Hotel O GHC Near Penang Street Art

The room was quiet, spacious, and modern, with two queen beds even though I was travelling solo. It had a decent ensuite, plenty of storage, working air con and wifi, plus a TV and kettle for the basics. One of the two towels, though, was disgustingly dirty and brown in places. I can't understand how they could leave a stained towel for a new guest. The hotel is in Little India, opposite the famous Sri Mahamariamman temple, right in the heart of George Town's colonial district. Food is easy to find nearby. For the area, where many hotels cost more, this was good value. The entrance looked ugly and dirty, with rubbish around the ground-floor sign and in the corridor, and the lift looked dodgy, but the room was a pleasant surprise. Wati, the night receptionist, was lovely, friendly, and always smiling. There was confusion at check-in about whether my booking through booking.com included the tourist tax. I wasn't sure and assumed the charges were included. Since I was staying 15 nights, I paid RM150 (£27) in cash. The next day I saw in my booking.com confirmation email that the tourist tax was included. Reception refunded the RM150 right away when I pointed it out. The hotel should know whether guests booking through the big travel sites have already paid that tax. If I hadn't checked the email carefully, I could have paid twice, more than £50.