4 Star Penang Holidays

Pushkar Mishra

One of the most serene beach resorts I have ever stayed at! Excellent location, right where the night market starts. Rooms are big, views are stunning if you have a top floor room, and vibes are great! The pool is understaffed at times and it can be noisy at times due to events like weddings being hosted, but nothing unbearable.

pan xiao

Liked: 1. The breakfast is amazing! With a big variety of good food suitable for different tastes. We loved their fresh veggies & fruits, yogurt, and cheese! The eggs station was also very efficient. The hotel offers different kinds of coffee and tea, human-made and machine-made, hot and cold. 2. The room size is good, it feels spacious and well-structured. 3. The hotel's soundproofing is good and it is very quiet at night. Disliked: 1. The 'Tourism Tax', which is special to Penang, Malaysia, for the UNESCO Protected Heritage's reason, was not mentioned anywhere. The hotel only updates Booking.com for this information. Everyone who booked the hotel in any other way would feel 'surprised' by the fact that this is not included in the 'Government Taxes & Fees'. 2. The housekeeping staff at the hotel is definitely understaffed, and it always takes more than an hour to send something to the room. 3. It often rains here at night, so the balcony always looks dirty, especially the bathtub on the balcony, with leaves and sand blown in by the wind. But this bathtub has no shower head, only a fixed tap, so we can't actually rinse the walls of the bathtub. We didn't use the bathtub once in our 4-night stay. 4. The trees in the hotel were so tall that we couldn't see any sea view at all.

Fiza Hamid

I was here with my husband to celebrate our wedding anniversary. We checked in on weekdays for 3 days 2 nights. It was very peaceful and at one point it almost felt like we own the place. Hehehe It is our first time at this hotel and we absolutely loved it. Everything was more than enough for us. The room, breakfast, accommodation, staff service, etc was so good for us. The staff at the front office, at the restaurant, the guards and even the housekeeping are splendidly friendly and nice to us. There are also other restaurants, mart, petrol station, kfc, McDonald's near the hotel which is walking distance. We find it very convenient for us. I would recommend this to anyone who wishes for a quiet and peaceful gateway. Definitely coming back here to try out other types of rooms.

Dewey Sloan

This is an outstanding boutique hotel. Very nice rooms, great views and location, good food attentive hospitality staff, nice quiet pool. The secret sauce to this hotel is the vibe and service. That starts from the top with one of the managers, Murali. She was attentive and very helpful suggesting things for us to do on our stay and providing arrangements. That filters down to all the staff. They knew our coffee orders in the morning and our drink orders at the pool. The cleaning staff took care of all our needs. Great local food is right outside the front door. I’ve been a Marriott member for over 35 years and I intend to make this gem a regular stop.

Sam Teong

This was my first visit here, and we felt comfortable and relaxed. The hotel is very kid-friendly, especially with the private pool in the room, allowing kids to play whenever they like. We stayed for 4 days and 3 nights, and child really enjoyed the pool. Plus, the beach is just a short walk from the hotel, right in front of it. There is plenty of parking available, so there’s no need to worry even if you return late. The staff are friendly and make you feel welcome. I would definitely stay here again if I visit Penang in the future.

Ennie Ghazali

We’d say Golden Sands is definitely a great hotel for families. The room and amenities were really satisfying and made our stay super comfortable. What stood out the most for us was the amazing customer service and concierge team. They were incredibly helpful and kind—especially the manager, who even helped carry our bags to the car and made sure my mom, who uses a wheelchair, was assisted all the way from the lobby. That really touched us. If there’s one area that could use a bit of improvement, it would be the breakfast. It was pretty standard for a 4-star hotel, and only the pastries and noodle station really stood out for us.

Emma Blencoe-Jones

We have been going to the GS for over 30 years. We were a young couple with a 18 month old when we first went and now as a family with a grandparent , parents, Aunty and grown up children including our wonderful daughter in law, we still go to GS. The hotels staff are wonderful, from the very warm welcomes from the team in the lobby, golf buggy drivers and receptionist team to the great housekeeping team and pool attendants. There is the genuine true Malaysian hospitality throughout the resort that makes all ages welcome. There is something for everyone here and I can’t wait to take any grandchildren that we may be blessed with one day. The food is lovely, so much choice and really fresh. Good selection of both local and international choices for breakfast. Special thanks to Simon the Chef who prepared my delicious noodles each day for breakfast. I wish you much success in your training Simon as part of the Shangri- La group, you will be amazing. I would also like to mention how beautiful the pool area and grounds are, it’s a true pleasure to sunbathe all day and play pool volleyball. Great way to meet lots of great people from around the globe ( who also return year after year ) and the referee is a real good sport. We had the pleasure to meet some of the team from the cool lounge Diniy ( AFOM) Shaweine ( GROM) Felicia, Ayre and Aimon. ( apologies if I have spelt the names wrong ) nothing was too much trouble, thank you everyone and I hope you enjoy your new role as customer experience manager and take on “ Mr Blue Eyes “ on front desk full time. The only reason I gave the room a 4 was due to the tired look, however I will say the rooms were cleaned to a high standard daily. We had a seafacing room with balcony on the 6th floor, beautiful view and it’s well worth the extra money. As people have commented before the hotel may not be kept up to date decor wise as a 5* Shangri-La however as the 4* it is rated and charged as, its good value , great hospitality , location ideal to local market, dining out etc but it 100% comes with the Shangri-La service and hospitality.

