Ernes Hotel Bayu Mutiara

The room felt neglected and fell well below basic cleanliness standards. The bathroom smelled awful and was uncomfortable to enter, with a dirty toilet and visible stains that looked like they hadn’t been cleaned. The air conditioner barely worked, leaving the room hot and stuffy throughout, and even the bath soap had an unpleasant, odd smell. I rarely leave negative reviews, but this stay was unacceptable. I hope management takes the hygiene, cleanliness and air-conditioning problems seriously. Guests deserve better.

I’ve stayed at this hotel every time I visit Penang, so this experience with it and Agoda was especially disappointing. I booked the wrong date by accident, noticed within two minutes and contacted the hotel right away. They directed me to Agoda. Agoda said the booking couldn’t be changed, which I could partly understand, but then refused a refund by email even though I’d contacted them quickly and hadn’t used the room. I asked Agoda for the hotel’s SOP or policy documents showing that changes or refunds weren’t allowed. The staff just replied, “I don’t know.” After this lack of flexibility and poor customer service, I won’t recommend or return to the hotel. I’m seriously considering taking the issue to CTOS for further action.

A basic, clean hotel, though the bathroom was small and smelly, and there are no reserved parking bays. The hotel won’t help you prepay for parking, even for just a few hours, so be ready to top up at least RM10 in the parking app.

I ended up making a last-minute booking here after another hotel’s website mishandled things and cancelled my earlier reservation because of a miscommunication. Luckily, a call here got me a ground-floor room, which was ideal since my mother can’t walk. She liked it, and the room was comfortable, with a fridge, safe, water heater, hair dryer and more. It was quiet despite being beside the main road. Seems suitable for solo travelers and families.