Do you know how long “Holiday Inn” has been around, globally? This brand is certainly well-known. I mean, I have heard about Holiday Inn since I was very young – of course, back then I never got to stay in any hotels simply because we could not afford it. When I was a kid, I used to think that only the very rich can afford to stay in hotels.
Holiday Inn is a mid-scale hotel brand, probably the best and most well-known in the world. It has been around for 63 years and that’s something to prove its worth.
One of three properties in Malaysia, Holiday Inn Resort Penang was one of the very first hotels to dot the Batu Ferringhi strip. Back in 1979, Holiday Inn Resort Penang opened with its Beach Wing and in 1992, their iconic 24-storey Ferringhi Tower joined the property across the road.
Holiday Inn Resort Penang was recently awarded as one of the Top 10 Best Family Resorts in Malaysia 2015 by “Holidays with Kids”, a prestigious Australian magazine. Read on and you will understand why this resort so deserves this recognition.
The Beach Wing houses 161 guest rooms on 7 floors. After their last refurbishment in 2010, all rooms are now equipped with 32” LCD HDTVs, new beds with 100% cotton linen, a choice of hard and soft pillows, free wifi and cable internet.
We stayed at the Ferringhi Tower across the road from the Beach Wing and both properties are connected with a covered link bridge. All rooms were refurbished in late 2011 and we loved the bright spaciousness of our Kids Suite. There’s a 40” LCD HDTV in the master bedroom while the kids’ twin beds face another smaller tv and a Playstation 3 with games provided. Iphone dock, wifi, tea & coffee making facilities and all other regular amenities are available in our suite.
I love how the bathroom is fitted out with multifunctional showerheads, a long bath and even a pack of kids toiletries – they think of everything!
For guests with very young kids, choose the Family Studio configuration where the two kids’ twin beds face the parents’ bed, just so that the parents can keep an eye on them.
The Beach Wing Kids Suites are decked out in various themes, just for that extra bit of fun. I love this room configuration with the bunk beds for the kids. Separated by a partition, the bunk beds, with a 3rd pullout bed are housed with a tv and PS3 – kids will go nuts over this.
We love this 3-bed configuration!
Seaview from Ferringhi Tower
Lobby of Ferringhi Tower
All the public facilities like the Terrace Cafe, Lobby Lounge, Hari’s Bar, Dolphy’s Kids Club, games room, swimming pool and function rooms are located in the Beach Wing.
The Terrace Cafe, Lobby Lounge and Hari’s Bar are located just beyond the reception area and they kinda merge seamlessly into each other, giving a very relaxed and casual ambience to the resort. Oh yes, just beyond that, maybe 20 steps away, is the beachfront.
As Holiday Inn Resort Penang prides itself as a “family resort” there are always lots of activities happening. The pool is the centre of action, I’d say as that’s the place to hangout, even right after breakfast! I adore the lush greenery surrounding and beyond the pool where rows and rows of deckchairs are arranged for people like me to just laze there the entire morning.
There’s something very soul-soothing about lying semi-horizontal on a deckchair facing the deep blue sea, the blue sky above (yes, everything was blue and clear during the days we were there!) and feeling the sea breeze fanning my face. And all this done in the shade of tall ancient trees and thick green shrubs flourishing on the property.
There are hair-braiding, manicure, pedicure and reflexology services available on the hotel grounds. I was told the reflexology therapist is very good at what he does but unfortunately I didn’t have time to try that. Poh Yee, however got her hair braided and she was really happy with that!
While the adults laze around, kids staying here would have a blast. Holiday Inn has always been well-known as a kid-friendly hotel and there are loads of activities and facilities to support that.
Whether it’s coloring, flower pot painting, keychain making or cartoon watching – the youngsters are in good hands at the Kids’ Club. On a mission to revive traditional games, the resort’s games team is ever ready to teach kids how to fly kites, play congkak, throw marbles and top-spinning! I think it’s great to keep these traditional games alive and encourage kids to play them as many do not even know such games exist.
Hitting those marbles was not as easy as it looked!
Culinary enthusiasts would be happy to know that there are free cooking classes conducted for guests as well. There are also sepak takraw, beach volley ball and water volley ball to burn off all those calories before the next feast.
