Nestling in the Bosom of Penang’s Grande Dame

Text by JUHAN KAMARUDDIN Images by EASTERN & ORIENTAL HOTEL, PENANG

Eastern & Oriental (E&O) Hotel is one of Penang’s prestigious institutions that puts the island on the international travellers’ map. Definitively British colonial with Malaysian accents, this beacon of classic luxury has been in existence since 1885, the brainchild of the famed Iranian-born and Armenian-descent Sarkies brothers who founded a string of hotels around Southeast Asia that included The Raffles Hotel in Singapore and The Strand in Yangon. Interestingly, E&O Hotel – initially Eastern Hotel, then merged with Oriental Hotel – was the starting point of the brothers’ foray into the hotel business.

For the uninitiated, E&O Hotel, Penang composed of two wings: Heritage Wing, the original and historical part of the hotel; and Victory Annexe, the extension of the hotel completed back in 2013. To ensure E&O Hotel’s leading position as Penang’s most desirable hotel, the Heritage Wing underwent an extensive nine-month refurbishment on all of its 100 suites, public areas, and food and beverage outlets in 2019.

The underlying intention behind the exercise is to restore the Heritage Wing back to its former glory whilst retaining its timeless essence and historic integrity so that guests can be transported back to the Sarkies brothers’ heyday. Now reinvigorated and upgraded, the Heritage Wing, with its British colonial elegance, promises an ultimate staycation defined by more pronounced exclusivity and privacy. The property seems to spare no expense in capturing the romance of a bygone era for the enjoyment of today’s discerning travellers who walk through its doors.

On managing the public’s expectation from the revamped Heritage Wing, guests strolling along the walkway would feel themselves transported back to the olden days. Lovers of period designs and interiors should take note of the wrought iron grills that grace the hotel’s façade, including the hotel doormen’s two-piece khaki uniform complete with knee-high socks and pith helmets, known as Wolsely pattern helmets, alluding to the times when the British ruled Malaya.

Despite being luxurious, the hotel does not feel unnecessarily ostentatious or stuffily gilded, but instead comes off as tastefully relaxed, pragmatic, bright and airy with generously clever amount of space to move and breathe. With additional tropical touches, the hotel’s interiors now boast selectively muted, earthen tones that are typical in many world-class resorts.

The renovation is also extended to the Grand Ballroom, which comfortably fits 80 10-seater round dining tables, and more if the foyers on the upper floor were to be occupied as well. The facelift wonderfully accentuates the ballroom’s original elements. This pillarless space is one of the most popular on the island because it offers unobstructed views for the members of the audience, wherever they might be sitting.

Tip: Allow yourself to absorb the hotel’s dignified atmosphere and reflect upon its look and feel. Imagine how it was like when wealthy guests sashayed through the hotel’s doors and stayed at the hotel over a hundred years ago!

Suites & Facilities

For guests who stay at E&O Hotel’s Heritage Wing, they will be pleased to know that check-in is done within the comfort of their suites. Depending on availability, guests may check in earlier.

Each Heritage Wing suite is sumptuously treated with softer furnishings and lighter-coloured wallpaper, including doublepaned windows to ensure proper soundproofing. Old-school designed light and doorbell switches, including the greenshaded Banker’s Lamp with brass finish on the work desk, are fixed alongside more technologically-advanced features like smart flat-screen television sets, additional plug points and stronger Wi-Fi connection, allowing guests to appreciate the hotel’s past while discovering the delights of its refreshed minted appearance.

Tipplers will be happy to know that each of these suites come with gin, vodka and whiskey, apart from Harney & Sons teas, as new additions. Remember to take a swig of the refreshing homemade nutmeg juice from the bottle in the minibar too. Just so you know, everything in the minibar is free.

Heritage Wing guests are eligible for complimentary laundry up to three pieces of garment each time they check in. Speaking of garments, inside the wardrobe in each Heritage Wing suite, Malay-styled sarongs are hanged alongside the bathrobes to remind guests of the destination they are currently billeted. Efficacious toiletries that carry the Panpuri brand are made available through refillable dispensers mounted on the shower wall to reduce plastic wastage. Customary turndown service provided in the evening make the suites more restful and slumber-ready.

Once guests are done relishing their stylish suites, they can easily head down to the open-air saltwater pool within the grounds of Heritage Wing facing the sea. Alternatively, in case the weather is not agreeable, Heritage Wing guests are permitted to use the sheltered L-shaped infinity pool on the sixth floor of Victory Annexe, the same level where they can find Eastern & Oriental Hotel’s well-equipped gym. A caveat: guests who stay at Victory Annexe do not have reciprocal access to the pool and lounge at Heritage Wing.

Food and beverage outlets

Gaya Travel team adores the intimacy and homeliness of The Cornwallis, an inviting space bedecked with plump Victorian-inspired sofas that cleverly match the tropical Asian teak accessories and cupboards, including assiduously plastered walls interspersed with woven pandanus embellishments to reflect Old Malaya chic. The Cornwallis is actually an all-day, library-styled, intimate lounge where Heritage Wing guests get to enjoy complimentary breakfast, evening canapes and cocktails.

Breakfast at The Cornwallis is a low-key yet exquisite affair, which is a combination of buffet selections comprising homemade juices, yoghurt and pastries that accompany a la carte options, especially the perfectly cooked and comforting eggs benedict, which Gaya Travel team members never fail to order when was staying at the Heritage Wing.

Palm Court, located adjacent to the lobby, is ideal for diners to have tête-à-tête with business colleagues, friends or family over a delectable assortment of finger sandwiches, pastries and scones paired with a choice of beverage from 3:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m., the period when the outlet serves up its legendary three-tiered afternoon tea service. Due to its popularity, reservation is required to avoid disappointment.

For a remarkably unforgettable fine dining experience, guests should head to the handsomely furnished Java Tree, which dishes out classic European menu that includes gratifying favourites like beef Wellington, Dover sole, beef tartare, and French onion soup, on top of mouth-watering Nyonya culinary delights that hail from the former Straits Settlements (Penang, Melaka and Singapore) such as pais buah keluak (grilled snapper cooked with Asian truffle and Nyonya spices), pineapple prawn curry, and otak-otak (grilled mackerel cake) with a twist, among others.

Note: Palm Court, Java Tree and Farquhar Bar require guests to wear smart casual dress code to enter, especially after 6:00 p.m.

Conclusion

Without doubt, Eastern & Oriental Hotel, Penang significantly encapsulates the island’s success as a maritime trading hub shaped by Western influences that sits between South Asia and South East Asia. Well-poised, refined, and quietly efficient, E&O Hotel’s newly refurbished Heritage Wing radiates with splendour and finesse, living up to its stature as an ageless grande dame whose main intent is to cradle astute travellers in its bosom, assuring them that genteel travel is still alive and well, even in this individualistic, post-modern age…