not bad

Written: 19 january 2011
Travel time: 8 — 14 january 2011
Who does the author recommend the hotel to?: For a relaxing holiday; For families with children
Your rating of this hotel:
7.0
from 10
Hotel ratings by criteria:
Rooms: 7.0
Service: 7.0
Cleanliness: 8.0
Food: 5.0
Amenities: 7.0
Unlike the Shangri-La Wing located nearby, where the entire interior area is covered with large trees that deprive you of the opportunity to sunbathe, in this hotel the interior area is quite free and cozy. The beach is good, but the sand is quite coarse. There were no more than 10 sunbeds on the beach and they did not belong to the hotel, but were provided by the locals for some money. You can rent a water scooter for 500 rubles for 20 minutes or fly on a parachute for 700 rubles.
The restaurant at Shangri-La Golden Sands loses a lot to Shangri-La Wing.
The cost of the hotel is much higher than expected (for both hotels).
We had the following situation - we first settled in Shangri-La Wing in a deluxe room with a sea view. This room cost $400 per night. Upon check-in at the hotel, the administration immediately blocks the money for the entire stay PLUS 50%. That is, for 10 days of stay, they blocked 6.000 dollars on the first day. Be prepared for this.

The room was an ordinary room with two beds (deluxe family option), nothing special, furniture shabby, there is a balcony.
The restaurant is great, but quite expensive - buffet dinner + drinks 4 beers + juices will cost 120-150 dollars.
On the 5th day, we decided to move to a nearby hotel, a more family type Shangri-La Golden Sands - there are more pools and an area open for sunbathing - in general, the standard.
The previous hotel continued to block money for another 7 days, and this hotel blocks money on the card in the same way.
To reserve a room, we used one trick suggested by a friendly administrator: we booked a standard room via the Internet (200 dollars per night) and paid extra for an increase to the Suite level (2-room with two bathrooms, a very spacious room on the top floor) another 130 dollars. As a result, with taxes, it turned out 400 dollars a day. In general, it's okay. The restaurant was very disappointing.
I was also surprised by the methodology for solving different situations (such as help). I needed help communicating with the local airline to change my flight dates and the hotel kindly offered it, but later found out it cost $20 to call a nearby town (Georgetown is 20 minutes away). The fact is that in fact they are selling a phone call at the price list of the hotel, under the guise of customer service.
And finally, though in Russia, it turned out that Russian rubles (about 40tr) disappeared from my wife's and me's bags. We kept the dollars in a safe and could not think that someone here would need our rubles. So, be vigilant.

In general, the hotel is not bad, but be vigilant and picky.
There is probably no better hotel in Penang. But this is Malaysia. The prices are like in Europe, and the service is so-so.
I hope my review helps.
Translated automatically from Russian. View original
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