Shangri-La's Rasa Sayang Resort & Spa, Bandar Batu Feringgi

This hotel is a wonderful place to stay with beautiful gardens and gentle sea breezes. We were in the Garden Wing, our room was very comfortable and overlooked the Garden Wing pool. We would stay again, the staff were all so welcoming that when we checked out after five days, we felt we had been staying with friends. Many thanks to them all for making our stay so enjoyable.

We just spent 5 days and nights there and this hotel is by far the finest overall I have ever stayed at. A little expensive, but the quality makes up for it. It is a resort and not just a hotel to spend your sleeping hours. As others have said here, the staff is friendly, curteous, fun, a part of your family. If they get within 10 feet of you, they will approach you, smile and talk with you. The rooms were great, spacious, good bed, interent (though a little slow but liveable) and overlook a beautiful garden with swimming pools and the beach in the background. Sat on balcony and watched the sky turn red with a beautiful sunset. There were earlier comments about bad food..the breakfast buffet in the Spice Market Cafe is without a doubt the largest and best I have ever had. They were so many diffent foods to choose, I was unable to try them all in five meals there. Every dish I did eat was delicious. People behind the counters ready to cook whatever you desire. The spa was fantastic. A little pricey, but well worth it. Complete individual treatment by very good masseuses. Also, the setting of the spa was like none other I have seen. We loved evey minute at this fantastic place and we will visit there again. If you go to Penang, and you really should, you should also stay at this resort.

The service was fanstastic; lots of smiling faces and staff went out of their way to be helpful. Great sunsets can be viewed from the balcony (each room has a balcony). You can pay a little more and enjoy the seafacing rooms. Loved the spice market restaurant. Breakfast was a feast. The best place for a luxury holiday, right on the beach.

The service was fantastic, the people friendly. Everything was faultless. Just don't eat there. I agree with the previous reviewer, the food is really not at par with the service and price. I had breakfast at the Ferringhi Grill. Luckily it was thrown in free with the room otherwise I wouldn't go. Small selection and poorly cooked. I stayed there for 3 days and they did not change the menu. By third morning I went only for the fresh juices. The tea served at the Rasa Lounge was also unchanged for the 2 afternoons I was there. The same cold scones and cakes were served. Oh yes, there were plenty of it but when will they learn that quality is more important than quantity? We were too tired to go out one evening and decided to try the buffet at the Spice Market. Again, plenty of food but nothing special.

The services are quite good and I really liked it.But only one thing troubled me the most is the bad food and terrible location.The rest were perfect.

Having read previous reviews of this site it was with a little trepidation that I booked this hotel. However, having thoroughly enjoyed previous stays at the Shang in Sydney, Bangkok and KL I decided to take the chance. The outcome was total satisfaction with this hotel from the moment we we personally escorted to our rooms by our receptionist. Rooms were spacious and included a seperate shower stall and a balcony (both a must for us). Even had a pair of thongs (a must for Aussies) for each of us, by our bedsides. A call for ice, each night was answered within minutes. The pool area was delightful. Each sun-lounge was provided with a fresh terry-towelling covering and a towel was placed on each. Within minutes of arrival a chilled glass of water was provided for each guest. Our package included breakfast catering foods to suit any nationality. Turn your back and our coffee cups were refilled - we soon learnt yo invert our cups to avoid caffein OD. The package also included one buffet dinner and a one way transfer to/from the airport. I reserved our room via the net and requested a transfer from the ferry terminal since we were arriving in Penang, from Langkawi by boat but was advised that they could not do this. I was not contactable after leaving Australia but during our stay in langkawi the hotel tried to advise that they could, in fact, pick us up at the ferry terminal. On arrival home I discovered that they had emialed me twice, phoned ny mobile 3 times and finally faxed and then phoned my office in OZ in an effort to contact me. I was most impressed. We like to eat out of hotels as much as possible, particularly when in Asia so like to choose hotels where there are plenty of eateries within walking distance. The Rasa Sayang is perfectly located on eastern end of the Batu Ferringhi strip, close to tastey, cheap eateries. I cannot recommend this hotel highly enough

i stayed at the mutiara penang in the summer of 1997. the hotel was fantastic, the food is no less than excellent, the service is really good , the staff is friendly, and above all the beach is very clean. aftre two years i came back to penang, and i couldn't get booking at the mutiara, so i stayed at a 4 stars hotel on the beach.i will bring my wife again..

After having reservations for a stay during the 05/06 holiday season abruptly cancelled, the reopening of this long-time personal favorite was anticipated with great expectations. As expected, the cost of rooms went up and the entire place was redecorated and refurbished. But the from the moment I saw the lobby, it became apparent that the make over was not quite what it was hyped to be. Service in general was poor and not because of staff efforts, but apparently because there was a huge disconnect between management and staff. There were openly negative comments about management and several staff expressed a desire to move to other jobs - something I rarely hear in hotels. Basic services were poor and room maintainence was disorganized. Large amounts of dust were accumulated in corners. Even getting ice was an effort. On check out, early in the morning, the front desk officer was not properly dressed and at the last second presented an error in billing - they somehow forgot to charge my last night's stay. Having just visited such great hotels as the Phoenicia in Beirut, the Four Seasons Hotels in Damascus and Istanbul, the Rasa Sayang was a tremendous disappointment. The only saving grace in the place was the spa which was delightful. And, the internet service was free of charge and good (as it also was in the Phoenicia Hotel in Beirut). This hotel's owners and management have some serious work to do before I can recommend it to anyone.

Just stayed there having been warned by others that the service levels were weak after reopening last year. Boy,were they right! The F&B Dept are trying hard but are just not getting it right. Such a shame because the location,facilities are superb.

I admit it was my honeymoon but we spent two idyllic weeks in the Rasa Sayang and it couldn't have been better - luxury, service, friendliness, style, class, peace, tranquility - evrything you could ever want from a holiday. We dream of going back one day....