Mutiara Beach Resort

Straight out of James Bond 007

Mutiara Beach Resort is going into a period of refurbishment in March 2006 and when it reopens, it will undoubtedly be even more spectacular.
I have no hesitation in recommending this hotel for its service, pool facilities, room layout and views. The foyer and reception areas are very grandly decorated in marble and mother of pearl. Presumably the best of that design will be retained and the main focus for update will be on the slightly tired suites which are starting to show their age. The facility provides a turn down service at your designated time, welcomes you with refreshing drink and cool towels and honeymooners are treated to flower petal decorated beds. The usual water sports are offered as well as parasailing. The hotel is 4 kilometres from central Batu Ferringi but this isn't necessarily a disadvantage. The beach is uncrowded and the hotel is 50 metres from bus stop, a couple of shops, and a great open air "live seafood" restaurant. Mutiara also overlooks a charming fishing village and Hindu temple. When you want to go to the night markets, add your name to the courtesy bus list. Cabs to Georgetown cost 25rm and cabs to Batu Ferringi cost 10rm.
The hotel is well serviced with bars, a lounge, live entertainment and delightful choices in restaurants. The pool has a swim up bar, but drinks are pricey. Cocktails average 35 rm and beer costs about 16 rm. There is a "happy hour" each day from 5-7 pm at the pool.
Look out for the fabulous pink legged storks in the garden.

Unique Quality: 180 degree ocean and swimming pool views are definately a star attraction with each of the rooms in this marble foyered plush eighties style 5 star resort. The views are panoramic and all rooms appear to have them. The concave high rise design faces out to the beach and the sea. Each suite has a private balcony adorned with mature bouganvillea. The plants provides an effective softening to what would otherwise be a relatively harsh concrete facade.

I can only comment on the way the hotel presented just prior to the renovation and I would like to say that the staff were exceptionally caring, welcoming and ready to meet reasonable requests. As an example, I found on check in that there were a couple of minor faults with the room and these were fixed promptly after reporting. A broken toilet seat and loose wall phone were replaced by the engineers on request. The staff did not appear to be slipping with the standards simply because a refurbishment was due.
I should also comment that the facilities for children appear to be of a high standard. They have a separate pool and well stocked kids club.

• Opinion of Price: more expensive than average
• Related to: Spa and Resort, Family Travel, Romantic Travel and Honeymoons

Mutiara Beach Resort Photo: 5 star views from all rooms

4 more images

---

Was this Mutiara Beach Resort review helpful?

" Not Worth The Money "

We recently stayed at the Mutiara and after spending three days out of 6 we decided to leave and check into the Grand Plaza Park Royal at a lesser cost and with better facilities (Excellent Hotel for families & couples).

The Grand Plaza & Golden Sands hotels leave the Mutiara for dead !!

The Mutiara is a very tired resort, the rooms reflect a 2.5 -3 star rating definately not 5 star and paying premium to stay here is not worth the money. Everything is over priced when compared to other local resorts in Penang. drinks,food, activities Eg Jetski hire is RM50 for 15 minutes, however all other resorts will charge RM30.

We are currently seek a refund fom our travel agent !!!

You get what you pay for...but is it what you want

We spent a couple of weeks here in August 2005. The service was excellent, but at these prices it should be. Don't be kidded by the travel agents' hype, the Mutiara is a five star complex, but in its current state it is probably only a four star hotel. It is due to be refurbished later in 2005, when it will be re-branded as an InterContinental Hotel. Hopefully this will go a long way towards bringing the hotel back to its former glory. During our stay we noted that several electrical sockets were loose on the walls and there were signs of aging on close inspection of any of the room's facilities. Please don't think I would not recommend it, though, because we had a fabulous time. The bathrooms are everything you could want, with separate showers, toilets in their own room and double sinks with huge vanity mirrors. The rooms were more than adequate in size, with very robust room safes and fully working air conditioning. Room service was definitely at five star quality, although the cost of one meal here will pay for a family of four to eat themselves to a state of sickness at any of the hawker complexes. On that note, the hotel charged around nine pounds (14 US dollars) per person for breakfast. A fair sized meal at a hawker complex (say two or three dishes) would come to around two to three pounds. Getting back to the hotel, though, the pool, gardens, fitness suite, snooker facilities, tennis and social programmes are all pretty much as advertised and lend themselves to a great holiday if you can't be bothered making the short taxi ride into Georgetown or Batu Ferringhi. Avoid drinking spirits (whisky, vodka, etc) at the bar in the hotel as it cost an absolute fortune, and if you elect to use the mini bar in your room...well I guess it serves you right! All in all, I would recommend the Mutiara as a decent option, but having popped into a few of the hotels in Batu Ferringhi, I know where I will head for next time...

