Dining and relaxing at the new Penang Marriott was a perfect part of an enjoyable George Town getaway.

In early 2024, the Penang Marriott Hotel opened its doors in George Town, marking the debut of Marriott International’s premium brand in Penang. Strategically located at 55 Persiaran Gurney, the hotel offers guests panoramic views of the new Gurney Bay recreational development, the Andaman Sea, and convenient access to the city’s cultural and culinary attractions. We recently visited the hotel and found a lot to like.

The hotel features 223 smartly designed rooms and suites, each equipped with modern amenities to ensure a comfortable stay. Guests can enjoy high-speed internet, plush bedding, and spacious bathrooms. Our standard King Club rooms came with a soaking tub as well as a sizeable rainfall shower.

The press clippings suggest that the room design seamlessly blends contemporary aesthetics with local cultural elements, but we were hard-pressed to find much in the rooms that really communicated a Penang-forward sense of place. The rooms were certainly comfortable and unquestionably contemporary, though, and some bits of local art and design can be found in the hotel’s public areas.

Dining options at the Penang Marriott are diverse, catering to a range of palates. Sago serves international cuisine in a genuinely stylish setting, while Kucina offers Italian ‘destination dining.’ For a more casual experience, Lava Java provides a laid-back café atmosphere with a variety of pastries and other light fare. For drinks and socializing, The Great Room with its chic bar and adjacent lobby lounge seating is a fine choice. We dined at Sago for breakfast (and also had a quick lunch there), and had a dinner at Kucina one evening, as well. More on that later.

FACILITIES AND AMENITIES

The facilities here include all that you’d expect in a hotel of Marriott’s standing, such as an outdoor infinity-edge pool with views of Gurney Drive, a well-equipped fitness centre, and a dedicated kids’ club, ensuring both relaxation and recreation for guests of all ages. For business travellers and event organizers, the Penang Marriott offers five flexible function rooms and a grand ballroom equipped with state-of-the-art audio-visual technology, making it suitable for corporate events, conferences, and social gatherings, including, of course, weddings.

In fact, the 2024 edition of WhiskyPLUS Penang was held in July in the Penang Marriott’s beautiful grand ballroom, and guests and exhibitors alike were delighted with every aspect of the hotel’s aesthetics, all the amenities, and the professional in-house events and banquet teams who made the event such a success.

When we were checking out the property online, we found that since its opening, the Penang Marriott has received plenty of positive feedback from guests. Reviews often highlighted the hotel’s cleanliness, attentive service, and convenient location. One guest noted the “great location/view” and “excellent service,” while another praised the “spacious and clean” rooms with yet another noting the “comfortable beds” and “beautiful views.” We tend to agree with all of these comments.

M CLUB LOUNGE

We were particularly impressed with the M Club on the 20th floor of the hotel. Marriott has definitely gone the extra mile here for the evening service, providing guests with hot, cooked-to-order dishes (a fried rice option and a basket of excellent assorted dim sum were on offer when we visited, the latter being steamed to order). There was also a nice spread of canapés, breads, sweet treats, and other munchables. The liquid libations were very impressive, with two well above-average reds and whites each available, along with a nice sparkling wine, too. Beers (including Hoegaarden), juices, hot beverages, and sodas were also offered.

The sparkling wine on offer is a crisp and refreshing Santa Margherita Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore Brut presented in a stylish squat bottle. Prosecco is making its mark in Asia as a fine sparkling wine that offers great value for money.

For the still wines, Oyster Bay from New Zealand is well-represented with two whites (Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc) and one red (Pinot Noir). Oyster Bay is part of the Delegat’s Wine Estate (comprising Delegat’s Wines and Barossa Valley Estate in South Australia), a mid-sized family-owned enterprise with a winemaking tradition extending over six decades. The pioneer winemakers migrated from Croatia and started making wines in Henderson in what was initially semi-rural, suburban West Auckland. Oyster Bay was established in 1999 to capitalize on the winemaking assets of the Marlborough wine-growing region in the north of the country’s South Island. This venture hit paydirt when its first Sauvignon Blanc vintage in 1990 won gold and the coveted Marquis de Goulaine Trophy for Best Sauvignon Blanc at the International Wine and Spirits Competition in London.

A Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir sourced from the Wairau Valley of the Marlborough are served in the club lounge. While none harbour any surprises in their flavour profile, they are all excellent wines and true to their grape variety and terroir.

Perhaps the most interesting wine poured in M Club is the Banfi Col di Sasso IGT Toscana from Tuscany, Italy. This red blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese grapes has more body that the elegant Oyster Bay Pinot Noir and will appeal to those seeking a bigger-flavoured wine. Being a blend of local (Sangiovese) and international (Cabernet Sauvignon) varieties, the wine bears IGT classification rather than DOC or DOCG status, but this is a fine wine from the prestigious house of Banfi, which always impresses.

