Established in 1885 by the Sarkies Brothers in Georgetown, Penang, E&O Hotel is a hotel of old, colonial charm
Noted as the grand dame of heritage hotels, E&O Hotel was relaunched on 3 April 2001 after an extensive refurbishment and upgrading of the heritage building in the 1990s
As one of the most famous hotels in Georgetown, E&O has one of the best sea views of Penang and even has its own stretch of walkway next to the sea where you can get perfect views of the sunrise and sunset. In terms of exterior look, it is undisputedly familiar looking as it is extremely similar to the Raffles Hotel in Singapore. This is purely because they were established by the same Sarkies brothers and are considered sister hotels
The hotel has 2 wings: the heritage wing and the victory annexe. The Victory Annexe is an extended wing that opened in 2013 featuring 118 Studio Suites and 14 Corner Suites. The new wing retains the old-world ambience and charm and combines it with modern-classic design as seen in their spacious and posh lobby area
The Heritage Wing is the original historic site characterised by its Moorish minarets and a soaring echo-dome lobby. You can also spot the signature sights of khaki-clad doormen and pith-helmeted bellmen at the door welcoming guests to its 100 elegant suites. Along their lobby corridor, you can also find some black and white photos of some of their most famous guests since its inauguration
Since we were only staying for 1 night for the experience, we went for the rooms at the Victory Annexe which is the new wing. We got one of the rooms with its own private corridor which was quite a cool layout as it felt like a home corridor
The room was huge by today’s standards with 2 huge twin beds, an armchair at the reading corner, an antique TV cabinet as well as a retro-looking desk for guests to work. It is difficult to find such retro-looking TV cabinets in modern hotels as the TV is hidden within the cabinet and the other cupboard at the side stores amenities like water kettles, cups, glasses and ice buckets. Due to the side of the cabinet, the TV was quite small for the room size and reception was very bad with static running across the images. The bed were semi-firm and the pillows were extremely soft so I did not get a good night’s sleep. The air conditioning was working well with the ceiling fan giving a nice breeze to help you sleep better
The bathroom is on the left of the room door and is by far one of the largest hotel rooms I have stayed in for the price range of less than SGD 300 per night. Fitted with a colonial-styled French door, the bathroom has 2 separate sinks in the front section. The back section has the bathtub in the middle, the standing shower area is on the right, and the toilet is on the left. Personally, the bathroom was too huge for me and I did not like the hollow feeling of the space when you are only utilising the shower area for example
There is a balcony in every room facing the sea so it is quite nice to catch the sunrise and sunset from the room if you do not mind the blazing heat. Due to the heat, I did not step out onto the balcony at all except to take this photo
The room rate came with breakfast at the restaurant on the ground floor. The restaurant space was spacious and filled with many tables to serve all of their guests
The selection at breakfast was extensive with the usual Western breakfast items like baked beans, sausages, different kinds of breads and pastries. The Asian varieties include fried rice, dim sum, nasi lemak, porridge, and roti prata. fried noodles and other hot dishes. There is also a fresh fruit juice area and espresso coffee which is made on order. The taste and flavour of the food were pretty general with the Malaysian delights more on the spot for taste
Overall the stay at E&O has been comfortable although my friend had quite an unnatural experience in her room which led her to not being able to sleep the entire night. This will probably be our only time staying at this hotel as the layout is not one of my favourite kinds and the emptiness due to the spacious room can be creepy
Address: 10, Lebuh Farquhar, George Town, 10200 George Town, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
Room Rates from SGD 185
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