Unique Quality: The friendly staff, quality of food and general service offered by this hotel are second to none.

• Opinion of Price: more expensive than average
• Related to: Spa and Resort, Family Travel, Romantic Travel and Honeymoons

Mutiara Beach Resort Photo: From the beach

2 more images

---

Was this Mutiara Beach Resort review helpful?

Penang's hidden jewel

Upon entering the spacious lobby filled with tranquil sound of gurgling water, you will be greeted by the sight of the ocean. This large spacious hotel, set far apart from the hustle and bustle of Batu Ferinngi is a haven for those seeking some solitude and peace.
We are a family with two very small kids and we stayed in a grand deluxe seafacing room with two queen beds. The rooms are well equipped and spacious with pleasant furniture and the bathrooms are large and modern with a long bath, separate shower cubicle, two wash basins , an enclosed toilet and good quality toiletries.
The housekeeping staff is excellent. You barely put the phone down after any request with them and they are practically knocking at your door the next instant to attend to you.

Unique Quality: Great pool with set far apart pool for children with water slides and fountain. Next to the pool is a kid's Sinbad clubhouse for children age 4 above.
The buffet breakfast and dinner which we had in the Garden Terrace coffeehouse was excellent with a wide variety of local and western dishes. The coffeehouse is next to a landscaped garden with two flamingoes, two ducks and fishes swimming in a pond among others. Apart from the coffeehouse the hotel has 3 other restaurants serving, Japanese, Chinese and Italian cuisine.

Five-star Penang hotel at Batu Ferringhi

I think apart from Shangri-la Golden Beach, Mutiara is the most expensive hotel on Batu Ferringhi. I stayed here in year 2000 though. It was up to standards, with a king sized bed, really big bathroom with a wardrobe that can be opened from both the bedroom and the bathroom, as well as separate shower and bathtub. I almost had an unhappy stay there because there was some member of royalty who stayed upstairs and was partying till really late at night, making a lot of noise. We paid almost 200 USD for a seaview room, thats a lot in malaysian standards, and obviously we expect to be treated properly whether there was royalty there or not. When we complained the reception refused to change rooms for us, saying it was fully booked out. Till some nice Caucasian neighbour we had made the same complaint, then did they agree to move us to another part of the hotel. Sometimes it's disappointing and disheartening when you realise the service you get as an Asian in Asian countries is not really the same as what the Caucasians get.

Unique Quality: Big room area, think it was at least 45 sqm compared to most hotels which provide about 30 odd sqm. The big bathroom with separate shower and a huge bathtub was a plus too.

• Opinion of Price: more expensive than average

Mutiara Beach Resort Photo: View from the room balcony

---

Was this Mutiara Beach Resort review helpful?

Beautiful Beach Resort

Great Hotel 5*

Had a week at this hotel.The service was first class.The resturant meals in the hotel were fabulous and resonably priced.The gym was fantastic and run by a former mr malaysia bodybuilder.

Unique Quality: Fantastic pool,with great poolside services.Had to use the pool more than often as the sea had a large amount of jellyfish in it and a few guests had been stung,had a room facing onto the beach

• Opinion of Price: about average

Mutiara Beach Resort Photo: View from Room

---

Was this Mutiara Beach Resort review helpful?

The Mutiara - Luxury and Relaxation

We loved our time at The Mutiara. Ok, it's a few minutes out of the action of Batu Ferringhi but I'd say this is a positive, not a negative. It's only a 10RM taxi ride from the main strip of BF to The Mutiara and I think it's much more relaxing than say the Holiday Inn. If you don't want to pay super high prices for laundry, drinks, etc there's a shop across the road which is very reasonable. Go for a wander down to Teluk Bahang and see the morning market - a real one, not a tourist one! Also go for a walk along the old wooden jetty (quite an interesting experience!). I'd say this hotel is great for couples as there aren't millions of kids running around the place...

Unique Quality: A number of wonderful restaurants and bars, warm friendly service and a superb pool on the beachfront with a swim up bar. The Sunday Buffet is recommended but make sure you book. Rooms are quite large have nice decor.

• Opinion of Price: more expensive than average

Mutiara Beach Resort Photo: A great swip up pool bar!

---

Was this Mutiara Beach Resort review helpful?

The "PEARL" of Penang!

The place is simply stunning,with it`s lovely beaches.The word mutiara means "pearl"in Malay language!
When we checked in(my husband and I ),and the clerk knew that we are honeymooners she upgraded our room to a juior suite with the same rate of the double bed room that we have booked.

Unique Quality: It has a wonderful swimming pool,and restaurants with live band!