G Hotel, Penang

During the recent trip to Penang, my travelling companions and I stayed at the G Hotel; that G presumably referred to the road on which the hotel was located, the Gurney Drive. It is not rated officially, but self-rated as a four-star hotel, which I agreed. It is one of the newer and more modern hotels in Georgetown, the capital of Penang.

The hotel was about 30 minutes taxi-drive away from the Penang International Airport. It cost us RM38 to take a prepaid taxi. I would not recommend you to take other taxis, as they would charge you differently and there had been stories of them taking unscheduled stops at other touristy places.

The hotel was conveniently located next to one of the more popular shopping complexes in Georgetown (or was it the other way around?). The trendy Plaza Gurney is just a stone-throw away and provides everything that you would need, be it toys, clothes, PCs, laptops, groceries and fast food (Sushi King, Sakae Sushi, Nando's, Starbucks, Chilis, Segafredo, A&W and hawker food are among a few). Also nearby was the Gurney Drive Hawker Food Centre, which could get really crowded in the evenings. Penang was a place of mixed gastronomic adventures, so there was bound to be something for everyone.

The room was sufficiently sized and had all the amenities that any traveller would need. There was a free broadband internet service and it was really fast, but it was wired internet, so you would be stuck to the table to be online. There was a good-sized swimming pool and a decently- equipped gym. There were a few restaurants at the hotel, but we would rather go eat somewhere. For the clubbers out there, there was a club, predictably called the G-Spot, at the hotel, where you could get your complimentary welcome drink from.

Just one complaint about this hotel: it was really difficult to contact the Front Desk and calls to the Front Desk would remain unanswered. It would be faster to go down to the lobby and speak to the Front Desk staff directly. And yeah, another complaint: the coffee lounge and the bar were within the lobby itself and people smoked freely, so the lobby stunk of cigarette smell.

Taxi from the hotel to the airport cost RM50 in a hotel-appointed taxi, which was clean and efficient.

Look at the cute Santa's hat on the hotel's monogram.

The lobby of the hotel.

The hotel's Christmas tree - nowadays Christmas trees aren't traditional and green anymore.

Ref. this post, one of the cards with the Christmas present wish from an occupant of a boy's home. And he did not ask for much; he just wanted some hair gel.