Trip To Penang, Malaysia: Batu Ferringhi - ParkRoyal Penang Resort
By Elin Chow - Friday, July 11, 2014
Photo By: Elin Chow
Official Website: ParkRoyal Penang Resort
Last weekend, I decided to visit my husband in Penang. It was a last minute plan that ended up to be one of my most wonderful memories. Or I might call this trip to be a little unexpected surprise as this was actually the first time my husband has specially planned the whole trip for me.
It took about 4 hours to reach Penang from Kuala Lumpur by bus. Having boarded my bus at Plaza Rakyat bus station at 6.30pm, I arrived at Juru R&R in Butterworth at around 11.20pm. Since it was already late, my husband and I decided to check into a budget hotel for the night before we drove to our final destination the following morning.
The sandy white beaches located at Batu Ferringhi, Penang - this is where my husband planned to have most of our weekend together spent. After browsing through a few of the beach hotels and resorts, he decided to book the standard king room for a night with ParkRoyal Penang.
However, much to our surprise, we actually received a free upgrade from a standard to superior room from the ParkRoyal resort. The hotel staff who has helped us to do all the checking in even mentioned that this offer is exclusively only for that particular week. Can I say that we are very lucky?
Standard King Vs Superior King
So, what the difference between the standard and superior room? I must admit that I was feeling really surprised when I got to know that the standard king room actually is not equipped with a bathtub. Although I could not remember a time when I actually bathe in one, I always expected that every room, especially in a 5-star resort will at least comes with a bathtub. Surprisingly, in ParkRoyal Resort, this is not the case. So for people who just love soaking in a bathtub whenever you checked into a hotel, please do not book the standard king room.
Apart from that, the superior king room is also slightly larger than the standard king room, which explains the difference in price.
Definitely love the king size bed but hate the pillows. But please don't get me wrong. I only hate the ones in pillow cases. Sleeping on them made my neck ached like crazy the following morning.
As for the red and orange pillows, I have to admit that the very sight of them delighted me very much.
Right by the window, beside the bed sat a cozy little couch and chair. This is where hotel guests could have an enjoyable time chatting with their loved ones while admiring the beautiful scenary by the window.
Free fruit platter for every hotel guests, which includes a green and red apple and two oranges. In addition, every room will also get their choice of free daily newspaper hanging on their door every morning too.
I love the ensuite bathroom in our superior king room too. So posh and well furnished. However, the floor tends to get a little slippery when it gets wet. I have to be extra careful while stepping out from the bathtub after a nice shower. If not, the consequences might be unimaginable.
I was surprised by the amount of bath and shower necessities that ParkRoyal Resort is providing to every of their hotel guests. How generous of them!
Just in case anyone is keen to know,
From the top: Shower Cap and Facial Cotton Pads
Middle: Body Wash, Shampoo, Body Lotion, Hair Conditioner and Cotton buds
Bottom: Hand Towels, Face Tissues and Glasses
Just right above our bed, we found a wooden plate filled with dried flower petals. Not sure what is the real purpose of this. Is it a part of the room decoration? Or is it for us to scatter them all over the bed so to create a romantic feel? Or probably, it is for us to scatter into our bathing water while enjoying a nice and hot shower in the bathtub.
Gorgeous view from our room! Again, it was not something we have expected. The original standard king room which my husband has booked was supposed to come with a hill side view. That is why the sight of the sea excited and pleased us very much.
Just like any other 5-star hotels or resorts, ParkRoyal Penang comes with all the basic facilities such as a swimming pool, gym and even spa. Oh well, not one, but actually, there are two swimming pools in total. One for adults and another for children, which includes a baby wading pool and two giant slides. For parents who brought their children along, I believe the children pool will be a great playground for them.
As usual, my husband and I decided not to take a dip in the pool as we are always not a fan of swimming. I feels weird to be dressed in a swimsuit. Probably it's because I am just not so confident about the way I look.
So instead of being in the water, we decided to buy ourselves some drinks and chill by one of the beach chairs. I believe ParkRoyal Penang Resort has more than enough beach chairs for all of their hotel guests. In fact, there were actually plenty of unoccupied ones throughout our stay at the resort.
The best thing of staying at a beachfront hotel or resort is having the beach located just right within your footsteps. So if you happen to be a beach person, then I believe you would enjoy your stay with ParkRoyal Penang Resort very much.
It was late afternoon when we visited the beach. We did not managed to catch the sunset as the weather was quite gloomy on that day.
We did not get to explore the beach further more on that day. It was starting to get late and I guess we were just too lazy to walk. It will be very nice to stroll down the coast, holding hands and just enjoy our moment together. How romantic.
I was really pleased that the beach was not full of people. It is very clean, with minimal of trash seen laying around.
I supposed this should be a horse riding and photography session. Not sure how much each ride will cost, but I have to admit that I was feeling rather surprised and excited when the horse suddenly appeared before my eyes.
The Ship, Batu Ferringhi, Penang
For dinner, we decided to dine in at a themed restaurant named "The Ship". A little bit pricey but I thought the money was still very well spent given its nice ambience, tasty food and great service.
Dining at The Ship was indeed a very unique and different experience. The exterior and interior of the restaurant resemble almost like a life-size pirate ship. To complement with the nautical theme, the waiters and waitresses are all dressed in maritime uniforms.
After browsing through the menu, we decided to go all western. I ordered chicken Maryland for myself. That was around RM 23 on the menu. A little bit costly but still reasonable.
My husband, on the other hand, wanted to try their lamb loin chop out. If I did not remember wrongly, this cost us about RM 43.
After our meals, we decided to get ourselves some desserts. Or should I say it was me who wanted to get something sweet. Thus, I went on to order a banana split for us to share just to satisfy my sinful craving. It's been so long since we last shared our desserts together.
My husband and I really have a wonderful and enjoyable time dining at The Ship. I would definitely love to visit this nautical themed restaurant again in the future.
Final Thoughts
Prior to our trip to Batu Ferringhi, there was lots of arguments and misunderstanding arising between my husband and I. Barely one year into our marriage, cracks started to appear in our marriage. What caused the cracks? We do not really know. Perhaps, it is due to the stress we get from working life or simply it is because we just miss each other too much.
I always thought that we have understand each other very well, but actually we don't. We never used to have much arguments or miscommunications in the past. The fights and quarrels we constantly have over the text messages have put a strain on our marriage. In fact, sometimes, we have forgotten the real reason why we got married in the first place.
However, a short getaway to Batu Ferringhi in Penang enables us to spend plenty of quality time together. Just the two of us where we could have a heart-to-heart talk whenever we wish to or just stay contented looking and hugging each other. We found the feeling we used to have for each other during our dating time. So, for couples who feel that your relationship with your other half has not been like before, I suggest going for a short getaway together. It might help to spice up the relationship and resolve some of the misunderstandings you have for each other.
If you are looking for an awesome beach vacation, Batu Ferringhi might not be the best option for you. However, if you are looking for a short getaway where you could spend some quality time with your most loved ones, then Batu Feringhi might be a good choice for you. There are better beaches such as Tioman and Redang island in Malaysia, which will offer you clearer and more beautiful water and sand than Batu Feringhi. These destinations will be a real heaven for all the water sports lover.
Overall, my husband and I have a great time staying with ParkRoyal Penang Resort. I am really thankful for the free room upgrade which ParkRoyal has given us. Not only that, we find the hotel staffs very friendly and professional too. Did I mention that the cleaning crew always smiled and greeted us whenever they saw us at the hotel corridoors? It may be small little thing, but I believe this is what differentiate a 5-star and 4-star hotel.
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