Byron Sim

A bit of a mix feeling staying here. First staff and service are first rate. Friendly, helpful doing their best. Rooms itself 95% great. Great beds, clean. Walls and furnishing is a bit dated but nothing to worry about. My 2 concerns/ issues I had. 1. Room air condition was somehow tied to balcony door but the door sensors were a bit finicky so sometimes my room aircond would stop working. Feedback 2-3 times they got it fixed but these are things that shouldn’t need fixing. 2. Bathtub rooms. The bathtub is on a different level than the floor. Made it a bit of a challenge to get in and out and it’s the only way to shower. It’s an accident waiting to happen so be careful. A simple fix is to have a small step before the bathtub. Overall good hotel, nice stay.

Jiaxin Lee

It was a wonderful stay with kids and their grandparents. They enjoyed to the max. The hospitality is wonderful, services maintained top notch, suitable for family to enjoy their time. I was served by Aiman at the front desk, it was a wonderful experience. Pool was great place for children. However it is sad that the beach is disappearing soon due to the climate. Overall great place and will revisit next time. Thank you for the wonderful time.

Muhammad bin Amri

I choose this hotel for my 1st anniversary and indeed, it really great place for us to celebrate and enjoy the surroundings around hotel. I and my wife are really satisfied with the service by receptionist. They explain everything about this hotel. We even got some refreshments and small gift after check-in. We pick superior double room, and the room is spacious and beautiful. We really enjoyed our stay here. During dinner time, we go to restaurant at ground floor. There are a lot of food that you can eat. You can pick whatever food you want. The foods is delicious, well-cooked and tasty. Since we make a reservation for anniversary purpose, they gave us a small cake for us to celebrate. Thank you so much to all staffs here by providing us superb hospitality since we arrive to this hotel until we checkout.

Carmen Lim

I think we had an awesome holiday here at the hard rock. Staffs were incredibly polite. It was amazing right from check in, bags get delivered, lounge, cocktail hour, rooms, beds, breakfast buffet. I even lost my hat and it was very quickly retrieved by the staff even after I have checked out from the hotel! We would be back in the future. Thanks so much!

Adelena Dass

It was a great first time for me to be in a hard rock hotel. Interesting experience, but there is room for improvement cleanliness and hospitality wise for rooms. And it's not worth paying the big amount during peak season. Best go during non peak . I have to say I've been to hotels which were cheaper and with better service and great cleanliness. Did not meet my expectations and it's just a facade. Everything is so expensive. Not worth

Aina Mazran

We had an amazing stay (3 days 2 nights) at Hard Rock Hotel Penang! We booked the Kids Suite, and it was super spacious and comfy — perfect for our group. It had a king-sized bed and a combo of super single + single beds that fit adults too. The decor was fun and clean, with two TVs (you can request a PlayStation 4!), and they had updated movies like Kung Fu Panda 4, Transformers, Deadpool and more — perfect for relaxing nights in. The room came with nice-smelling body wash and shampoo, and housekeeping was excellent. Our belongings were left untouched, and the room was always spotless. Just a heads-up: not many charging plugs, so bring an extension if you have multiple devices. We really enjoyed the Hard Rock Café — the char kuey teow, margherita pizza, and mocktails were great, and guests get a discount! The pool was huge with mini slides and water basketball, and the private beach had lots of activities like banana boat rides, horse riding, and volleyball. The cabana bar by the pool was also a great place to relax. The Saturday night live band added great energy, and the staff were all super friendly and helpful throughout our stay. The buffet breakfast was excellent too, with a wide variety of food. It’s a bit of a drive from the main night market area, but there’s a shuttle service if needed. All in all, a super fun, relaxing getaway. We’d definitely come back!

Ainin Najihah Asri

Hey, just wanted to share my experience! Had an awesome 3-day, 2-night stay at Hard Rock Penang. I booked the Lagoon Deluxe room for my mom since she uses a wheelchair, and it made things way easier. Big thanks for the warm hospitality! From the moment I arrived, they made sure to take care of my mom’s needs. Super happy with the service — definitely coming back! I actually booked and emailed them 3 months ahead, asking for a room facing the water park. And they totally came through — my room was right by the lobby, which was perfect since I brought my mom, who’s not feeling too well. It was nice to be close to the lobby in case of an emergency. The hotel’s facilities are also really wheelchair-friendly, which was a huge plus. One thing though — I think the breakfast spread could use a bit of improvement. The taste was a little mild, and there wasn’t much variety. Other than that, top-tier service! Will definitely come back again! 🤗🤗

Vijay Nair

Lovely room except had issues with the Aircond. Beautiful view and awesome pool especially for the kids. Nice location with many stalls within walking distance. Nice breakfast selection with decent options. The only bit is queuing up for a table for breakfast hence be prepared to wait :). Overall it was an awesome stay!