Eastern And Oriental Hotel

“A Perfect Venue for an Anniversary Celebration”

Our organization held a small seminar to celebrate our 20th anniversary at the Francis Suite in E&O Hotel, and we all loved the venue. The suite gave us the feeling of a private event, with beautiful natural light from the windows and a separate adjoining room for coffee breaks, which worked perfec… more

Our organization held a small seminar to celebrate our 20th anniversary at the Francis Suite in E&O Hotel, and we all loved the venue. The suite gave us the feeling of a private event, with beautiful natural light from the windows and a separate adjoining room for coffee breaks, which worked perfectly for our group. The dinner was excellent. The chefs did a wonderful job with the Western set menu, and the tiramisu was a real highlight! All of our participants loved both the rooms and the beautiful sea views. They really complemented the atmosphere of our anniversary celebration and made the whole experience even more memorable. A special thank you to the sales team, especially Dephany Goel and Suyi. They did a great job following up on every detail and took a lot of pressure off our organizing team. Since our organizers were based in three different countries, they communicated not only by email but also through WhatsApp and phone calls to make sure everything went smoothly. Throughout the event, we heard nothing but positive comments from our participants. Thank you to everyone at E&O for helping make our 20th anniversary celebration such a memorable one.

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“An elegant experience from a more charming era of travel”

Greetings Readers, Salty here after a bit of a travel hiatus with work, life, and health issues. After shivering through last winter in our tar-paper shack in the mountains outside of Sydney (the construction apes here wouldn’t know a bale of insulation from a piles of brick if they fell over them… more

Greetings Readers, Salty here after a bit of a travel hiatus with work, life, and health issues. After shivering through last winter in our tar-paper shack in the mountains outside of Sydney (the construction apes here wouldn’t know a bale of insulation from a piles of brick if they fell over them drunk on the job, which they typically are), we vowed this year to seek some sun and skin cancer in more tropical climes. Mrs Croc was a bit tired of Singapore and wanted something more exotic, but in the general neighbourhood. We were not attracted to Thailand or Indonesia with their hordes of drug-fuelled westerners lying comatose in the streets or beating the living daylights out of each other in drug-affected stupor. So, we settled on the UNESCO listed town of Georgetown on Penang Island Malaysia where the local authorities (my kind of folks) promise death to drug traffickers, and they mean it. Now, Penang Island is a good-sized place, and it is a working city with a thriving electronics and manufacturing industry. We wanted to be close to jewel of the island, which is historic Georgetown, a time capsule of 1973 Malaysia before skyscrapers and modern air-conditioning were widespread. And we had wanted to stay at the E&O for some time, but we thought it was too expensive. That is until the Glorious Sultan of South Florida decided to climb into the UFC octagon cage that is the Middle East and grind tourism to a halt. The E&O advertised some amazing specials in April, and we leapt at them. I am very glad that we stayed there. Penang traffic is certifiably insane, and had we stayed out a Batu Ferringhi, which was the alternative, it would have taken a good hour each way to get into and out of Georgetown through the shambolic traffic jams. Plus, we would have been stuck out at the rapidly eroding beach with nothing but a laundromat and convenience store for dining outside of the local resorts. The E&O is on the edge of Georgetown, and most area amenities are walkable, provided you don’t venture out into the mid-day sun and instead lounge around the magnificent pool (more on that later) working on your melanoma. The E&O was an absolute delight. It has the ambiance and historic feel of a place from a bygone era when travel was slower and more elegant than being packed like a sardine into a tin can hurtling through the stratosphere. The ideal way to arrive would be by steamship at their private jetty, but that is all a thing of the past. We journeyed there by taxi at 7pm and it took well over an hour to get there from the airport in the crushing traffic. We had a spectacular room on the 15th floor of the Victory annex with a very private balcony overlooking the strait to the mainland and Butterworth. The room was gorgeous, with aircon that stopped when we opened the balcony doors, a large ceiling fan on the high ceiling, a large ensuite with tub, his/her vanities and wardrobes (Mrs Croc couldn’t complain about my shaving whiskers), and a large tub and shower (handheld and soaker). There was also a desk, large television (which we didn’t even turn on), a mini refrigerator that didn’t work at all, a nespresso machine, a convenient writing desk, a reading chair and lamp, and a balcony with a table and chairs. All-in-all it was a lovely, spacious room tastefully furnished with era-themed decorations. All in keeping with the idea that guest should dress properly for dinner and the obligatory drink at the bar prior that. Farquhar’s bar looked the real deal in terms of expat 1930’s watering holes; I kept looking for Ernest Hemingway in his Key West getup or Noel Coward in a linen suit smoking a pipe. We ordered the breakfast buffet, and this is an essential component to any stay at the E&O. There are several options: the full international buffet at the Sarkies restaurant or a stripped-down version of this and a British a-la-carte breakfast menu on level 6. We tried each once and then stuck with the International Buffet which is superb. I had a large breakfast every morning and skipped lunch most days. We did manage to walk around Georgetown in the mornings before the sun and humidity became too overpowering for even a mad dog like me, and in doing so we happened upon the Kenny Hill bakery just across the street and down a laneway from the E&O. I can highly recommend their fantastic assortment of cakes and a large ice latte all served in air-conditioned comfort. Dinner at the E&O is very pleasant experience. The absolutely delicious food is very reasonably priced and plentiful. The char koay teow is superb, and while more expensive than in some of the food halls, it also much nicer. We wound up eating dinner there about half the time simply because we thought food was excellent. (If the E&O ever issued a cookbook, I would purchase a copy.) The afternoons were spent at the magnificent heritage wing ground level pool where the UV index was about 11 out of 10, and the water was every bit of 29C. Just what Salty needs to soak in. There is another pool on level 6 of the Victory Annex, but it is more exposed to the wind, and the water was considerably cooler. Don’t bother stopping there and head right to the Heritage Wing pool as your room card gets you into both places. If you are feeling peckish, there is an outstanding poolside menu to order from. Now, let me get to a few drawbacks. The E&O is in Malaysia, and that means certain compromises. The electrical wiring of our room was the strangest electrical circuitry that I have encountered. To get the ceiling light in the ensuite on required flipping three switches scattered around the room into a very specific pattern. There seemed to be a couple of wall switches in the bathroom that did absolutely nothing, and the 230V North America plug for the hairdryer was absolutely dead so Mrs Croc had to use the hairdryer while using the European power plug at the writing desk (go figure that one if you can). Cold drinks from the min-fridge came with the room, and it would have been nice if the fridge got colder than 30C. I did call down and report this issue, primarily to make sure that we weren’t subject to a breakage bill, and the electrician was sent to examine it. The very nice young lady looked at, agreed with my diagnosis of a dead compressor, and mumbled politely ‘so sorry, no replacements available’. I was prepared for this outcome because it is Malaysia, and you must remember that you are not in Singapore, where a replacement would have been purchased and installed by dinner. Malaysia is different, and as the electrical wiring of the room showed, it works in a sort-of-good-enough way, but not probably as good as it should be. The whole country is like that. The MRT in Singapore can get you almost anywhere, where as the Penang MRT is 7 years into construction with piles of dirt lying everywhere along major roads and the promise of first line completion in another 6 years. If you want Singapore efficiency, stay on the airplane and fly 90 minutes down to Changi Airport at the other end of the Malacca Strait. You will not get that in Penang, but what you will get is an authentic Malaysian experience. In summary, I can’t recommend the E&O highly enough. It is Georgetown’s premier historic hotel. You simply can’t do better. General Manager Alison Fraser and her wonderful staff have built the Malaysian equivalent of the Raffle’s Singapore experience. Go and savour it.

