoving 4-5 people into a room spoils the stay for other guests who are mostly couples. ||The noise fr the surrounding bars at night is not an issue for adults, but again is not a conducive environment for children. The bars stop operating at 2am on weekends. Ear plugs do the trick plus weekends are meant to run late anyway so no big deal for us. ||(I think the cushion covers could use a good wash as they did smell a little from use. ) Still, this does not take away from the beautiful setting and large spacious and comfortable accommodation which we would recommend to any adult guests travelling as a couple or with an...

DON'T STAY IN A "FORMULA" HOTEL!! WHEN IN ROME.....STAY IN A HERITAGE CONVERTED "SHOPHOUSE" WITH A POOL NO LESS!!

Review of Muntri Grove Hotel

While you do not really come to Penang for the beaches (at least I don't) you should come for the old Georgetown quarter and its multi-ethnic melange of at least TEN cuisine styles (eg. Nonya, Hokkien, Indo-Pakistani, Armenian among others). As a UNESCO gem, with old shophouses converted carefully and sensitively to attractive hotel properties, one can stay in such a place, 5-10 mins stroll from the dizzying array of food on offer in old Georgetown!

We selected the MUNTRI GROVE as it seemed to fit the vibe we were looking for and exemplified the heritage conversion and preservation dynamic precisely. And its one of several heritage hotel properties and F&B spots owned by the GGHT (we eat at one of these this evening….”KEBAYA”). We love it.....room is spacious, cool and comfortable and the POOL!!! I am punching this out by the pool as I post.....Penang is unseasonably warm right now so the pool is a god send. But there are also gardens and tables outside the rooms to work and sip coffee and/or cold lagers! It is really the conversion from an old shophouse to unique accommodations for the discerning traveler that got us!

Lastly, the staff!!! All very helpful and friendly from the manager Mr. Ragoo to his downline service staff! But more than well-schooled in solid service delivery, they are all so darn friendly!! We want to give a real 5 STARS to "Joyce" who checked us in after a mini snafu with our booking request. Joyce went out of her way to make an executive decision and ended up making me look good with my companion/co-traveler. Problem solved, ice cold Tiger's in the fridge.....what's it gonna be tonight? Nonya or Armenian?? Joyce had me sit down in the lobby with her 3-4 times for a friendly chat about Penang, and the changes in the 40 years since my first visit as a back-packer in 1983. Old Georgetown still delivers if you want great traditional food, throw-back architecture, and a vibe from another time! If you come…. make the Muntri Grove your base and hub!

Last night, we dined at the hotel group’s signature dining venue, “KEBAYA”. Ambiance, Cuisine and Service all 5 STAR!!! Make the effort to get a reservation as highly popular and booked out!!

FINALLY…if you wish a super friendly and outgoing car and driver in Penang, ask Mr. Ragoo or Joyce to set you up with “Ganesh”. Highly recommended!!

THANK YOU MUNTRI...

This hotel was supposed to be the most anticipated accommodation of this trip because of the photos displayed and the positive reviews on various platforms. However, it was quite disappointing, both in terms of the environment and the service.

The receptionist who greeted us upon arrival was a female staff member, and as soon as we opened the door to our room after completing the check-in process, a heavy musty smell hit us, the kind of smell of an old room in an old district, which was very uncomfortable. When we asked the female staff member if there was any way to remove the smell, or at least use air freshener to mask it, the answer was a variety of "no, there's no way". We could only open the window for ventilation, but the house, surrounded by plants, didn't have any screens on the windows, so the room was instantly full of mosquitoes. We then asked the staff member if there was any mosquito repellent or anything else that could repel mosquitoes, and the answer was still "no, there's no way".

We couldn't get a refund, so we had to endure it and stay. The musty smell was really everywhere, and the wall paint was peeling off due to dampness, and the bedding didn't feel very dry to the touch, especially the musty smell near the sofa was particularly severe. During the three days we stayed there, every time we thought about returning to that room, we couldn't help but frown at the thought of smelling that odor again.

On the first night, when we couldn't stand the mosquitoes anymore, we finally met another male staff member at the front desk, who was much better in attitude than the previous one, and he brought a mosquito repellent lamp from another room for us. Since they had such equipment, why didn't the lady solve the problem in a timely manner when we brought it up at first?

Additionally, the internet in the room was extremely slow, and when we asked the female staff member at the front desk about it, the reply was still "there's no way". I'm really puzzled as to how a seemingly pretty boutique hotel could be run like this. Can't they smell the odor in the room? The quality of the items was also extremely limited and old-fashioned. What about this environment is related to "boutique"?

I really can't give a positive review of this experience, it was a huge regret of this trip. Next time, I won't choose any hotels or restaurants operated by...