Guest Reviews

Cheong Fatt Tze – Blue Mansion: "An architectural, heritage & historical delight… a ‘must-do’ in Penang"

"In my subjective view, the Blue Mansion – Cheong Fatt Tze – stands alongside the Penarakan Museum as the two premier ‘must-do’ heritage attractions in George Town. Both are situated in historical buildings and are tangible testaments to the rich history and culture of the Straits Chinese in Penang. However note that there are differences between the two establishments. The Peranakan Museum is, as the name suggests, a museum; ie a depository of Peranakan artefacts. On the other hand, the Blue Mansion is predominantly a building of heritage and architectural significance, with a tremendously rich history relating to one of Penang’s most historical and influential identities – Cheong Fatt Tze. While there are artefacts on display, the focus of the attraction is the heritage building and its history. Additionally, the mansion operates as a boutique hotel and fusion restaurant. One of our aims is to return one day to experience staying as a guest. We met some in-house guests and their comments, on accommodation experience, were extremely positive. The Blue Mansion’s website lauds that the building is ‘a quintessential legacy of Penang’ and, having experienced it, it is well-deserving of that claim. It is an architectural delight that has won numerous international and local awards, and has been featured in movies, travel documentaries and publications. The heritage project was the vision and passion of local architect Laurence Loh along with his family and friends. To say I am exceedingly impressed with their herculean effort is to make an understatement. The Lohs should be congratulated for preserving a key component of Penang’s – and to a wider extent, Straits Chinese’s - history. On our recent tour, we were privileged have as tour guide, the vivacious Lin Lee Loh-Lim, who is the author of the book “The Blue Mansion: The Story of Mandarin Splendour Reborn”. It was a tour that we would have enjoyed given the enthralling building and interesting history, but she elevated our enjoyment by her lively and animated nature. It was superb. Lin Lee was kind enough to autograph a copy of the book (available in their shop) and it now resides in a position of pride alongside my other architectural books. Tour times: 11am, 2pm & 3:30pm Duration: 45 minutes Cost: RM17 (adults). RM8.50 (child under 12) There is something I wish they would consider and that is, allowing tour visitors to experience the building’s inner (but public) spaces for a few minutes after the guided tour – just 10 to 15 minutes perhaps. This will allow visitors to absorb and appreciate the building properly, which is not always possible when visitors are concentrating on the historical narrative during a guided tour. A visit to Penang will be lacking somewhat without a tour of Cheong Fatt Tze - The Blue Mansion. Highly recommended. Thanks for reading this review and my gratitude should you rate it as helpful. Life is short... go travelling and enjoy life today!"

Sea Dance Resort: "Friendly paradise"

"We' ve been there for couple days. Bungalow, breakfast, pool, beach and staff-everything was perfect. We never had such a familiar feeling with the staff. They were so friendly and interested in our belongings. Exceptional was Dani from the front desk. Thank you seadance for the perfect time! Christian and Maike"

Nam Bo Boutique Hotel: "What a cute little 7-room boutique hotel!"

"Centrally located, facing the pier and walking distance to the old market, Nam Bo is not only cute but located in the heart of the live part of Can Tho. Ideal to stay before/after a cruise on a Bassac Boat . and Nice restaurant on the roof top with view on the river"

Villa Song Saigon: "Villa Song made Ho Chi Minh City a magical stay"

"Villa Song is beautifully located on the Saigon River, with gorgeous views for 220 degrees. While away from the downtown, there is no problem with access: the boat shuttle is less than 15 minutes and a stunning architectural tour of HCMC, and taxis are inexpensive. The Villa Song is an oasis of calm with wonderful service that is attentive without being intrusive. Gracious, accommodating, impeccable. Room Tip: Rooms on second floor with a balcony are worth the extra price."

Mrauk U Princess Resort: "Beautiful Mrauk Oo Princess Resort"

"The Princess Resort is a lovely place to simply unwind after sight seeing around Mrauk Oo. There is a pool, spa, walking areas and wonderful resturaunt. The property is quiet with lovely tropical flowers and the staff very attentive. It is accessible by boat, which when the tide is against you is a long ride. But, the scenery on the way is wonderful. It is about 45 miles from the main town of Sitwe, so somewhat remote. Room Tip: All the rooms are excellent"

Dewakan: "A wonderful experience!"

It's my first time trying the modern Malaysian cuisine and it was amazing. Never knew that our local ingredients can be so versatile. Kudos to the chef team for their adventurous experiments. Full of surprises and I did enjoy all the new flavors dancing on my palate. Love the wine and fermented beverages pairing.