At the Resort Center in Ferringhi Tower, there’s a Wii station, pool tables and table tennis tables to keep the energy levels up. A fully equipped gym is also located just right there.
Well-equipped gym to burn off those calories, if you must!
Did you know that kids eat for free at Holiday Inn Resort? Up to four kids 12 years of age and below eat for free from the Kids’ Menu, when accompanied by at least one family member dining from the regular menu. Of course this is available at on-site restaurants, for registered guests only and limited to four kids per dining family. Their kids menu has been refreshed and designed in partnership with Nutrition Australia, a globally recognised leader in nutrition.
The breezy Terrace Cafe was where we had our meals. The breakfast buffet is ever popular and having the 1st meal of the day with the sea breeze blowing in was a real treat. I could sit there for hours, especially when even the pigeons there were ever so friendly!
Holiday Inn Resort Penang is also the only resort in Batu Ferringhi with 2 Indian resident chefs. Did you know that this hotel serves some of the best Northern Indian fares on the island? There’s Chef Laxman (from Delhi) and Chef Poojari (from Bangalore) in the house and you will be spoiled with all kinds of Indian delights from shagutti, biryani to tandoori favourites.
We had a scrumptious feast of Murgh Tikka (boneless chicken in cream cheese and spices), Tandoori Jhinga (tiger prawns marinated in yoghurt, cream and spices), Jhinga Masala (prawns in thick tomato sauce and spices), a unique delicious Dal Makhanee (black lentils with butter, cream and spices) which I’ve never had before. Oh, their Murgh Makhanee was splendid – moist juicy pieces of tandoori roasted chicken smeared with butter. We polished all these off withbutter and cheese naans and a bowl of delectable Mixed Vegetables in herb cream sauce!
Dal Makhanee & Jhinga Masala
While we were there, we had a chance to savour some special dishes from their Culinary Ambassadors, some talented and award-winning celebrity chefs. This was part of their IHG Culinary Journey promotion.
From Theo Randall, we dined on some rustic Italian dishes:
Buffalo Mozzarella
Roasted Seabass with spinach and fennel
Panna Cotta with raspberry and vanilla
From TV celebrity Sam Leong, we savoured a few Singaporean-Chinese creations:
Tempura Lychee stuffed with Crabmeat
Wok-fried Chicken with Home-made Black Pepper Sauce
Mango Pudding
Vikas Khanna, one of India’s hottest celebrity chefs, inspired these dishes:
Tandoori Malai Chicken with mint chutney & pickled onions
Chicken Tikka Masala with oven-roasted Vine Tomatoes
Masala Chai Brulee
Now, my dear supportive readers, with the school holidays coming up very soon, here’s a chance for you to win a 3 Days/2 Nights Stay in a Kids Suite in Holiday Inn Resort Penang for 2 adults + 2 kids up to age 12! It’s inclusive of 2 Buffet Breakfasts for the adults – the kids eat for free anyway 🙂
All you have to do is answer these 3 simple questions:
QUESTION 1
For the Beach Wing Kids Suites, there are 3 fun-filled deco themes your kids can choose from. Name ONE of those deco themes.
TIP: Answer can be found here:
https://www.facebook.com/pureglutton/
*And while you are at my FB Page, maybe you can “Like” it too? THANKS 🙂
QUESTION 2
If you need to use a PC (personal computer) during a stay in Holiday Inn Resort Penang, where are the PC stations located?
TIP: Answer can be found here:
http://penang.holidayinnresorts.com/
QUESTION 3
Why do you want to stay in Holiday Inn Resort Penang?
Closing date for this is midnight of 25 November 2015. Winner will be notified and announced on 26 November 2015.
Please send in your answers to me at: [email protected]
I understand the resort is currently having some amazing deals, like their Perfect Getaway Package is from RM270++!
As detailed above, this Family Friendly Resort features a wide selection of room types from hillview to seaview to suit your requirements.
Please book directly with the resort by calling 04-886-6666.
HOLIDAY INN RESORT PENANG
72 Batu Ferringhi
11100 Penang
Holiday Inn is part of the IHG – InterContinental Hotel Group. IHG hotels provide more than 700,000 hotel rooms globally. There are 9 trusted brands under IHG.
For more information, check out www.ihg.com
*Photos without the PureGlutton watermark are compliments of Holiday Inn Resort Penang