Review: The Southern Boutique Hotel Penang (May 24-25, 2025)
This week, I visited Penang Island and chose two hotels to stay at. The first hotel is located in Georgetown, specifically on Jalan Muntri. Through the Booking.com application, I selected the Deluxe room type, priced at RM84.15. This price included taxes but excluded breakfast.
Since my flight was early in the morning, I arrived at the hotel around 8:15 AM. I immediately went to the counter and asked the staff on duty to keep my luggage while I went sightseeing at Penang Hill (Bukit Bendera).
Arrival and Check-in Process
I returned to the hotel around 11:30 AM and waited in the lobby. At about 1:30 PM, a hotel staff member called me because my room was ready. The official check-in time for this hotel is 3:00 PM. The check-in process was quick, and the hotel required a deposit of RM100. I was assigned a room on the ground floor, level with the hotel lobby.
The Deluxe Room
The deluxe room at this hotel is quite small, measuring 169 square feet. Upon entering the room, the bathroom is located to the left of the entrance door. Next to the entrance door on the right wall, there is a cabinet housing a mini-fridge (on the right) and a safe deposit box (on the left). Above the safe deposit box, there is space for luggage and an open rack for hanging clothes. The middle section of this cabinet serves as a workspace with a chair. On the desk, there are amenities for making hot beverages, including an electric kettle. The TV is wall-mounted above the desk, likely around 45 inches in size. To the left of the bed, there is a door and a window that opens onto the hotel corridor.
Bathroom Review
The walls of the hotel bathroom are entirely transparent mirrors, and the space is quite large. Although there are curtains on the outside to cover the bathroom, they do not provide complete privacy because the area near the entrance remains open. Inside the bathroom, there is a sink, a toilet, and a shower area. Next to the toilet bowl, there is a pipe coil, and the shower space is open, offering two types of showerheads.
The hotel only provides bath towels and toothbrushes. Notably, the bath towels are small and very thin.
Amenities and Connectivity
The complimentary Wi-Fi provided in the room had a speed of only about 10mbps. For mobile data:
- CelcomDigi speed was 779mbps.
- Tune Talk speed was 698mbps.
The hotel only offers three TV channels, none of which are in HD. One of the channels also lacked sound. The water pressure in the bathroom was not very strong, and it took a considerable time for the water to heat up. The hotel does not provide an iron in the rooms; instead, irons are placed outside the rooms for guest use.
Personal Impressions and Location
Personally, I really liked the interior decoration of this hotel. Although the room was small, it was beautiful and very clean. With a predominantly white concept, it looked luxurious despite the price being under one hundred Ringgit. I believe this hotel is currently underpriced.
The transparent bathroom, covered only by external curtains that do not fully close, might be an issue for families.
Location Highlights:
In terms of location, the hotel is situated in the heart of Georgetown. It is only 1km to Padang Kota or Komtar Building, and 7.8km to Penang Hill. The hotel does not have its own parking lot, but there is public parking available in front of the hotel, next to the Modern Hotel (which is owned by the same proprietor). Guests can purchase this parking from the hotel for RM12 per day.
As usual, I have included pictures of the hotel. If readers wish to read reviews of other hotels, please visit my website at https://hanuds.wixsite.com/hanudds or check my posts in this group. Thank you for reading! 😆
