With the draining trip from Cebu to Penang, I skipped immediately to the front-desk the moment I entered the lobby. It was around 12-midnight and perhaps the crew already discerned that I already needed a place to rest. The front-officer swiftly checked me in by letting me fill up a form. She also continued mentioning all the do’s and don’ts as well as perks during my stay in Hotel Jen Penang. In about two minutes, I was already waiting for the lift to the 16th floor of the hotel.

A welcome treat from Jen lessened the anxiety I had from the plane travels and waiting times at the airports. A note, on one of the desks, gave instructions on how to avail the first treat that Jen prepared. When I opened the fridge, a cup of fresh fruits was waiting for me: watermelon, honeydew, papaya, and pineapple. Indeed, a refreshing way to cool off my dead tired mind and body.

Flanked the foyer of the room are the closet, fridge, and the bathroom. The closet houses the robes, clothes hangers, room slippers, hairdryer, laundry bags, steam iron and ironing board, and electronic safe. Since the room is a Club Deluxe Room, there’s a tea and coffee making facility but no tea and coffee packets because you can just grab one from the lounge. Fridge is also empty because Hotel Jen wants their guests not to be limited by the options on default. To address this, you can hand-pick any beverage and snacks from the vending machine on the 4th floor.

Club Deluxe Room is 28 square meters that is large enough to accommodate a king-sized bed yet provides roomy area to move around. The almost floor to ceiling window of the room provides a view of Georgetown. The king-sized bed, covered with quality linens and thick duvet, has 4 huge pillows and 2 #TheJenSelfie throw pillows. Earth tone palette bedecks the room interiors from the curtains, fixtures, and textured-wallpapers.

In both sides of the bed are cute wooden-desk cabinets with travel magazines and a digital alarm clock. Reading lamps, light switches, and universal plugs with USB port are near the side tables. An area for your luggage is available right below the cable-enabled television. Near the window is a couch where you can spend reading around 2,000 newspapers and magazines using the free access to PressReader. The working desk has a lamp, plugs, and USB slot perfect for business travelers who can’t get away from work.

Toilet and shower is not that super spacious yet it offers hot and cold shower and complete essentials from aromatic shampoo, shower gel, conditioner, and lotions. Apart from that are dental kit, vanity kit, and an appreciation kit containing a loofa and a bath sponge. Fresh bath, hand, and foot towels are being replenished every day. Don’t worry if you don’t see a bidet because the toilet is armed with a hands-free bidet shower. Another exciting feature of the bathroom is having the television be heard with volume settings that can be fixed depending on your preferences.

The comfy bed easily enticed me and encouraged me to doze to dreamland after a hot and soothing shower. What’s funny when you’re in Malaysia is that sun comes out between 7 or 8 in the morning. This is a shift of an hour or two from what we have in the Philippines. My prepared itineraries start at 7AM yet on my first day in Penang Island, it was about 9AM when I got out of bed to prepare for the day and avail the buffet breakfast included on Hotel Jen Penang’s room packages.

Guests availing the club rooms have options for breakfast: Club Lounge or The Islander on the ground level. The Islander suggests more stations and varied options than the one in Club Lounge. For The Islander, available stations include soups, egg, salad, entrées, fruits, hot and cold beverages, baked goodies, and desserts. For the Club Lounge, there are only 4-5 entrée choices, some baskets of pastries, cheeses, cold cuts, fruits, salad, dairy products, and beverages. I opted to dine at The Islander for my first 2 breakfasts and availed it at the Club Lounge on my last day.

For the breakfast in The Islander, from the soup section, the crew lets you customize your preferred soup from the type of noodles, soup, ingredients, and garnish. The next egg station also lets you pick from sunny-side up, scramble, hard/soft boiled, or omelet. The longer counter has diverse cuisines from local Malay food to Chinese, Japanese, American, and even Italian at some time. A section on the buffet is for vegetarian folks for them to still enjoy eating without compromising their vegan diet.

The breakfast spread surprisingly offers freshly squeezed and detox juices. Fruits such as papaya, pineapple, watermelon, honeydew, and banana are free for grabs on the fruit section. Guests can avail coffee, of different version, from the vending machine while the nearby counter are baskets of breads.

Since I skipped the lobby on my arrival, I was able to marvel at the intricate and grandeur chandeliers that welcome guests inside the hotel. Apart from the room and club lounge, I also had moments lounging in the cozy and colorful area on the lobby having these vibrant beanbags right after the big “J” hotel logo.

In addition to the tons of conveniences mentioned, Hotel Jen Penang has a swimming pool, fitness gym, and a garden on the fourth level of the hotel. A space near the pool serves as a game area because of the availability of a tennis table.

HOTEL JEN PENANG’S CLUB LOUNGE

Restful couches, cocktails and wines, overflowing cheese, cold cuts, and canapés plus sweeping views of Georgetown’s heritage shop houses. These are the obvious features of Hotel Jen Penang’s Club Lounge. The club lounge is on the 16th floor, same level with the club deluxe rooms where I stayed.

All guests availing a Club Deluxe Room have exclusive access to the newly transformed club lounge. Very keen staff attends every guest’s needs to provide a high level of personalized service. The lounge is open daily from 6:30AM to 11:00PM that usually starts from breakfast. Around 5:00PM until 7:00PM, settle and wait for sunset while chilling on canapés and cocktails like wines, and beers.

Complimentary pressing of one set of suit/dress, two hours of usage of the meeting room, internet surfing desk, and coffee, tea, soft and fruit drinks throughout the day are additional perks on the fancy lounge access.

Hotel Jen Penang, from welcoming to service staff, really live up to the high-quality standard of the hotel brand. It doesn’t end there as some notes in the room, from Jen, continue to offer a premium hotel experience. Staying at Hotel Jen Penang starts your visit to Penang Island more enjoyable and comforting. Before I forget, the hotel also provides free shuttle to their sister brands in Batu Ferringhi (Golden Sands Hotel and Shangri-La Rasa Sayang) just in case you want to enjoy Penang Island’s beach.

Avail discounted rooms at Hotel Jen Penang from Agoda!

HOTEL JEN PENANG

Jalan Magazine, 10300 George Town
Penang Island, Malaysia
Contact No.: +604-262-2622
Email: hjp@hoteljen.com
Website: https://www.hoteljen.com/penang/georgetown/

Disclosure: Hotel Jen Penang invited the blogger for a complimentary stay for the purpose of review. All opinions stated on this post are his own.