We are taking a last minute trip to Penang - leaving in 3 days, need help with accommondation and activities.

1. Accommondation
We are spending 4 days in Penang. Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion seems to be a great place to stay. But the original intention of going to Penang was to be in the forest and water(of course some time for culture too). Is Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion at a good location for these activities? How big is the island? I wouldn't prefer to spend hours commuting each day. Any recommended place to stay? Thanks.

2. Activities
Anything special you'd recommend? Thanks.

Do visit the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, but I wouldn't stay there. I stayed at the E&O which was fabulous! The forest and the water? I guess I just don't think of Penang as the place for that. The beaches are, at best, just ok. I think of it more for the historic Georgetown area and the hawker food. You might want to read my trip report - Penang, Chaing Mai and Bangkok from November, 2006. Do a search.

CFTM is a nice place to while away 1-2 hrs to soak in 19th century leftovers but definately not the place to stay. Yes, E&O is a good place to pad as it is just walking distance to many must-see hotspots like Penang Street, Khoo Kongsi, Kuan Yin Temple, Little India, Nyonya Museum and perhaps you can hop over to nearby Swettenham jetty to catch a ferry to Payar Marine Park, day excursion.

As for outdoorsy trips, most interesting nature sites (Bagan Krian fire-fly, Nibong Tebal shoreline aqua-farms, night river cruise .. etc, google this) are over the mainland. If you must go, try the new Penang National Park at Teluk Bahang. It's not properly developed yet, no signage, but there are rogue boatmen waiting at the jetty to give you a ride to the park. While you're in Teluk Bahang, take a peek at the Butterfly farm and Spice Garden.

Thanks for the tips!

So what makes CFTM not a good place to stay? Location? Service? E&O does have a good location + view + a pool. But it appears to be more a "hotel" than CFTM's uniqueness. Am I just looking at the photos too hard? Haha...

You are quite right that the CFTM is not a hotel. And therein lies the problem. Service there is minimal, the rooms are not attractive and really quite basic in terms of amenities. We chatted with some people who were staying there and they said that staying there was much better in concept than in actuality. They would not opt to stay again. And the rooms I saw I would not want to stay in.

The E&O is a hotel. It's a historic hotel, developed by the Sarkie Borthers (developers of a number of the "grand dame" hotels in Asia. One other that is still standing is Raffles in Singapore). The hotel was closed down for two years and was beautifully refurbished. The style and ambiance of the hotel was kept intact, but with modern conveniences. All the rooms are suites with huge marble bathrooms, all approprite to the period. There is no glitz anywhere. The location is wonderful, right on the water and as noted above, walking distance to many of the most intersting sights in Georgetown.

When I booked, the best rates were from the hotel's website.