hi Rickt and welcome to HT.
We stayed at the Park Royal in 2001. Great hotel. We did not eat at the hotel as we wanted to try the local restaurants- and they were fabulous!(if the Net is still there, give it a go. Don't be put off by the corrugated iron roof!) The Park Royal had a very lively bar which was great for the early happy hour and also to come back to after the night out. Make sure to catch the sunset down at the beach bar. If we return to Penang we would go back to the hotel or to Golden Sands close by.

hi rickt!
we are staying,at this hotel in nov.
we are really looking forward to it,so will let you know,how we got on,when we get back.
we are flying over,to bali for 3 nights.we got some cheap flights,with air asia,so we thought,why not?
have you thought of,visiting anywhere else?
tracy

I will also be visiting KL.
How easy is it to purchase flights when there can you just go to KLIA and buy a flight that day( I was thinking maybe Singapore I have travelled to it by train once before it was a long slow journey but very cheap).

Hi Rickt
Have a look on Air Asia website we got a flight from Penang up to KL for 9 pound return.Booked 3 days in Singapore also when we were in Penang just went into Georgetown to the Singapore Airlines office and got flight and accomadation package for about 75 pounds.

Hi Rickt

Came back from Penang in April this year (11 of us) and we all had a fab time. We all just chilled rickt but there are the usual local sites to see, temples etc! Sorry no recollection of that hotel as we stayed at the holiday inn.

Great restaurants especially italian at the top of the main street, highly recommended by us all and the restaurant next door. Also the ship nice place to eat and all dirt cheap!

A must is a visit to the market, get your bartering hat on, goods all genuine immitation lol but great quality.

Like I said we just chilled in Penang as we had a hectic 4 days in Singapore before. Great place and loads to see but buy god was in hot and humid!

Visited Kuala Lumper in 2001 and if you have any questions or want any advise rickt I will try and help?

Which hotel have you stayed at in KL (have been yhere a few times but always looking for different hotel recommendations)

hi,
I've stayed in KL a few times. Istana, Sheraton Imperial, Ritz-Carlton and the Mandarin Oriental. Loved the location of the Mandarin and the pool. Great suites in the Sheraton and Ritz-Carlton

I know where the others are but can't think were the Sheraton is.

I have stayed at Quality Hotel (avoid). Dorsett Regency (very very average), Istana (good location, service in the club floors was great but furnishing could do with rejuvination), Shangri-La (excellent, average location), Park Royal(very good hotel, great location)

Hi
I have been to KL twice,i love the city, it is a very walkable place,with great shopping malls.
I stayed at the shangri-la hotel, which is excellant,and in a great location between the petronas twin towers and the menara tower.
The petronas twin towers are an amazing sight,and at night they are lit with differant coloured lights. There is a park with great fountains and cafes around ,plus a huge shop mall all attatched to the towers.
Chinatown is also worth a visit, and just outside the city are the lake gardens and bird park,and the batu caves. Also frim,a small forest/jungle with a brilliant canopy walk.
Have fun
sue

Hi All

My husband and i are going to penang 10 nov this year. We are going to visit the War Cementary in Taiping to place flowers on my uncles grave. He died in a Jap pow camp. No one has been able to visit his grave before. We will be there for remembrance Sunday.

If there is anyone who has past family or friends laid to rest in taiping and they would like a photo of the head stone or some flowers place on the grave then i would be happy to do so. Just get in touch and let me know.

We laid flowers and took photos of my great uncles grave in Hong Kong. As he also died during the war I never knew him but it was a surprisingly emotional moment. That is a lovely gesture, offering to take photos for others.

Thanks Fiona

I do feel very sad for all the young men who have never had anybody to visit their grave and pay their respects.

But worse still their poor mothers who waved off their sons never to see them again. My grandmother could never in a millon years get to Taiping.She could never had closure a terrible thing for a mother.

It must be nice for your family to know that you have taken time and trouble to visit your great uncles grave.

Re your trip to Penang, we stayed at the Holiday Inn, next door. The big downside is the beach, which few people us e because of the jelly Fish, which,if one gets you, will ruin your holiday. I agree with previuos contributors about eating out - just up the road there is the local hawker stalls whcih serve cheap and excellent food, and do not be put off by the fact that they look a bit rough. The restaurants are good but more expensive.

What to do - apart from an Island tour, you can get the bus into Georgetown. Every bus goes to "Komtar" which is the telecom tower - you can go up the tower for excellent views of the city and over the water to Butterworh

The Park Royal has got an excellent reputation. I have ben to Penang 4 times now -stayed once at the Bayview and the other times at The Golden Sands but people speak highly of the Park Royal. The local restaurants are wonderful - The Long Beach hawkers for food is great - looks an awful place but the food is wonderful, The Kampong ,happy Garden - 2 excellent chinese, Mairios for Italian .... The stalls along from the Parkroyal on the beach are supposed to be excellent for fish - only ben there in the afternoon to have a ice cold beer. While in Penang you need to go on the local bus its an experience on its own, visit the botanical Garden, go up the fenicular railway, visits into Georgetown , the butterfly farm. The only down thing about the whole holiday is not being able to go in the sea. This year we saw 2 people who had been stung- a young boy and then a female who looked in alot of pain. Enjoy

I have been to penang twice, and I hold such a love for this island, the people are out of this world so genuine so nice. The food will send your taste buds mad, I suggest you go down to the market and check out the food stalls, the food is amazing and far too cheap :D.

We stayed at the golden sands so can't really help you with the royal park, however I did use the pool there, which was lovely. Hope you have a lovely time.

One more thing if you get the chance go to a little restaurant opposite the golden sands, it's by a little stream and the restaurant is under a canopy, the owner knows my grandparents very well and they give really good service.

Warning though once you have food over there when you come back British food will be such a let down.

I like the sound of Penang and the sightseing looks good but the only thing putting me off is the fact that all the hotels in Batu Ferranghi look v.modern with no authentic 'feel' - i.e Anantara Hua Hin, Tamarind Chiang Mai, however I still would like to give Malaysia a go.
Which hotel in Penang would offer the following - a lovely pool area with greenery, comfy rooms and an asian feel, also not too many kids slides etc, your help would be appreciated, thanks.

If you can wait till late 2006 then the redeveloped Rasa Sayang might be worth a look.

The Eastern & Oriental in Georgetown may suit.All accomodation consists of suites,very well furnished.The hotel was totally refurbished about 4 years ago to a very high standard.Unlikely to be many if any children there,certainly no kids slide by the pool.The refurbed Rasa Sayang when it opens is likely to be priced out of reach of most people since it was closed in the first place with the intention of taking it upmarket.

thanks for your replies.
I will certainly look at the Rasa Sayang as an option as although it will be expensive I will probably only be there for 4 nights as will be travelling to other areas so maybe if it looks good we will stretch to it, we are looking at lte 2006 so should be fine, thanks again.