We (my husband and adult daughter and myself) have just come back from Christmas in Malaysia and Singapore. We stayed for four days over Christmas in the Herman Hesse suite at the Eastern and Oriental Penang. The hotel was wonderful, the suite was huge and we actually used about two thirds of the space. The suite had a dining and lounge area and a second toilet. The bathroom was very large with a claw bath and shower cubicle and two sinks. The bathroom opened on to the large balcony. The main room (bedroom with two double beds) also opened on to a balcony. Balconies were both facing the sea and were combined. We had Christmas lunch at the 1885 restaurant and it was superb, with fantastic service and food. Breakfast every day was included in our cost and was of a very high standard, especially considering how busy the hotel was at this time. Our fruit and home made chocolates were replenished every afternoon and housekeeping did a round late in the day to check that we were fully stocked with toiletries. Our suite was at the end of the building so perhaps that helped with noise levels, we found it very quiet and only occasionally were we disturbed by outside noise by people walking near the water outside our room. Of course this was easily fixed by closing the door to the balcony. The only negative for this hotel from my viewpoint was the hard beds. This seems to be a regular complaint for me, hotels beds are so hard, and it seems the more we pay, the harder the beds. Overall though a great place with lots of charm and wonderful staff, it might be the choice for festive celebrations for us again next year.

We were blown away when we saw the size of the suite with windows opening on to the sea.
But beyond the grandeur
was a really hard uncomfortable bed.
Very little cleaning was done, only repleneshing of stuff.
Sometimes quite noisy from other rooms.
Breakfast was hit or miss. Some mornings lovely,
other mornings there were no eggs, the dahl curry was sometimes just coloured water and was often cold. Roti was only made to order and it was a long wait! The hot food wasn't always replenished quickly. No clean cutlery available between courses.
Evening buffet was a good selection.
The pool was nice.
The majority of the staff were nice.
Very few on-site amenities.
One can imagine staying here in a bygone era, it must have been lovely.
But this is not Asian 5 star.
Farquhar's bar had no atmosphere, hard seats and was very expensive.

We stayed at E & O Suite which was the largest suite (5800 sq. ft) at the hotel. We are two, so we barely used a half of the room lol. It was huge and very elegant.
All hotel staffs are freidly and very attentive. We had a fabulous time on our vacation at E & O Hotel which is a historical hotel in Georgetown.

The hotel rooms are fine, the furniture tacky chinese antic type, the bed was comfortable but the lights not so convenient. The pool is the best part of the hotel as it is along the water and of good size. The gym has antiquated equipment. Breakfast was OK but not at the level of a five star hotel. Common areas are not great but staff are wonderful. As there are not many good choices in Georgetown, it is a pretty decent bet. However, I would recommend to look at boutique hotels instead such as the newly established Seven Terraces.