Staying in the Cititel Penang from 14th - 19th August on a company trip. 1st impression of hotel was very good. Service was great with lots of friendly staff who are most accomodating. Started off great but little details that I experienced during my stay started to tilt the scales in a less favorable manner:

1) On the 1st night, returning from outside I requested for a new shower curtain to be sent to the room as there was a faint sweaty smell emitting from the damp shower curtain when I checked in. FO staff took note and picked up the phone to call housekeeping. However, the curtain never arrived, much to my dismay.

2) Being a hotel catering to business travellers, complimentary wi-fi would have been much appreciated, especially if being called a 4-star property.

3) After housekeeping made up room on 2nd day, quilt cover was changed but had extensive, visible stains all over. If changing to a new cover then linen should be stain free.

4) Had a good experience with 1st breakfast experience at the buffet. But a different chef the next morning was a bit cold and less pleasant.

Having said the above, I have bumped into some staff that I felt were excellent. Among them I can recall Seow Ling(?) Comms. manager who just stopped at her tracks to talk to me and a colleague when we were exploring the banquet facilities and gave us a brief tour of the banquet level, as well as Christine (colleagues call her Chris) at the buffet who really made effort to look after you and anticipating your needs.

Hope to encounter some positive experiences in my coming days that might help tilt the scales back to being an excellent trip to Penang.

PLUS POINTS:
> Service - Receptionists and cleaners were quite friendly, and were more than willing to provide personal recommendations on good places to eat at
> Free WIFI is provided, but it is limited to one device per room booked.
> Bathtub provided
> Cheap
> Minor points - its a tall building so you will never be lost in the close vicinity. Also, nearly every taxi/bus driver or passer-by will know where it is, so it's easy to get directions and there's never a real threat of getting lost anywhere in Georgetown

MINUS POINTS:
> Service - Air-conditioner leaked water in my room, and when I reported this to the reception, they took their own time to fix the issue (though I do not blame them as their pace of life is just simply slower than that of Singapore or London. Still, worth stating)
> WIFI was limited to just one device per room booked, which was okay. However, there was this cumbersome log-in system which you had to access via a web browser first, before getting any internet access. You had to leave that webpage open while surfing. If you wanted to surf the net with another device, you have to go back to that webpage and log out with the current device, before logging-in with the new one.

However, some mobile devices can only display one webpage (no tabbed browsing, can't open in a new window etc) so you would have trouble logging out. When that happens, you cannot change the device you intend to surf the net with since you can't log out!

> Got a room on Level 10 with a supposed "high floor with sea view". This was one of the selling points of the Superior Room which I booked. Taking into account the fact that the hotel was 19 storeys high, L10 is not really a "high floor". Moreover, the sea view was partially blocked by 2 or 3 buildings in the distance.
> Dustbin did not have a plastic bag, so I had trouble disposing of perishables
> No conjoining room available for a large family (though in their defence they informed me of this earlier on)

Summary: Room size is average. This is a very average hotel in most aspects. I can list a few good points about this hotel, but every aspect comes with a "but" behind it, so it evens out to be just average.

On checking in to the hotel in the evening, I was given a double bed ... I do not need double bed!! The room was booked a month earlier ... anyway, the room is quite clean and comfortable.
Bathroom is clean, but the cotton bud packet was already opened!!!
Iron and ironing board is quickly sent to the room, and the ironing plate is smooth!! Whoa ... i can iron my clothes with no worry.
Breakfast ... I requested for sesame oil and the staff fetch it from the kitchen in a zippy! Good service. However, I need to stress that even though the nasi smell of fragrant coconut milk, but it was not properly cooked .. the rice is hard! The dim sum is ... soggy ...