And the best thing about the M Club is that they give guests a whopping three hours for evening drinks and light dining. This allowed us to take our time and enjoy a leisurely club lounge experience, taking in those amazing 20th-floor views, without always watching the clock. In the end, we didn’t even use the full three hours! But while we were there, the service was attentive and friendly, the hot dishes were especially enjoyable, and the lounge ambiance was terrific. This was a top-notch club lounge experience, without question.

KUCINA ITALIAN DINING

As for our dinner at Kucina, we had such a great time – for a couple of reasons. First, the restaurant really exceeded our expectations. As we wandered in, we were honestly expecting a very garden-variety, generic hotel ‘Italian restaurant.’ But this is really a step up and we think with a few tweaks here and there, Kucina could be legitimate destination dining for good Italian cuisine… and you need not be a guest of the hotel to dine here, of course.

Kucina’s ambiance was appealing, relaxed, and unpretentious, with a coastal Mediterranean vibe vaguely reminiscent of the Amalfi Coast thanks to all the splashy teal hues, intermixed with light-coloured woods, brick flooring, and some ‘beach-style’ thatched ceiling panels.

The service, however, was on a completely different level, and that’s really what made the evening such a delight. Sure, the dishes were good – with perhaps one of them, a scallop ceviche with beetroot, admittedly a bit of a question mark for us – but the superb, personable service we got was what really made the dinner memorable.

Additionally, Marriott’s premium wine experience that’s hinted at in M Club is perhaps best manifested in Kucina, where a well-considered and extensive wine list is available to complement the dishes prepared in the show kitchen of this contemporary restaurant. Not surprisingly, Italian wines dominate, but there is an excellent supporting cast of leading global wines from the world’s finest wine regions.

Diners can order wines by the glass and/or the bottle, with some wines that impressed us including Tormaresca Puglia Chardonnay, Frescobaldi Castiglioni Chianti and Borgogno Barolo. The outlet’s designated sommelier is knowledgeable, engaging, and witty – and he was happy to make recommendations. He will also pass along the fact that vintages are mostly not listed on the wine list, as wine suppliers cannot always guarantee specific vintages.

On the food side of things, the Margherita pizza (RM53) we had was very good for what it was, but truthfully held back by the simple fact that the famous Margherita is just not that great a pizza on its face. Maybe such a basic pie suits some palates, but we like a pizza with more cheese and toppings! Even so, the crust – the most critical part of any pizza to get right – was outstanding, and perfectly ‘leopard-spotted’ from the blistering hot oven. Kucina does offer one other variation, the Diavola (RM75 with tomato sauce, beef pepperoni, black olives, smoked chili, and mozzarella), which may have been a more well-received option!

We also enjoyed the superbly fresh Fine de Claire oysters (RM96, six pieces) and thought the presentation was terrific. The seared Barramundi alla Puttanesca (RM68) was also great, a fine choice for seafood lovers, as the fish fillet topped with a lovely pan-seared Hokkaido scallop.

We also sampled the Guancia di Manzo (RM108), a grilled Wagyu beef cheek, and while it was good, we think we might steer diners towards some of the other selections for a perhaps more stereotypically Italian experience, particularly the wonderful range of house-made pastas. With nine craveable dishes to choose from on the pasta page of the menu, ranging from RM53 to RM68, the hardest part might be making a choice.

For desserts, we had to sample their house Tiramisu (RM43), with coffee-soaked ladyfingers, mascarpone cheese, plenty of cocoa powder, and coffee liqueur. We were also encouraged to try the Torta di Ricotta (RM46) with vanilla sauce and fresh berries. Italian classics like Panna Cotta and Cannoli also feature on the dolce menu, so be sure to save a bit of room if you have a sweet tooth.

We loved our dining experience at Kucina and look forward to returning in the future to see what fresh new ideas are being rolled out of their terrific kitchen.

In less than a year, the Penang Marriott has quickly established itself as a premier accommodation option in George Town, offering five-star facilities and services that cater to a diverse clientele.

It must be said that room rates here can be on the high side during busy times, but Marriott Bonvoy members get preferred rates, and of course, the hotel’s stature and full slate of business-friendly options means that it’s a sought-after destination for business travellers. And with its prime seafront position fronting Gurney Bay and the under-development Andaman Island, the location could scarcely be much better. Indeed, with that excellent location, combined with Marriott’s worldwide reputation, positions it as a noteworthy addition to Penang’s hospitality landscape.