Detailed review by garymarsh6
garymarsh6
Gravesend, United Kingdom93%
Eastern and oriental hotel. Georgetown Penang.
The Eastern and Oriental Hotel Georgetown is an old colonial hotel found on the waterfront of Georgetown, Penang. It is an absolutely superb place and luxurious place to stay while in Georgetown living the life of a bygone age. It retains its old world charm maintaining an air of grace not found in many other hotels of its kind.
History.
The hotel was born through the entrepreneurialship of two brothers from Armenia called Martin and Tigrel Sarkie. The hotel was in fact two hotels initially one called the Eastern which opened in 1884 and the other the Oriental which opened in 1885 that were side by side taking up a sizeable part of the waterfront. They amalgamated both hotels which then provided 80 rooms for the discerning traveller. Many famous people have stayed here including Rudyard Kipling, Hermann Hess, Charlie Chaplin, and Somerset Maugham, Ava Gardner, Royalty and a long list of celebrities. They were later joined by another brother Arshak who installed a massive ballroom to the hotel. The hotel affectionately became known as the E & O. At the time it was ‘The’ place to stay out in the Far East. The brothers also went on to open another famous hotel in the Far East in 1887, namely Raffles in Singapore.
However over the years and particularly during the depression the hotel sadly ended up being sold to several companies and became run down through lack of investment. However that all changed and it has now been restored to its former glory.
The hotel.
The hotel has a large courtyard at the front of the building planted with palm trees and you come to the entrance where you are met by safari suited doormen and escorted into the reception area. You are greeted by one of the butlers who are available 24/7 who complete the checking in process in a comfortable lounge type area whilst being offered iced cold towels and a tropical fruit juice. In the reception area there is a large domed ceiling which echos to the sound of voices but not in a disturbing way. The door keys to the hotel room are on a brass keyring with E&O on one side and the suite number or name on the other.
The hotel has 110 suites which include a very large marble bathroom, his and hers vanity units, a shower and toilet with a telephone inside. There was a plethora of toiletries and other stuff available for your use including toothbrushes, combs, vanity box, razor, tissues, sewing kit etc etc.
Walking through to the bedroom you pass an inbuilt wardrobe which contains bedding an iron and ironing board. The bedroom is quite large with a massive bed and a menu of pillows that you can choose from including anti allergy pillows, memory foam pillows, hard, soft etc etc. There is an armoire that contains a large television and the fridge bar. Beside the bed are small bedside cabinets with lamps and an old fashioned type phone and an alarm clock. As we were there for some very important family events that entailed very early morning starts we also used the alarm call service as we did not want to rely just on the clock. On the wall is the butler call button.
The lounge area is separated by a wall with coloured glass in the art deco style. The lounge is quite large with a sofa and chairs coffee table another armoire with a television, safe and drawers a writing desk with broadband connection and another telephone. There is a floor to ceiling set of sliding wooden shutters and French windows which which open out to the balcony where there are two wicker chairs and a small table. On our balcony there were two lights one of which was part of the ornamental structure of the hotel that looked a bit like a lighthouse. Although all the rooms are suites there are some with either one two or three ensuite bedrooms either with a balcony or a garden room which leads straight out to the lawns and swimming pool. Some of the suites are named after famous authors such as Kipling, Coward or Hess. The majority of rooms do not have balconies.
Throughout the hotel the flooring is either marble, polished granite or wooden parquet flooring.
Restaurants.
There are three main areas where you can eat in the hotel.
Sarkies including the veranda and the bakery.
1885 restaurant for fine dining and afternoon tea.
Farquhars bar including the deck by the swimming pool.
There is of course room service available 24 hours a day which was very good indeed.
Sarkies restaurant.
Breakfast is served in Sarkies restaurant which also includes eating breakfast on the veranda if you wish. It has a very extensive buffet with a fast cook section for waffles, pancakes, omelettes and chapattis. It also has a wok station here. The standards of cooking are excellent. The array of food on offer is amazing with a large bakery area where freshly baked breads and pastries are on offer. There is a large Japanese section which included some very colourful things which I have never come across before and fish, meats and vegetables. There is a juice station with four varieties of chilled juices and fresh vegetable and fruit press. Hams cheeses and cereals. The final station includes noodle rice and curry station. Coffee or tea is served by the waiters.
1885 restaurant.
This is the fine dining restaurant with quite an extensive menu and good quality wines. It is quite expensive to eat here but the service is very good and it is quite a peaceful and well appointed dining room. Coffee can be had in a sitting room area off the dining room. Afternoon tea is served here too which was absolutely brilliant with freshly baked tiny cakes there were about 12 varieties scones and jam and a good selection of teas. The only downside which was disappointing was that the cream was not clotted cream but looked more like aerosol cream.
Farquhar’s bar.
This serves a mixture of western food including red snapper fish and chips, pies and curries which can be eaten inside the bar or out on the deck area beside the pool. It can be a bit noisy in here as there are large flat panel television screens showing football matches which can make it a bit rowdy.
The bakery and coffee shop sells beautiful patisserie and handmade chocolates all made in house by the catering team.
Other facilities in the hotel include:-
Gym.
Massage area by the pool.
Business centre.
Meeting rooms.
Ballroom.
The hotel often hosts large wedding receptions in the ball room and weddings on the promenade especially at weekends.
The staff.
All the staff were absolutely fantastic and nothing was too much trouble. There seemed to be ample staff available who all looked really cheerful, happy and very hospitable. Every member of staff greeted you no matter what and some actively went out of their way to talk to you especially the doormen who were extremely nice and very helpful especially when we took taxis or trishaws out. They would tell the drivers where we wanted to go and negotiate the price for us. All of the staff looked after us extremely well and greeted you like long lost friends without being over familiar or too intrusive.
Would I recommend a stay here?
Absolutely and should I ever go back to Penang it would be my hotel of choice. I cannot praise it highly enough as it is quite a character hotel full of history, nostalgia, charm and grace.
Address:-
Eastern and Oriental hotel.
10, Farquhar Street,
Georgetown,
Pulau Penang 10200,
Malaysia.
Tel: +604 222 2000 ext. 3169
Fax : +604 261 6333
Eastern & Oriental Penang10
