Guest Reviews

Locavore: "A.M.A.Z.I.N.G"

"It's just crazy how the guys and gals in the kitchen put together the meals. We enjoyed every single bite of our 7 course meal which turned out to be something around 16 courses! The drink pairing was perfectly fitting to the dishes. Service was nice and we had a great talk with the chefs while they were cooking since we were sitting at the kitchen bar, which was also an amazing experience. Thanks to the whole team and we are definitely coming back if we ever go to Bali again (and that might happen as well)"

Neeleshwar Hermitage: "Spa/restaurant/beach"

This place is one of a kind. The location is beautiful. The seafood is excellent with authentic Kerala food. Our room is awesome and very rustic. The beach was beautiful. We were surrounded by wild life and everything was wonderful.

Mathis Retreat: "Zen devant les rizières"

A beautiful place, quiet in front of the rice fields, good food, staff very Karine care very welcoming, available to show you the best place in Ubud word "super" Catherine and Jean Louis

Tugu Bali: "4 day get away"

Very surprising when approached from the road- one would not expect the interior or reception that you are greeted with - the antiques / pictures / statues dotted around are quite fascinating - the staff are more than willing to enlighten you on the history and ethos of the owner.

Cheong Fatt Tze – Blue Mansion: "A Truly Unique And Special Place To Stay"

"The Cheong Fatt Tze Blue Mansion is an incredibly unique hotel. Built in the late 1800’s, the mansion was the family home of Chinese businessman and politician Cheong Fatt Tze. The mansion symbolized his wealth and prosperity, with extraordinary detail given to the original building and restoration. In modern terms, it’s one of the most “Instagrammable” buildings I’ve ever seen! Keep reading to find out why I highly recommend staying at the famous Blue Mansion. THE HISTORY The original version of the Cheong Fatt Tze Blue Mansion was built with 38 rooms, 5 courtyards, and 7 staircases, and is one of the largest buildings of its kind outside of China. Feng Shui played an important role in the design of the mansion, and each part of the layout had a specific a purpose. For example, the number of open air courtyards is because water is seen as wealth, so the more rain you have naturally coming into the house the better. Once that water was inside, there are winding drainage pipes to keep the water underneath the house as long as possible before flowing outside. There is so much history behind the building that the Mansion runs daily tours several times a dat so you can learn about the Mansion even if you are not staying there. However, I would still highly recommend booking a room because the tours only cover the common areas and not the guest rooms to maintain guests’ privacy. While the tour is still worth it if that’s your only option, staying in the hotel itself allows you to have the full experience and get better pictures! THE ROOMS The Blue Mansion has 18 rooms, each with its own name and backstory. I was in the Escoy room, named after an old smelting company in Penang. Located on the ground floor, the room had beautiful tall ceilings, detailed gold carvings, and plenty of space to spread out. In addition, there are little heirlooms and authentic 19th century furniture scattered throughout to give it even more personality. The rooms all have amenities that would have made Cheong Fatt Tze himself jealous, including a large HDTV, speedy wi-fi and a heavenly rainfall shower. It was truly a unique experience to stay in a place with such history, while still having full access to luxury amenities! THE FOOD Breakfast is served each day in the central courtyard, which is where the “Feng Shui” is strongest. The staff does a great job transforming the beautiful open air courtyard into a wonderful breakfast spread. There is a self-served area for pastries, toast and fruit, as well as made to order hot dishes from the waiter. You can also choose local flavors to be ready for your day! There is also a wonderful on-site restaurant called Indigo which was also great. Located upstairs above the central courtyard, Indigo fuses Eastern and Western culture in both the food and the ambiance. The in-house chef creates wonderful dishes each night, with each dish looking like a piece of artwork itself. The lamb and fish were especially good, so be sure to make a reservation during your stay! THE LOCATION Once you are well fed, you’ll see the Blue Mansion is perfectly located to many walkable sites. Given that Penang is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, there are countless beautiful buildings and little areas to visit. These include the Clan Jetties, Little India, and Red Garden, a great night food market which is literally next door! One of my favorite parts of the location was is the short walk to many of the famous works of street art dotting the alleyways of Penang. Be sure to grab a map and ask the concierge for the locations of the art because some of them can be tricky to find but worth the effort! CONCLUSION Staying at the Cheong Fatt Tze Blue Mansion was one of the highlights of my entire trip to Malaysia. The history behind the building itself is extremely interesting and the hotel itself was beautiful. Be sure to bring a spare memory card when you visit because you will take countless pictures of both the Mansion itself and all the amazing sites nearby. The Blue Mansion is a very special experience and I highly recommend staying with them next time you are in Penang! Stayed January 2017, traveled as a couple"

Labyrinth: "Excellent"

Staff are great, they take every effort to cater to your needs and food allergy. They also spend time to explain each dish for you. Music and ambience was great too. Eating pace was comfortable.

