Straits Garden Suites

The lifts are very slow, and only two of the three were working, so waits were often irritatingly long. We also spotted small cockroaches on the first day, even though we didn’t leave food out. They stayed around the kitchen sink and didn’t get into the other rooms. We saw no ants or other insects. On the plus side, our Homestay Helper apartment has a comfortable bed, stunning city views and fast, reliable internet over 600 Mbps, which works well for remote work. The agency has been responsive, helpful and reliable. The pool is fantastic, and although the gym is small, it’s usable. Nearby are supermarkets, local markets, pharmacies, coffee shops and plenty of street food stalls, plus a 7-Eleven at the building entrance. Several buses run to and from George Town, and Grab is easy to book, though waits have been longer than in other Malaysian cities we’ve visited.

The Airbnb hosts respond quickly, but this setup doesn’t really suit tourists with lots of luggage unless they book a two-bedroom unit. Not every host has somewhere to store bags. If you arrive in Penang in the morning, check-in isn’t until 3pm, so good luck managing all your bags. If you’re happy to pay a little more, I suggest staying on macalister road. There’s a bag storage room on level 2 of Tropicana, inside a massage parlour. It isn’t free, but you can leave your bags there easily and come back at 3pm to check in. macalister road also has plenty of food choices.

The rooms are clean and have all the facilities, with dedicated parking and nice views. There are lots of restaurants nearby, and a Grab ride gets you to the old city.

We left after the first night and paid for a hotel elsewhere, though we’d booked four nights. We checked in late and didn’t realize how bad things were until morning. I was traveling with my baby, and I couldn’t let them crawl around somewhere this dirty. We’d found dust, dirt, stained curtains and hair on the sheets, plus ants across the counters and roaches. Management moved us to a two-bedroom suite, but it had the same problems. They offered housekeeping, but a quick wipe-down wouldn’t solve what looked like a full infestation. The place felt unsafe for families and basically uninhabitable, yet they refused to refund the remaining three nights, citing “policy.” It was a huge disappointment and a waste of money. Save yourself the trouble and book elsewhere, especially avoid homestayhelper.