rcw

Need some help choosing hotel in Penang. Planning 3n stay in early Jul 08 - do I splurge at E&O, go for some cheaper ambience at CFTM or save some $ by heading up to Tanjung Bungah? Has anyone stayed recently at the Copthorne Orchid? All part of a 17n trip SIN-Melaka-KL-Penang-Langkawi-home.

JamesA

Decide if you want to be in Georgetown or at the beach. I don't like Tanjung Bungah at all, the beach is not that good at all. I would go the extra distance to Batu Ferringhi if you wanted beach. Also some good restaurants in the area. You can get to and from Georgetwon relatively easy.
If you wqant to splurge you could do the Shangri La Rasa Sayang at Batu Ferringhi but there are cheaper.

I think it comes down to Georgetown 'or' beach. But as you are going to Langkawi you could do Langkawi for beach time ( beaches much better than Penang )and Penang 'town time'.

Sorry don't know what CFTM is.

Kathie

If you want to be in Georgetown, the E&O is absolutely fabulous. I wouldn't go to Penang for the beaches, as James says, Langkawi has much nicer beaches. So use your short Penang time to explore Georgetown and try out the fabulous hawker food.

Have you read my trip report from November, 2006? Search for Penang and you should find it.

Photos: www.marlandc.com

lcuy

Is CFTM the Blue Mansion? We also debated the Luxury/history vs ambiance /cost for our stay in June. We worried that the service in CFTM didn't get great reviews, but in the end the debate was moot as the CFTM was full. ( It has very few rooms).

We booked the E&O, and got some great rates with one of their specials.

rcw

Thank you everyone. I've read through all the related threads for the past few months incl Kathie's excellent, info filled rpts and responses. CFTM is Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion aka Blue Mansion which I figure we can take a tour of. Not so much looking for beach but happy to "commute" into Georgetown if we can get good quality cheaper accom as already splurging at Casa del Mar on Langkawi (& Singapore & KL!!).

So any thoughts on good, less pricey alternatives to E&O in Georgetown & the Shangri La at Batu Ferringhi?

MichaelBKK

You might have a look at the Sheraton. It's been a few years since I stayed there, but it was certainly a nice enough hotel at the time. It's on the edge of old town, not far from the E&O.

KMLoke

I stayed at the Sheraton years old and didn't like it.

You can consider staying at one of the Gurney Drive hotels. They front the esplanade, near a shopping mall and the Gurney Drive food center.

Kathie

rcw, have you checked specials on the E&O website? We got our suite (all the rooms are suites) for half price on their website and the rate included breakfast.

It really depends on what you are looking for. The E&O, besides being a fabulous hotel is walking distance to basically all of Georgetown. There are various hawker centers nearby. We found better hawker food right in Georgetown than we did on Gurney Drive.

JamesA

For July I saw about US$ 209 for the E&O for 2 people in double or twin, including tax, service, breakfast, I don't know if that's good or not.

rcw

Thanks for those suggestions everyone. I'll keep an eye out for E&O specials as it sounds & looks wonderful.

Happy travels!