Jawi Peranakan Mansion

We had an absolutely gorgeous stay at Jawi Peranakan Mansion! I can’t recommend this hotel enough. We stayed for three nights. The room was beautifully designed and comfortable. The staff was extremely helpful, service-minded, and friendly. And we loved cooling off in the pool. We’re recommending this to everyone we know traveling to Penang - if you get the chance to stay here, don’t miss out!

Undoubtedly one of best experiences, if not the highlight of my first visit to Penang and Malaysia in general. Beautiful, elegantly restored property with accommodating staff. Felt extremely safe and at home as a solo woman traveler.

While the mansion's architecture and design are truly beautiful, the actual stay experience fell short of expectations. The ground-floor room is particularly noisy, with street-level sounds like traffic and conversations being a constant disturbance. Adding to this, the proximity of the windows to the street meant that opening them for fresh air was not an option, as passersby were literally right outside. The staff were functional but not particularly warm or welcoming. Given these issues, I cannot recommend this hotel, especially for those seeking a peaceful retreat in Penang.

We booked 2 rooms for 3 nights as 2 couples for holiday trip. We expected a cultural peranakan experience in a mansion. But the moment we stepped into the premise, we realised we made the mistake booking this hotel. The receptionist, Mr Muiz checking us in was cold, unwelcoming and unhelpful. When I asked what was some of the interesting places to visit around there, he responded that "everything is interesting in Penang." Mr Muiz whom we later was surprised to learn he was in fact the hotel manager, When we checked into the room, it was rather dark and bare; no wardrobe, no hangers. You have to be on all four to use the hotel safe as it was placed at the very bottom of a small cupboard. No telephone, no kettle nor basic coffee/tea facility in the room, no compendium to explain what guest services were available in the hotel. In fact, we only learned from the night staff that the drinks in the refrigerator were complimentary which the hotel manager did not bother to tell us. The TV was not working when we checked in. When we told the manager that the cable channels were also not working and when it could we expect that to be fixed, he told us that he had already informed the cable company who would come within 24 hours to fix it. The next day I checked with him, he responded "you know this is Malaysia and you won't know when". It was only on the last day, we were told by one of the staff it was finally fixed. Would not recommend this hotel to my friends.

Very pleasant. Staff were courteous and helpful.