Tiger Mountain Pokhara Lodge: "A Unique Experience"

"We chose this ""add on"" to our small group Saga tour of India and Nepal. It turned out to be the best possible decision. It is difficult to write about without overdoing the superlatives. So I will attempt to reign myself in. In a way it was the very best kind of late fifties/early sixties time warp. Style, grace and comfort, fine dining without the affectation that can spoil simple first class food. As much as possible was home grown and home made. The jams and marmalades just delicious on freshly baked bread. Nothing was wasted, it was an excellent lesson in green, sustainable tourism. Days ended with sundowners in front of a roaring fire.The chef was also kind enough to show me how to prepare one of the very tasty appetisers we enjoyed with our drinks. As we happened to be the only guests for dinner on our last evening we were treated to a table set in the small dining area in front of a log fire. We had five courses all freshly cooked and prepared right down to the final tiny crispy granola bars with coffee. We did enjoy a short walk to meet some of the locals and a great bird watching lesson from Harri.. I intend to start a new hobby now! There was plenty to do but nothing was forced on us. We were really tired after a strenuous tour and mainly wanted to enjoy the peace reading outside in sunshine, and have wonderful food....with choice between continental or local,,,, then tuck up in an enormous bed with hot water bottles at the end of each perfect day. We had three such days and were very sad to leave. Thank you Marcus and please thank your amazing staff."

The Island Lodge: "Absolute gem only 2 hours from Saigon airport"

"We just spent 3 fantastic nights at this hotel, relaxing, exploring the island, and eating fresh, delicious food. Can't rate this highly enough, and it's easily accessible from Saigon and the airport. Having said that, we were a bit disappointed as we passed over the huge bridge to Thoi Son island. In my mind, we were heading to a rural idyll, and I didn't see how the island could be rural when it has a motorway passing through one end of it! But 10kms later, after driving through the fruit trees down the one road suitable for cars, we arrived at the Lodge. And the setting is beautiful and quiet, surrounded by lanes through the fruit plantations and houses, and with a view of the ever-changing Mekong. Everybody we interacted with at the Lodge was friendly and helpful, and service was always with a smile. Some of the staff didn't have great English, but there was always someone around who did. The staff make the place, and we were really charmed by them! A special thank you to Giao, one of the waitresses, who remembered our orders from previous days and was always kind and friendly. The Lodge itself is wonderfully designed, with a huge open communal area which is subtly divided into bar and dining areas. The whole place is beautifully furnished and oozes style - I would like to transplant everything from the bar area into my house! We loved that there were so many different seating areas around the grounds, including a couple of pagodas, sofas, riverfront tables and a table right out on the pier for watching the sunset. The pool is warm, long, and spotlessly clean, with plenty of loungers and huge fresh towels. Bedrooms are clean and comfortable, and as stylish as the downstairs area. There were so many other places to sit and enjoy the view that we didn't really use the balcony, but it is a relaxing place to be. The food was unexpectedly good. There is a French and a Vietnamese menu, and food is fresh and well presented. They bake their own bread and croissants on site, and the smell of it in the morning and before dinner was a treat. It's an odd thing to recommend when you're in Vietnam, but the quiche lorraine was one of the most delicious things we ate on the whole trip! It's on the starter menu, but is big enough and rich enough to enjoy for lunch with some of the fresh bread. We also enjoyed the duck, and the tuna. And breakfasts were sublime, with everything made to order. There is a comprehensive wine list, and we also appreciated the fact that the house wine was very reasonably priced and very drinkable - thanks Michel! The Lodge offers tours, which we didn't do, but instead we took bikes out on two afternoons and explored the lanes and bridges of the island on our own. It's hard to believe that the big city of My Tho is only a few kms away when you're cycling around under the shade of the trees, over bridges that are 2 feet wide. At the very far end of the island, as far as the road goes, we stopped and had a drink at Mr Thanh's little waterfront bar and chatted to him about tourism on the island. He was an interesting man with superb English, and his wife makes a delicious cold lemon juice on a hot day. The only negatives: At a Lodge with eco credentials, I would have liked to see drinking water available as refills, rather than endless 500ml plastic bottles. And just be aware that the Mekong view is of a busy waterway full of commercial and industrial traffic, with industrial buildings across the water. In actual fact we really enjoyed watching the traffic and the change of the tides so this wasn't a problem at all, but we hadn't realised it wasn't looking out on to countryside. Thanks to all the staff at the Island Lodge. This really is a gem, and we were so pleased that we stayed for 3 nights rather than rushing through."

Cheong Fatt Tze – Blue Mansion: "Feels like staying in a 19th century building"

The property still retains its original feel, as the owners have used professional building conservation methods to restore the building instead of totally revamping the interior in accordance to modern interior design concepts. Recommend to attend the daily guided tours to know more about the history of the building and its 1st owner, Cheong Fatt Sze.

The River Resort: "Great place to stay."

"The River Resort lived up to our high expectations. At very short notice we requested our stay to be brought forward by one day and the emails were handled speedily and professionally. All our subsequent requests for services were similarly well handled and in a very friendly manner. The property is of a high standard and although we booked one of the cheapest rooms, its size and fittings were perfect for us. The bed was comfy, the a/c was efficient and Wi-Fi worked well over the whole resort. The restaurant comes in for special mention as it is exceptionally well run. It has a varied well priced menu, the food is beautifully prepared and we would particularly like to highlight Kraemer whose service level is impeccable and would not be out of place in a Four Seasons. A good place to spend a few days."