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“Stay at the best hotel in George Town and see the sights with driver/ guide Zul”

We loved our stay at the E&O Hotel. It has a great location with a sea view, a spectacular infinity pool with excelent poolside service, and friendly, helpful staff who introduced us to Zul, our fantastic Driver/ Guide to the wonderful sights of George Town. My husband and I spent 3 fun days in G… more

We loved our stay at the E&O Hotel. It has a great location with a sea view, a spectacular infinity pool with excelent poolside service, and friendly, helpful staff who introduced us to Zul, our fantastic Driver/ Guide to the wonderful sights of George Town. My husband and I spent 3 fun days in George Town and needed a local guide to show us around and explain a bit about local life. Zul was very friendly, honest and flexible to our needs, especially when it came to coping with the heat. He took us on two half day tours, as well as to the airport in his cool, clean comfortable vehicle. Zul made us feel like old friends, not just tourists. We highly recommend that you stay at the E&O and book Zul when you next visit George Town. Contact: Zulyusrizal +6012 472 9267 tok_yu@hotmail.com

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“Excellent Location and Service, but Ready for a Refresh”

The hotel enjoys an outstanding beachfront location, with direct sea views and a beautiful swimming pool that makes the stay even more enjoyable. The service is of a high standard. Every member of staff we interacted with was professional, friendly and helpful, whether at the restaurants, the rece… more

The hotel enjoys an outstanding beachfront location, with direct sea views and a beautiful swimming pool that makes the stay even more enjoyable. The service is of a high standard. Every member of staff we interacted with was professional, friendly and helpful, whether at the restaurants, the reception, or the Cornwallis. Their attention and willingness to assist really enhanced our experience. To fully deserve a five-star rating, however, I believe the property would benefit from a thoughtful refurbishment. The rooms and public areas could be modernised while preserving the hotel’s elegant Victorian character, which is part of its unique charm.

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