Date of Stay:
20 February 2010 – 23 February 2010

Who:
53 year old "Mum" (Subbi), 30 year old "Daughter" (Lise)

Reason for Stay:
Lise got it in her head that she wanted to go to Penang for Chinese New Year (there was just something that planted the seed, and then it became a must do – she was going with or without a travel companion!), Subbi eventually agreed to come along, particularly when she heard the price of airfares through Air Asia on sale!

We decided we wanted to do this trip cheaply, yet not giving up our rules for our accommodation – these being:
1. Must have our own room (we don’t do dorms)
2. Must have our own bathroom
3. The accommodation must be clean and secure

We first tried our luck with “discount” accommodation (ie. backpacker lodging, mini-hotels, hostels) on our trip through Viet Nam and found we did not miss the amenities of larger hotels (such as gyms, restaurants, swimming pools, doormen, bellboys etc.) particularly as our style of travel is to be out and about early, and only return to our room to sleep and shower!

We started our trip with 7 nights in Georgetown staying at Hutton Lodge, and wanted to end our time in Penang with a few nights on Batu Ferringhi as we love the sunsets, night markets, Long Beach Hawkers (although after staying in Georgetown we think the Red Garden Hawkers well and truly stand up to, if not top, the standard of Long Beach), and the atmosphere of Batu Ferringhi at night.

We had previously always stayed at one of the resorts along Batu Ferringhi (both at the Park Royal and at the Lone Pine, and recently in a privately owned apartment in the Sri Sayang complex). When we were in Penang in September 2009 we wandered down past the group of hostels “on the beach” past the Park Royal Hotel including Baba’s Guest House, Ali’s Ferringhi Guest House, Shalini’s Guest House, ET Budget Guesthouse. From the outside Ali’s Ferringhi Guest House looked the nicest because of the gardens, so when we came home we did some more research before confirming our decision to stay at Ali’s.

Our Experience:
We booked through Hostelbookers, opting to pay a bit extra for a quad share with private bathroom (RM160 per night) over the triple share with private bathroom (RM150) so we ended up with queen size beds each (no fighting over who gets the single and who gets the Queen). As we wanted our own bathroom our options were restricted to triple share or above (Ali’s Ferringhi Guest House do do a double room with private bathroom for RM110 but we’ll recycle our joke from the Hutton Lodge review and say while we do get along very well, we really don’t want to share a bed). Ali’s also do a beach front quad share for RM280 (1 queen bed, 2 single beds), beach front for 6 for RM390 (2 queen beds, 2 singles), and a single for RM100 – all with private bathroom.

We arrived at Ali’s at around 10:30am, well before check-in time, expecting to just leave our cases and go kill some time until check-in. On arrival we were greeted with a smile, and told our room is empty and being cleaned. We were told we could leave our cases behind the reception desk and go and grab a drink at the café/bar across the (1.5 lane) road on the beach. We sat down with a couple of cold soft-drinks (pricier than buying a coke at a 7-11 at RM10 for a can of Coke and a can of Coke Light). We hadn’t quite finished our drinks when the lady from Ali’s came to let us know our room was ready.

We checked in, paying up front including a RM100 deposit for the key (you are given not only a room key but a key for the gate as, like many hostels, the gate is locked at midnight for security, but at least at Ali’s you can let yourself in if you are out late). We were in room K on the ground floor.

We walked into our room and were very pleasantly surprised - the room photos on Hostelbookers weren’t particularly flattering so we were expecting plain, clean rooms with army green blankets on the beds. