Shangris La Golden Sands Hotel

This was our 4th visit to the Golden Sands & once again we were not disappointed. It is not the most luxurious hotel but very comfortable. The only fault is the rooms are a little bit tired however the staff are the most friendly & helpful you could find anywhere! Make sure you book a seaview room and request 4th floor or above - we never had any problems with the noise from the band. Dont miss:- 1. A burger for lunch at the pool bar 2. Dinner at the markets both across the road or same side of the road towards Holiday Inn - delicious local & western food for only a couple of dollars. 3. Breakfast or Dinner at Kampong Restaurant across the road great food 20 Ringit set menu 3 courses. Run by Andrew - very friendly and will give you some recommendations on places to see. 4. Fresh sandwiches for lunch ( yes - actual fresh bread - not toast - and salad! ) at the little restaurant in the alley next to the hotel - run by Andrews sister leeanne - it gets very hot in there during the day so order takeaway and pick it up 15 mins later. 5. The little bar on the beach next to the hotel - only serves beer & icecream but great view! 6. The BBQ buffet at Sigis in the hotel - best meal we have eaten anywhere in the world!

We moved from the disastrous Mutiara (looking at your reviews the aircon still has not been fixed!) to the Golden Sands to a family room-one queen bed, one single bed, one single sofa bed on level 1- great point blank views of the carpark and main road. But compared to the Mutiara still top notch and more 4.5 to 5 stars than a 4, at half the price. The carpet was new as was the furniture. Good quality stuff and nice touches like heated bathroom mirror and nice towels and slippers and free water. The Hotel combines old world charm with mod cons-ceiling fans no aircon in lobby give rustic colonial feel. Free tea and coffee and ice lemon tea at certain times. Food and service was good and the staff seemed happy and contented-some obviously with the hotel for decades. Even the general manager (from Columbia) joined in to help seat the guests for the breakfast crowd. he later hosted a free cocktail party on New Year's day. (Excellent Brekky actually with great choice and freshness). The pool side bar is great with 40-50% discounts from 5-7 PM! In fact the Golden Sands is I believe the second oldest in Batu Ferringhi when it was a mere two-storey house. The beach sports not connected to the hotel were dangerous-paragliding for the untrained-too near the kids on the beach-had to dodge the cords! Also underaged kids on motor bikes on the beach. Beach much cleaner than at Mutiara but diesel fumes and speedsters spoiled it a bit. I believe the govt. is trying to regulate these operators. The supervised pool provides great compensation though. Water Volley ball competitions and table tennis available. Big Tip- the oldest resort Lone Pine is right next door (to the right as you walk out of the main entrance) and accessible by beach. There has been some refurbishment-probably still would not stay there but certainly recommend the Hainanese Restaurant there-great traditional food-combination of colonial cuisine with Malayan favourites and Chinese (Hainan -an island province in South China -famous for its chefs and the Chicken Rice). Try such dishes as the Assam Fish curry, Curry Kapitan and chicken macaroni pie (where else in the world?!), salted fish with bean sprouts (best in the world), duck and yam claypot and special satay (no external sauce needed)-cheaper than the other resorts, twice as good, three times the character, attentive sincere service with mildly gentrified old world charm. Partly aircon, clean, fabulous new pool views. This is the closest to the essence of Penang. Part of a great experience at and around the Golden Sands.

We stayed at the Shangri-la Golden Sands for a week in September of 2005 and had a wonderful relaxing time at this resort. We stayed in a seaview room with party of three and shared a double room. The room was nice and very clean, contrary to other reviews of this particular resorts standards of cleanliness. The balcony was reasonable in size and commanded a beautiful veiw of the lovely gardens, pools and the oceans. Our view was almost exactly the same as that pictured in the travel brochure that we had used when booking the resort, so we were impressed. The only negative aspect of the room is that the king bed was two double singles pushed together. However in general the room was very comfortable. We ate at the resort nearly every day. The food was fantastic. There is a great bar and grill in the garden between the pools and you can sunbake and order beautiful burgers, snacks, drinks and cocktails from the restaurant. The prices here were quite high, compared to what you can buy food for outside the hotel, but the convenience and service is too good to miss. We had a lovely buffet breakfast at the hotel, but most days got a nice breakfast just outside the hotel. We didn't eat in the main restaurant because the prices were a little high, but the positioning of the hotel is excellent and you can find a wide selection of restaurants right outside the hotel that serve cheap and clean meals. We are from Australia and as such we have very high standards when it comes to beaches, so we we considered the standard of the beach only average but nice none the less. On the beach outside the resort you can get a massage or go parasailing or participate in other beach activities for a small cost, so that is good. Though I do question the safety controls on some of these activites, they always appeared to be safe and well run. The night markets are directly outside this hotel so there are pleanty of wonderful bargains to be had for the keen shopper. If you want to book a tour you are better to do it at one of the small outlets up the main street as they will give you much better prices than the hotel. We are experienced travellers with high expectations and we found this resort to be very well run. We would reccommend it to anyone who was thinking of staying on Penang.

As a regular visitor to Penang I waited 19 years to stay 14 nights at this hotel which I always thought it was the best. When we arrived we were supposed to get an upgrade to seaview as we booked early. They had a "hillview" room for us. This was not the hotels fault, we booked with Kuoni in June but they only made the booking with the hotel a week earlier when we were already mid-air on our way! The staff were very helpful and managed to get us a seaview room 3 days later. Only 2 out of 7 floors are non-smoking, this is why there is so much difficulty changing rooms. Furthermore the hotel "thoughfully" provide ashtrays in the non-smoking rooms for use on the balcony!!! Thus these semi-smoking rooms are in demand from smokers also. Thus you have smokers above and below you and possibly next door. Prior to our departure I contacted Kuoni at least 3 times to ask that our itenary states "sea-view room", they refused, they said the upgrade is done by the hotel so they don't state it in writing (even though it's part of the brochure deal). My travel agent was put on hold for over an hour by Kuoni, when I mentioned this to Kuoni they said "that's what they're paid for". Book direct, do not use Kuoni, they messed up our room even though we spent the previous month trying to get them to sort it out. The hotel is very noisey at night due to a resident band located in the open reception area. Guests reliasing they will not be able to sleep spend their time in the local bars. As a result we had a drunken argument in the next room at 02:30, they appeared to be on their honeymoon! We used to eat at this hotel on a regular basis until about 7 years ago when they changed their menu, it became very pretentious and quality dropped. Not a problem there are many excellent restaurants on the doorstep. If you want bacon with fresh eggs the place to go is "Happy Garden" down the other end of the beach. This is a lovely hotel well located with excellent staff. It's such a shame that it is spoilt by poor food, noise and the absence of non-smoking rooms.

I enjoyed my stay at this hotel. If you have not got a deluxe seaview room you will be disappointed with your accommodation. Also if you are on the first level the view is one of a wall. Between rooms it is quite noisy as well with the band beneath the rooms and no sound proofing. The lunch at the restaurant was terrible!!! Stay away... In addition the locals selling to their "friends" were rather annoying when attempting to relax by the pool as there was not enough security to handle all these men yelling "my friend!!! Jet Ski? Horse Riding?" The good things however far outway this. On arrival we were presented with discount coupons to the hotels restaurants i.e. 20%, 25% and 30% off. You are supplied with complimentary water every day in your room. The hotel pool and gym was nice. The hotel is very well located with many places to eat surrounding it and the night markets. My favourites were Mario's an Italian restaurant and a hawker centre inbetween the Golden Sands and Grand Plaza Parkroyal. My partner did not like the look of this hawker that opens at 7pm which I think is called "Summer Beach Hawker". However after forcing him to come he LOVED the satay and the Chinese food which was SO cheap and best tasting. This hotel appeared far better then any of the other options surrounding it. The hotel also have a complimentary shuttle bus that drops you at the Shangri-La in Georgetown and fethces you after you days outing. I would not stay more then a week. In addition breakfast was fantastic with a huge variety. You will enjoy your stay aslong as you are not expecting the usual Shang standard of 5 star! This is really a 4 star hotel and from the outside on the road looks 2 star but once you give the place a chance you are trully happy with your choice as I was.

I enjoyed my honeymoon so much here that we've booked to go back next year! I didn't have any problems with the rooms here, as detailed in other review i had a room with a sea view - was fab. the staff are so friendly around the bar and restaurants - although the staff on reception are a little bit cold. The food is yummy here - tended to eat lunch there around the pool bar. went to breakfast across the road to a little restaurant that was great! and to the Hawkers market at night - i ate dinner for about £1 a night!!! fab! Also, the shopping at the markets is great! you can get your whole wardbrobe for the year at bargain prices!

this is the worst hotel i booked because i left few hours after checking in.. 1. the hotel lobby doesnt have an air condition..and when we arrived it was really humid 2. about 45 minutes to check in 3. the room smelled..spider web near the curtains and on some corners..dust on the tables..hair in the tub..two queen beds attached to form a double king bed which the sheets did not fit..the balcony was very large and the view was nice..food from room service was below average. i didnt want to even sit on the bed..i felt that everything is dirty..i was surprised to find the hotel full of guests if this is the standard of the hotel..the kids club is fantastic..i couldnt wait in my room until my husband finds another hotel so i took my son to the club, the lady working in the club was very rude to me. the club was divided into two bunglows one for children below three yrs i think and the other one was for older kids. once i opened the door because i didnt know where to go the lady started yelling get out take your son to the other section. i didnt know what was in the other section. when they knew that we wanted to leave they offered us another room but it wasnt different from the one we had. i checked out from a westin hotel with their famous HEAVENLY bed collection in KL to come to penang and maybe thats why i was in shock..i compared between the to places which is impossible to do...after all this is my experience..maybe someone else liked this place..but i will definitely would not recommend it to anyone i know

Having seen the review posted on Sept 19, I decided to post mine. I wasn't going to as we hadn't stayed in the hotel - we saw the rooms and decided to move. We felt that they were not as clean as they could be - hairs in the bath, a plaster stuck to the wardrobe, and the shower didn't work. Staff came to clean the room but the shower head was not going to be fixed. We arrived late at night in the Golden Sands and on being shown to our rooms, which had a great view of the sea, noticed that the band in the lobby were extremely audible despite the windows being shut. If you have young children or are looking for an early night, I think this is not the place to stay. The pool area is good, and the staff were helpful as they transferred us to the other hotel.

I have just got back from 7 nights at the Shangri-La Golden Sands, Penang (this followed a hectic 7 days sightseeing in HK and KL). Before I launch into what was wrong with this resort I'd just like to say that like others on this site I found the pool/garden area, food and most of all the staff to be top notch and if the rest of the resort was up to this standard I'd be going back like a shot, however...... Arrival and our Room : we arrived off an early flight from KL, battled through the Friday traffic and got to the hotel at about 13.30 to be told our room wasn't ready. We'd paid for a Deluxe Sea View room which got us an 'early bird' automatic upgrade to an Executive Sea View room - don't be fooled - all the rooms are the same, the difference is what floor you're on - floors 6 and 7 are the Exec. rooms, those below are the Deluxe rooms. The rooms facing out onto the street are bigger than those facing the sea because of the crescent shape of the hotel. Initial reaction to our room was imense disappointment - it was small, it smelt and the bathroom was unclean. The furniture was all slightly damaged and the carpet (carpet ! who puts carpet in a beach resort !?) was worn, dirty and was probably the main cause of the smell. We complained, were told the hotel was full and couldn't move rooms, they would send cleaners up to "spray" and "re-clean" the room. This meant they threw loads of bleach down the sink and sprayed some air freshener. As we couldn't move room we put up with it for the night and waited til the next day to decide what to do. As it happens, we didn't change rooms, the smell was still there, worse some days than others - it was a damp, musty smell - like the room had been shut up for some weeks and only just opened and barely cleaned for occupancy. During the week we noticed many rooms weren't in use and the one next door to us had all its furniture pulled away from the walls or removed and the doors were always open - I think they had more problems than they let on and overhearing other people's conversations, it would appear we weren't the only people who had problems with our room. The main issue is that the rooms in this hotel are in desperate need of a complete re-furnish. The furniture in the lobby and restaurants need updating too. FOR YOUR INFO - The lobby and restaurants are NOT air conditioned, nice sometimes but after a hot day, it stays hot and you will be swealteringly hot ! Pool/garden, restaurants, Spa: Pool and garden areas are gorgeous and make up for the rooms. Beautifully looked after, clean and 'at your sunbed' service for drinks and food if you really can't move ! There was a fair amount of maintenance going on the garden which was unfortunate timing, but it caused minimal annoyance although it did mean that parts of the garden were taped off all week.) Restaurant food is also gorgeous and not that expensive (until you find the hawker stalls with the most fabulous fresh cooked meals you've ever tasted - then you'll know what 'not that expensive' means). The hotel gave out discount vouchers for use in the restaurants for dinner to entice you to eat there. The Kuda Burger at the poolside Kuda Laut cafe is the best burger in the world. The Satay at the Sigi's by the Sea buffet is also the best Satay in the world. The Garden Cafe serves great breakfasts but I would advise you to order off the menu than go for the buffet unless you need a 5 course breakfast - its just not value for money. The Spa was disappointing - its on the 1st floor at the far end of the hotel and just uses unused guest rooms as the treatment rooms - the waiting area is a seat in the corridor. However, the treatments are fantastic and good value for money. summary: Until the Shangri La Rasa Sayang, Batu Feringgi, Penang is re-opend, I won't be going back to Penang. I couldn't see that any of the other hotels on this part of the island were any better than the Golden Sands. I'm sure the Golden Sands will be closed and re-furbished once the Rasa Sayang is re-opened - then there will be two top class hotels on Penang to choose from. Hope this is helpful to anyone looking at staying at this hotel.

having been here the year before decided to come back with all the family we stayed in a balcony room the first time but due to a late booking none balcony the second but both are very good ,pools are excelent even the lads on the beach are friendly and i don"t think in your face ,the hotel is perfectly situated at the start of a good market food on the strip i found to be good and the people polite and helpful . penang as a lot to offer , snake temple is good but can cost in donations ,penang hill ,botanical gardens "mind the monkeys not to friendly" an so on i found the best way to get round is by taxi just over the road hire them for the day they will take you any were you want and if your stuck they will even suggest places to go over all a very good place and excellent hotel ,happy hour by the pool good fun two for one on all drinks including cocktails highly recommended