Clove Hall

Feel the colonial splendour of old Penang in a beautifully restored, tranquil guesthouse

A gentlemen’s club in the 50s, this colonial mansion and outbuildings in a residential part of Georgetown were left to the termites for decades before owner Christopher Ong and his partner Karl Steinberg (of Galle Fort Hotel fame) reclaimed and restored them to, if anything more, than their former glory. Impeccable workmanship and care have gone into the conversion, with its 6 suites, cream walls, chocolate-brown rafters, great stone pillars, antique tile floors, open archways and lazily spinning ceiling fans. A tranquil swimming pool, fringed with ginger bushes, offers refreshment after a hard day’s sightseeing. Birds twitter in the tropical foliage as you rest on your flagstone verandah or recline on your silk-covered Chinese daybed before striking out again into UNESCO-listed Penang, full of heritage and history and one of Asia’s foodie heavens.

Furniture comes from India, China and Sri Lanka, including some colonial antiques, all assembled in the best possible taste. And if the operation is just a fraction short of the extra attention to your creature comforts that makes a truly great hotel, the abundance of things to do outside will mean you hardly notice it.

Highs

• A taste of colonial tradition, beautifully restored
• Jovial hosts who make everyone feel welcome, and friendly, discreet, helpful staff
• Elegant spacious suites cosset you with four-poster beds and clawfoot tubs; just 6 of them ensures an intimate feel
• The pool, a rare boon in Georgetown, in a lovely garden setting
• The knowledgeably designed restaurant guide, which effectively makes the great local restaurant scene part of your accommodation

Lows

• No fridge or bottle openers in the rooms, and no bar. Having to ask for everything means your suite feels less like a home from home than it might
• You're not in the bustling centre of Georgetown (a plus for some) and the location isn't very interesting in the daytime, plus walking to the main sites is arduous. Rent a scooter or taxis are cheap and easily arranged
• Their aversion to incandescent bulbs may be environmentally irreproachable, but it casts a chill glow over your Tom Clancy
• No rooms can be made up as twins