I had the chance to stay at one of the fully-restored heritage hotel in heart of Georgetown, a 5 minutes walk from the iconic KOMTAR during my recent trip back to Penang.
The 33-rooms, 2 storey heritage hotel used to be called Embassy Hotel back in the late 50s with a kopitiam on its ground floor which today has been restored into The Catch, while the hotel takes on a classier new name .. Le Embassy Hotel.
Checking into the hotel is easy, a small deposit and you are on your way up to your room on a little glass elevator. I got a Queen Counselor Room on the second floor at the corner of Jalan Burma and Jalan Transfer, a room which is slightly bigger than the other counselor rooms in the hotel.
The hotel has 3 room categories – the Attache Room which are bunked bedded, the Counselor Room for 2 pax and comes in either a Queen or two Twins and the larger Ambassador Room suited for 3 pax with a Queen and a Super Single. However as a single traveler during that trip, the Queen Counselor Room makes the most sense.
As you enter the room, you will find the room to be spacious, and nicely decorated with hints of the 1920s Art Deco details. There is a work table, not too big but definitely enough for my oversized laptop and you do get a nice ergonomics work chair to sit on. On the work table you will also find a nice swivel mirror that you don’t find often in a hotel room
As for the sleep quality, you do get a comfortable bed with 4 plush pillows and nice comforter but if you are a light sleeper, you might find it a bit noisy with sound on traffic along Jalan Burma but luckily these days Penang sleeps much earlier than before. So if you are a light sleeper, I suggest you request rooms that faces Jalan Transfer rather than the busier Jalan Burma. But for me, I sleep OK with noise or music or street noise, so it was a good night sleep here for me.
Bathroom is nice with the classic tiles and the light through the green-tinted windows, giving it a nostalgic feel as I remember having these type of windows in one of my old houses while growing up. The water pressure is good and the Rosslyn toiletries are nice to use and nice smelling too. Only thing I didn’t like too much is that the bathroom gets all wet after a shower.
You are just minutes away from the Tops at KOMTAR, Glass Museum, Dark Mansion – 3D Glow in the Dark Museum and surrounded by so many amazing food spots in Penang.
In the morning if you chose not to have your packed breakfast (which I did have their nasi tomato with ayam masak merah and it was fabulous), you can choose to take a easy 5 minutes stroll to the famed Transfer Road Roti Canai or you can walk across to Macalister Lane for one of the best Koay Kak and Chee Cheong Fun in town.
For lunch, you can head across the street for some wonderful Hainanese food at Hai Onn restaurant or over to Bee Hwa Cafe for some Muslim friendly Penang street-food. Penang Road Teow Chew Cendol (together with some good Penang Char Koay Teow or Assam Laksa) is also just around the block or you can head out to New World Park for a variety of wonderful Penang favorites.
For dinner, you can enjoy some fine cuisine at The Catch just next to the hotel or an easy 5 minutes will get you to one of the best Penang Prawn Mee place – Green House Prawn Mee. There are also some fabulous Briyani places nearby to the hotel, all within walking distance.
For my recent trip .. I was happy that I got to enjoy my Green House Prawn (or Hokkien Mee) for dinner and for breakfast, after my nasi tomato in the room, I did manage to get out to enjoy my Transfer Road Roti Canai, and then the Macalister Lane Char Koay Kak. For lunch I drop by New World Park for some Bangkok Lane Mee Goreng and then back to Hai Onn for some Hainanese Char, Choon Piah and Roti Babi. A truly satisfying gastronomic trip to Penang and all these made easier with my stay at Le Embassy as parking in a few of these food spots can be challenging.
Le Embassy Hotel
12 Jalan Burma
10050 Georgetown Penang
Tel: +604 227 6363
Website: www.leembassy.com.my
Email: hello@leembassy.com.my
