Penang Marriott Hotel — Hotel in George Town

Summary: Probably the single best option for a hotel in all of Penang. All told, way more good than bad, and nothing that the hotel can’t easily remedy should they choose to do so. I’ll be back for sure. Cheers!

The Details: Yes, it’s a Marriott but not the generic tired US version, this is an Asian Marriott, so it’s actually nice. Lol.

The location, smack dab in the center of Gurney Drive, directly across the street from the first phase of the new public park, and within a 10 minute walk of tons of shopping and eating outlets is superb. A nice bonus is it’s within a 20 minute walk of the hawker stalls which is an excellent option for fun and cheap eats. Do note that the hawker stalls are perhaps best visited on the weekends as all are open and the crowd is much more lively.

The Good: Hotel is beautiful Staff (too many to list out individually are excellent) Amenities (pool and gym in particular) are perfect. The pool, which faces out over Gurney Drive is well positioned. Breakfast has an abundance of choices and had perhaps the best chocolate croissant I can ever recall eating. The service in the M Club is next level. Tiger beers, ftw.

The Bad: I did not receive the room I paid for which was a direct sea view. Instead I was upgraded to a one bedroom suite on the side of the hotel. Still a partial sea view but I def did not need or really even want the extra space. I would have much preferred to receive the room I booked. Some of the room elements are curious at best. Nespresso coffee pods on offer but the accompanying cups are excessively sized for the amount of coffee dispensed. They need espresso sized cups as that’s what is dispensed. The shower products are refillable dispensers attached to the shower wall but with poor adhesive (see pics). The phone still requires a template to tell you what button does what (see pic). The mini bar replenishment was spotty. The pool, while lovely, needs shade umbrellas for the chaise loungers on the top level. There are shade umbrellas for the seating on the lower level but these are significantly smaller seats that you will not enjoy sitting in for long. I never saw anyone using that seating. I used an outside laundry service (as I had a good amount of laundry to do and did not want to pay inflated hotel prices) and someone manning the hotel driveway was incredibly rude to the laundry rep who dropped off my freshly laundered clothes and insulted their vehicle (something along the lines of it was not nice enough to spend 2 minutes in front of the hotel entrance…), forcing me to apologize on behalf of the hotel. I don’t know who that was nor do I care but if you are rude to a vendor I chose to use, by extension you are creating an issue for me (and for the record, Marriott, this laundry vendor has higher Google reviews than you so perhaps a business to emulate not...

My family and I went for Breakfast Buffet to celebrate our youngest brother birthday. It was a very happy and pleasant breakfast. Everyone in the F&B service and F&B production team were so friendly. We are treated like we are the only one table guest in the restaurant. They are indeed 5-star hotel table service. Each of our seat table under liner has the food of the breakfast explanation to us. It was knowledgeable and easy for us to view. We were also provided a lovely service from the bartender with different ideas of mixing morning booster for all the guests to drink. One of my favourite blended drinks is ABC, which consists of Apple, Beetroot and Carrot blend. They have lots of hot and cold food options to choose from. They even have different varieties of pastries in a small amount. I'm surprise to see they have a counter that the hotel mix their own sauces and they too planted their own fresh vegetables. They even have fresh honeycomb that we can happily consume. Their live station also has a few variants such as noodles, flatbread, egg station, waffle, crepe station and fresh press sugarcane station. The chefs are friendly. Their noodles station soup is freshly made after a turnover time. Hence this way all the guests manage to enjoy freshly made noodle soup. I believe their breakfast is different on fortnightly basis. Everybody looks very happy with their job. In their pastry section they provide different types of fruit compote for the guest to choose from. There were too many choices till I don't know which to eat and try from. The breakfast buffet charges is slight higher than 4-star hotel but its worth of our money for excellent food options and services. Even though I didn't have a chance to stay in the hotel room but I believe their quality of service is as excellent as the restaurant. The only I would to comment is there are some interns that is working in restaurant. Hopefully everyone is clear with the SOP that what to do. Somehow, I can observe that different intern and staff give different services to the guests. Although it didn't trouble the guests but if everyone is doing the same thing and clear in a same page it would be perfect already. Since I arrive early in the morning to the hotel, I manage to have some conversation with the receptionist and she is very friendly to assist me upon my request. I'm happy that night shift staff and morning shift staff handover are detailed and crystal. They are very attentive. My family and I would gladly return again to Marriott Penang for all of our special occasions. We would be happy to spread around the excellent food and service that staffs provided to the guests.

PS Suggestions: Kids activity in the restaurant (at least for parents to enjoy their meal) Open an account in Trip Advisor (only Mariott Service Apartment available...

Sometimes one books a hotel and is pleasantly surprised by the outcome. In this case, we booked what was a Marriot, not a JW or a St Regis, but a simple Marriot because it is a new hotel and all the boutique hotels couldn't accomodate a week-long stay. I expected a newer hotel without the usual trappings of a JW or beyond. Not only were we surprised by the quality of the "plant", we were blown away. This is a JW or even a ST Regis disguised as a Marriot. Ten foot ceilings, a lounge that rivals any six-star hotel we've stayed in, and an ocean view to die for. The room was spacious and the room make-up service was excellent. That aside, where this hotel really shines, is the team that run the show. Whoever is in charge of hiring here should give a course on employment selection. The staff were simply superb, every single one of them but I must give a special shout out to the following: Adam, who is the front desk manager, handled everything with aplomb, and did so with a smile. He is superb. Also on a manager level, a special shout out to Olena, who is the person who runs the 20th floor lounge. Not only is she on it, but the team she has assembled there are truly outstanding. For instance, Areef got to know our favourite drinks, food, and seat after the first day. He is joined by Zac, Melanie, Gaya, and Anbar. I don't know how this team does it day after day, but they were always quick with a smile and a good morning. There is also a great main floor bar where I enjoyed the company of Joe Yi--an award-winning bartender, who is joined by Nia(not sure if she was the bar tender or the front desk person, but I am sure she is great. The health club is run by Erda, who tests all equipment and the pool daily and makes sure everything is ship shape. She knows what she is doing. Working with her is Nayon(sp?) Carpenter(sp?) who put up with me for a few days as I locked myself out of here and there. He was always quick with a smile and kindness. Congratulations everyone, you blew us away with your attitude and service. Some may think the location is a bit out of town. It is not. Five to ten minutes by car puts you in the heart of Georgetown. But within a block of this hotel, on Guerney Ave, is the Bali Hai seafood restaurant--10 stars--and the Coco Hawker stalls, also very good. A shopping centre a block away also provides good items and food. Suffice to say, you can stay at the old boutique hotels, but I would not hesitate to again stay here without question. The people that run this hotel are true pros. We are already talking ...