Gurney Bay Hotel, A PARKROYAL PARTNER HOTEL

Very nice, large hotel with spacious rooms. Hospitality and service was great

I recently stayed at the Gurney Bay Hotel, and it was a massive letdown from checked in. For a hotel operating under the GHA banner, the experience was subpar and frankly embarrassing for the brand.

Lousy Service and Zero Elite Recognition
The front desk experience was poor. Despite being a GHA Titanium member, there was absolutely no recognition or value provided. It felt as though status is completely worthless here; if you’re looking for the elite treatment GHA usually promises, you won't find it at this reception desk.

Outdated and Inaccessible Bathrooms
The room design is stuck in the past. I was shocked to find that the showers are all integrated into bathtubs. In an era where we are increasingly aware of the needs of an aging population, this setup is unacceptable. It is a total lack of consideration—if not outright discrimination—against guests with mobility issues. Having to climb into a tub just to take a shower is a safety hazard and a major design flaw.

Email "Ghosting" and Lousy Tech
The communication has been a joke. I emailed them and received zero response, yet when I confronted them, they had the audacity to show me a screenshot of a "reply" they supposedly sent. I trust my Microsoft Outlook server far more than their lousy hotel servers, which are probably still stuck in the 1970s. The whole experience has been nothing but excuses after excuses.

Poor Management and Bizarre Work Culture
When I brought these concerns to the Duty Manager, the response was even more frustrating. The manager seemed completely untrained, simply claiming that because the hotel is "old," they have no choice regarding the bathroom design.

To make matters worse, when I asked to escalate the issue, I was told the General Manager does not work on weekends and staff are strictly forbidden from "disturbing" him. It’s an incredible culture they’ve built where leadership is unreachable during the hotel's busiest days. "It’s an old hotel" is a lazy excuse for failing to renovate, and "the boss is off" is an even lazier excuse for poor service.

Final Verdict
Gurney Bay Hotel is a "clown hotel" that is currently disgracing the GHA branding. It is high time GHA revisits its partnership with this property. If the management isn't willing to modernize or train their staff, they should leave the Discovery program entirely to avoid dragging down the chain’s reputation. Avoid at all costs. I cancelled the reservation, walked over and booked Marriott Penang and the experienced is totally different.

Just look at their lousy scores on TripAdvisor. This is a bad mistake on my part to try to use them despite the lousy 3.8/5 score. I wished I can give them 0

We stayed at the Gurney Bay Hotel in Penang as a family of three in August 2025, and overall had a very enjoyable experience.

The hotel itself is well maintained and spotlessly clean. We stayed in a Deluxe Suite, which was impressively spacious, featuring a separate bedroom and living area, along with two bathrooms. Everything was in excellent condition and clearly well looked after.

The staff were a real highlight of the stay—consistently welcoming, friendly, and very helpful throughout.

The location is also a strong point, with easy access to shopping malls and many of Penang’s main attractions. While there is currently no beach directly accessible, I understand that one is planned as part of the ongoing waterfront development, which will be a great addition in the future.

Breakfast was enjoyable with a good selection, although dinner was a bit underwhelming in terms of food quality. That said, the service during dinner was excellent and made up for it to some extent.

The hotel has a small swimming pool; however, we chose not to use it after noticing a child urinating in the pool. It would be beneficial for management to monitor this area more closely, as improved supervision would make a big difference to the guest experience.

Penang itself is very easy to get around. We found Grab taxis to be extremely convenient, affordable, and simple to book via the app. I would also highly recommend taking a trip up Penang Hill via the funicular train—it’s a great experience with fantastic views.

Overall, aside from a couple of minor issues, our stay was close to faultless, and I would happily recommend this hotel to others visiting Penang.

Our room attendant Zahidul has taken great effort in preparing our room for a pleasant and comfortable stay. We appreciate his service

Hotel is well maintained, the moment you walk in to the hotel it makes you feel safe and comfortable, staffs were very attentive to your presence, room is well clean daily, room attendant ensure all the amenities are well replenished.

Formerly known as Evergreen Laurel, now under PARKROYAL management, this is a property that exists in limbo—caught between its glory days and an uncertain renovation timeline. The location on Gurney Drive is undeniably excellent, with easy access to malls and hawker food, but this hotel demands patience. The rooms are spacious with decent views, and the breakfast spread offers variety, but the overall experience is marred by dated infrastructure, inconsistent service, and several annoying operational issues. If you can get a good rate and keep expectations modest, it's acceptable. But don't expect a smooth, modern five-star experience—this feels more like a tired 3.5-star property riding on past reputation.

LOCATION: The location is genuinely one of the hotel's strongest assets. It sits right on Gurney Drive, and while the much-hyped "sea view" is now blocked by ongoing land reclamation and construction work that makes the waterfront look like a construction site, you're still within reasonable walking distance to Gurney Plaza and Gurney Paragon (though it's a solid 15-20 minute walk, not the "close by" the hotel claims). The new Gurney Bay park is nearby too. But, You'll need taxis to get anywhere beyond the immediate Gurney area—it's not centrally located for exploring Georgetown's heritage sites or reaching Batu Ferringhi beaches. The hotel is isolated enough that you're stuck taking Grab everywhere, which adds up.