Manda De Laos: "Best duck I’ve ever eaten"

"We got here around half 6 without booking and managed to get a table for 2. We ordered a cocktail and ice tea which were both delicious. For food we had the Laap balls to start, which were 6 meatballs with a dipping sauce, very good and just the right size to share as a starter. For main we had the tamarind duck and the buffalo steak with one serve of crunchy coconut rice. The meats were cooked to perfection. The buffalo was the requested medium rare and the duck just slightly pink and very tender with crispy skin. Even the rice was delicious, it came as a good size portion, enough to share between 2 with the generous servings of meat. Although the most expensive food we have had in luang prabang it was by far the best meal so definitely worth the little bit extra!"

Manukan Island Resort: "Great relaxing break"

"We stayed 2 nights in hillside villa 11. Boat trip over and back was included in the room cost. After a small mix up we travelled over on a day trippers boat which was fine. We were welcomed off the boat and taken through to the small reception room and given refresher towels and a drink while doing the paperwork. We knew we wouldn’t be able to get into our room straight away so had come prepared to swim. The pool was lovely and was never busy so we always felt like we were the only ones there. We relaxed on the beach until our room was ready an hour early. The room was amazing, beyond expectations. Everything was modern and clean. We were shown through and informed that the soft drinks in the fridge were complimentary which was a lovely touch. The view from both balconies was incredible and as our room faced away from the jetty we really didn’t even know day trippers were there until we went for a walk. The TV had a range of channels, the air con and fans worked well, and the hot water was easy to use just by turning on the switch half and hour before you wanted to use it. We were surprised to find the food was cheaper than at sutera harbour resort and just as lovely. We only had dinner at the restaurant the first night. The second night we decided to try the cheap take away stall near the beach mid afternoon and then just had snacks for dinner. The food at this stall was ok and really cheap. We had rice with beef and black bean sauce for 7.50rm. Breakfast had 6 items to order from but then they also brought extras to your table including fruit, bread to toast over coals, yogurt, juice and cereal. It was one of the more relaxing and enjoyable breakfasts I have had while travelling and certainly plentiful. We decided to travel to Sapi Island to go on the coral flyer and Ben organised for us to go on one of the island hopper boats. It seemed quite expensive to us but we were ok with that. Unfortunately the Coral flyer was fully booked when we got there but we enjoyed a snorkel and look around Sapi anyway. The internet was intermittent. We managed to log on in the mornings and evenings quite quickly but during the day it seemed more difficult. This didn’t really bother us as it is nice to be without internet and not constantly checking it. The things that we didn’t enjoy about Manukan Island were way beyond the resorts control so would in no way negatively review the resort for them, but here they are. The water was very murky. That was probably the biggest disappointment. I’m guessing that time of year and number of boats can affect that but for us it was almost zero visibility. We were fortunate to see a lot of wildlife, some more friendly than others. We spotted the birds the island is named after on our way back from sunset point as well as some fireflies. We saw a rhinoceros beetle and some geckos on our balcony. We spotted a couple of monitor lizards around the island. Now the not so nice ones. We had a snake go across our balcony but were assured it was harmless and Ben said he has only seen a handful in all his years on the island. Then we had a centipede in our bath. As soon as we informed staff it was gone within 5 minutes which was appreciated. When we left we were walked out to the jetty and put on the resort boat and waved off. Amongst the boards of day trippers this made us feel pretty special. We were the only ones on the boat and the trip back was smooth and easy. Over all I would highly recommend Manukan Island as a lovely relaxing get away, just don’t expect to spend the whole time snorkeling."

Cheong Fatt Tze – Blue Mansion: "Take the tour!"

"Beautiful building - thoughtfully and aesthetically restored. There are three tours a day, 11, 2 and 3:30. Make it your priority and if you are there on a Friday, it's your lucky day. You will see why. The tour gives you a good perspective of the history and the lifestyle of the elite of Penang."

Les Maisons d’Itac: "Classy. Serene. Best staff."

If you want to go to Cebu for whale watching, canoneering, island hopping, snorkeling etc. this place is the perfect place to center your vacation. Kudos to the manager Bryan, the cook Marivic and our tour guide to Kawasan and Aguinid Falls Mervin.