Atilla

Having got my flights booked O0 (out between 20 April and 11 May) I'm doing some research on where to stay. I plan on being in Penang more and think I will explore more to determine EXACTLY where to live when I am there full time, in no rush, and have a Malaysia base to operate from.

As such I plan to sort something out for KL for a few days and I suspect a hotel will be better for this. The Melia near Times Square (aren't they all ) has been mentioned and I will have a look at that.

For Penang I suppose a short term rental will be preferable. I like the look of the Century apartments: http://www.centurybay.com.my/accommodation.php

Pity there is no email contact option. I'm just wondering if they are thought to be well placed etc?? I suspect they will be more reasonable than a hotel and likely more private and flexible.

I also wondered though whether short staying at 2-3 hotels in different parts of town might be better. It depends on what the prices are like, the locations and the quality.

bakedbean

You may want to bear in mind that Century Bay is south of the bridge. You'll have a hire-car?? Traffic in centre of Georgetown is really grim. It's a problem. So if you're thinking of moving to where most of us move to i.e. up north of island, you face the prospect of sitting in gridlocked traffic if you're going north.

That area south of bridge you'll find a lot of local workers living there as you're not so far from the industrial south of the island.

I'm not going to tell you that the north of the island is the best - you'll have to check out for yourself - but you'll find majority of expats, especially the retired and semi-retired ones, in the area from Bt Ferringhi-Tanjung Bungah-Tanjung Tokong-Pulau Tikus. Personally I'd check with some of the hotels in Tg Bungah or along Gurney and see if they'll do you a special rate. I know a couple of guys who've just gone through the reccie stage. I'll send you a message a bit later.

By the way the area I mentioned, north of island, it's not ALL expats. Plenty of locals, majority Chinese racially, and they are real nice welcoming people.

Atilla

Thanks. That's Century out then. North sounds more appealing, esp if Chinese. I'll see if I can find some hotels on the net in those areas. Is Miami Green out that way? Might be an apt option there, not sure yet.

bakedbean

Miami Green is a nice condo. It's about 10 years old I think but well maintained. I've got a couple of friends that live there. Nice sunsets they tell me

Technically it's in Batu Ferringhi but it's actually about midway between central Bt Ferringhi and Tanjung Bungah. Ya it'd make a good base I reckon

Oh there are those that refer to the surrounding area as Miami Green. Never quite sure if that is correct or not

Atilla

Thanks very helpful. The intention is really to come for a holiday and ensure I like Malaysia/Penang in general, I suspect I will and I suspect it will be a better option for me than Thailand or the Philippines. On that basis I'm planning about 2 weeks or so in ROUGHLY the area I might be contemplating living now, even if once I get there full time it all changes.

From what I've gathered from comments so far both here and elsewhere I think I'll likely go for Gurney / Tanjung Bungha as a base (will certainly avoid south of the island and that excludes Century) and may see what I can sort out when I'm there. The option of using the G Hotel in George Town for a couple of days might be a good idea, rather than trying to book off the internet for the whole 2 weeks or so. Give me a chance to look at where they are, check the rooms and negotiate rates maybe. I'm assuming Miami Green is in this area?

One question on that location and taxis. One of the positives when I was in Abu Dhabi was the fact that I was just on the outskirts of the main hub in the city but taxis were abundant and dirt cheap. Is Gurney / Tanjung Bugha well placed or far from nightlife / restaurants etc and, if a fair distance, is getting around easy enough by taxi etc?

So, beginnings of a plan. Melia hotel maybe for two days, two days at the G Hotel then see what I can sort for the rest of the time in Penang with perhaps a day or two back in KL / Melia before I come back.

I was going to try and bring out my MM2H application but I think it may be a bit difficult. I moved money from several accounts into one (to save having to get loads of statements) and the ability to prove the 3 months liquid asset will be up on 8 May. That's no problem as I could print the statements out there and then. Problem is this LGC business that must be within 21 days. Timing that for my flight out on 19/4 will be tricky enough as it is but there's no way it would still qualify on the 8th May. I did contemplate dropping all the papers off bar one of the statements from the bank when I got there and dropping the last statement in when I returned to KL. Not sure it's more hassle than it's worth though and may just settle for waiting until I get back and bundling the lot off by courier.

Having done a bit of research on the Asia Travel site (on recommendation) it does seem some deals might be available by booking in advance. I suspect rates may be better by going for longer stays than skipping around for a few days here and there (I do get fed up of changing hotels too). At the moment the following hotels are showing up with these advertised rates:

Tanjung Bungah:
Flamingo Hotel 4*: 197
Copthorne Orchid (TB) 4*: 135

Bathu Ferringhi:
Shangri La 5*: 770
Golden Sands 4*: 450
Lone Pine 5*: 426
Park Royal 5*: 358
Hilton 4*: 260
Bayview Beach 4*: 249

Gurney:
Evergreen Laurel 4*: 260

Any comments on any of the hotels / locations? I've mailed them all for try and get rates down further and/or room upgrade / free internet etc for a 16 night stay.

bakedbean

From G Hotel to Miami Green will only take about 15 minutes by car. I've not a clue about taxis I'm afraid as we drive everywhere. Quite a few folk use the Rapid buses - might be an option I suppose.

Re the hotels, prob best to look at Trip Advisor. I don't think there's a Hilton in Bt Ferringhi unless that's something new. There is a Holiday Inn. We stayed there quite a few times but only because we had free stays from points we'd accumulated. I wouldn't recommend it and there's no free internet there. In fact even the exhorbitantly priced paid for internet didn't work properly.

Copthorne and Flamingo are nicely placed. Some friends of ours regularly stay at Paradise Sandy Beach and they seem to like it. In the same location.

ex reg

We used to stay at the Paradise but saw the Flamingo being done up so tried that and will use it in future now.
Flamingo is next to the Paradise.
Orchid is about 100m away but is a bit ols d and tired last we saw it.

Atilla

Thanks. Narrowing it down now.

My mistake re the Hilton, it is Holiday Inn. I tend to avoid those and the big chains by and large as they are often quite cold and corporate.

Favourite at the moment and in no particular order yet seems to be:

Flamingo Hotel
Evergreen
Golden View serviced apts

Possibly with the option of using the hotels just for a night or two if needed while I secure a rented apt for a month or 3 weeks, depending on what's available.

bakedbean

Go with an open mind won't you. If you're expecting Penang to be the Abu dhabi of s e Asia you will be disappointed. Singapore more in that vein

Atilla

Oh, I'll go with an open mind. Believe me, if I thought it was like Abu Dhabi I wouldn't be going

Lots of places to choose from to live, Malaysia / Penang just seems to be the one that will most likely fit the bill. If I'm wrong, I'll look elsewhere