Attended a conference in Penang and stayed for 3 nights at Evergreen Laurel Hotel at Gurney drive. I was given a room with splendid ocean view on the 9th floor, and the room was clean and tidy. Reception staff were helpful and patience with my request when I had problems accessing the WiFi. Breakfast selection were surprisingly good with local and international choices. The hotel even has the courtesy to ask me for my preference of daily newspaper! The room has both LAN and WiFi access which come free with fairly good speed. There are plenty of restaurants and pubs along the Gurney drive after walking out of the hotel, and most of them operate until quite late at night. In short, this hotel does provide good service and it was well worth the money.

We stayed here for a night when I had to attend to family matters near Gurney Drive. In terms of location the hotel was fantastic for me as the place was just a 5 minutes walk away from where I needed to be. I had a sea facing room which was very pleasant to look at at anytime of the day and that was very calming and probably the best thing about the room. I took a deluxe twin bed room which I bought at half price via Agoda. It came with free wifi and breakfast for two.

Besides the lovely view, I was not particularly impressed with the room though. I thought the room wasn't very big but my main grouse is the fact that the room was run down. Wallpaper was peeling of the edges of the wall and around plug points/sockets, the bulbs on the lamp shades could fit properly and kept going off and had to be constantly adjusted to work, the ironing board stand was broken, the shower did not have good water pressure, the tiny kettle they provided was brown with stains on the inside and the marble table around the sink was also stained. Additionally, they charged MYR8 just to have the complementary instant drinks replenished. Most hotels I've been too wouldn't charge to replenish those complementary instant drink packs. There was a large flat screen TV but the channel options left much to be desired as most of the channels were local channels with only 2 English cable channels and none particularly dedicated to children. The pool was also closed for renovations.

The room was however very quiet (even with the Chinese New Year firecrackers blasting away at midnight) and with the gorgeous view of the sea was very pleasant to be in particularly at sunrise. The bed and pillows were comfortable and sleep quality was great. The room was clean and house-keeping was good. I was located at the 10th floor and had no problems using their wifi throughout the hotel. The service provided was good and staff were efficient and friendly. Food variety at the Laurel Cafe where we had our buffet breakfast was decent although the taste could be improved. There were 2 coffee machines where we could get cappuccino and mocha over and above the freshly brewed coffee and tea. Staff at the cafe were friendly, efficient and helpful as well.

In terms of amenities, theres Coffee Bean, Starbucks, Subway and local food stalls within a 5 minutes walk. Airport taxis are easy to get here and are priced according to the airport's rate. There are also the famous Wat Chaiya Mangkalaram and Dhammikarama Buddhist temples within walking distance and likewise the famous Gurney Drive food stalls too. The place is very convenient to get to Batu Ferringhi and the night markets there. There are also malls very nearby if you prefer shopping there. It's also about a 20 mins drive to the Kek Lok Si temple where you get to do bargain shopping.

Overall, the hotel is decent and worth staying if you are paying half price for it!

We stayed here 3 nights at a very good price thanks to booking.com . The room was large clean and was serviced each day . The staff are friendly and the inside carpark easy to use . The hotel is just across the road from the sea and promenade , we did not eat at the hotel preferring to use hawker stalls down the road .
We used the pool each day and noticed there was a good gym if you wished .
Recommend to everyone if you can get a good deal , although like us the room would most likely face the city rather than the sea

Whenever we travel to Penang we always stay at Evergreen Laurel. The staff are so friendly, rooms are clean and fresh and a great breakfast. Location is good, only 15 minute walk to Gurney Plaza. Lots of yummy restaurants close by. We will be going back in March 2013.