DINE + DRINK: The breakfast buffet at The Café has decent variety—Western, Asian, Malaysian, and Indian options—but execution is sloppy. Food replenishment is poor; The vintage coffee vending machine has multiple non-functioning buttons and dishes out unpalatable coffee. If you want better food, walk to the nearby hawker stalls or Bali Hai seafood restaurant down the street

ROOM: We stayed in Room 1804, which was a suite, so this review is based on that; SIZE: Spacious enough for 2 adults with a nice LIVING area and a seperate Bed room area.; VIEW: Sweet views of the sea front and the Andaman Island from big windows ; AIR-CON: Perfectly functioning cooler that helped in setting the perfect room temperature; BED: Comfortable bed that played the expected part of putting us to sleep; BATHROOM: Good sized bathroom with a Stand-in shower; TOILETRIES: Good spa quality toiletries. The minibar is stocked with free drinks and fruits, which is a nice touch.

FACILITIES: Very dated Gym with a basic range of weights, workout stations, and Cardio machines. The outdoor pool is pretty big and great for an Aqua workout or a chill out lounging.

SERVICE: Friendly staff that cared for all our needs with a smile and made us feel at home and well taken care of.

HOW WIRED YOU WILL BE: Free Wi-Fi that works well all over the property, and the speed is good! Big Smart TVs in each of the room - dishing out a wide variety of channels spanning sports, news, music, movies, and entertainment in multiple languages

had a wonderful stay at this hotel. Omar at reception was very helpful with the e-tab registration and gave a warm welcome, even following up with a courtesy call to check on my room satisfaction. The room was beautifully arranged with a sea view, elegant décor, and great amenities. Nasir, the room attendant, kept everything spotless with daily cleaning, fresh towels, linens, and bath amenities.

Overall, the service was excellent and my stay was truly memorable. I will definitely return!

(Stayed in from September 9 to September 11, 2025)

The interior of Gurney Bay Hotel looked like stuck in time capsule. It sparked nostalgic feeling like it was in 1990s era. Despite look obviously dated, the hotel was well maintained. Some of the technologies had updated to the latest one, with the sole exception television, which still use old flat television from early 2010s before smart TV become norm.

The room was very spacious. Understandably, since I ordered Suite Deluxe Double. The bedroom area had large and comfortable bed, alongside with large wardrobe. The bedroom area was separated with the living room area. The interior was very luxurious and elegant. Facilities on the room was adequate, even had a microwave. The room, unfortunately had dimmed lighting, normal for 1990s hotel. Each room had one television. Unfortunately, the television had poor quality image and limited choice of channel. Unacceptable for five stars hotel standard. For the bedroom, I gave score 8.5 out of 10.

The spacious area was more pronounced at the bathroom. The main bathroom had a shower, a bathtub, a toilet, and two sink. There was another bathroom near the front door consisted of toilet and a large and luxurious sink. The shower use dated system (separate hot and cold tap), so need to learn how to use the shower for those aren't accustomed with old style shower. For the shower, I gave score 9 out of 10.

Speaking about the breakfast, there were plenty choices of menu either Chinese, Indian, Malaysian or international. It was delicious. For the breakfast, I gave score 9 out of 10.

We really appreciated the upgrade to a suite on the top floor. The suite was very spacious and comfortably furnished. Staff were generally very friendly and helpful. A good example is housekeeper Miah, a hardworking, friendly and outgoing person who took good care of us. Here is someone who enjoys their job and gives his best. The hotel is conveniently located, a short walk to the famous Gurney Drive food centre and to bus stops.

​"The internet connection speed is incredibly slow and this ongoing issue has unfortunately not been fixed. This lack of resolution is genuinely very disappointing and frustrating for all users."

Gurney Bay Hotel indeed with staff, services, rooms and facilities of Five Stars Standard.
Thank to Mr Nasir, Room Attendant of my stay Room 1725. His excellent service kept the room and toilet clean and tidy. Well Done.
Gurney Bay Hotel at favourable location within walking distance to nice and popular Gurney Plaza and delicoius and affordable food from Hawker Centres and Eateries along Gurney Drive. Great food from Coco Island Street Food, especially satay and durians
My first stay at Gurney Bay Hotel and a memorable one.
Excellent Gurney Bay Hotel. Thank

I stayed at this hotel in Room 807. The hotel is very beautiful and the room I received met my expectations. The breakfast was very delicious with a wide variety of choices. However, when I wanted to make coffee in the room, the cup had stains, and the bedsheet also had stains that were covered with liquid paper, but it was still acceptable.

What really needs attention is the attitude of the front office staff. They should be more friendly towards guests, regardless of status. I checked in and checked out with the same staff member. Does this hotel provide training for staff to serve only certain guests? This is a 5-star hotel, not a budget hotel. The staff had no eye contact, no smile, and not even a greeting. He didn’t even ask how our stay was. I usually stay in 5-star hotels and the staff are always very friendly and kind, but this particular staff member did not seem suitable to be at the front desk.

However, thanks to Mr. Malik from the Front Office for his good service when we inquired about a late check-out.

Good experience and friendly staff !

Nice staff, property starting to show age but still nice. Bathrooms need upgrade.

Very spacious room and friendly staff. Central location with a fantastic view to the harbour

Fantastic service. Was welcomed with open arms.

Good breakfast and lunch spread.

Outstanding conference facilities.

Thank you Benny Chung and his team.

Friendly staff and clean room

The staff are all super friendly and helpful

the staff was amazing, the rooms are clean and spacious, location very convenient and the food was diverse and good.

Good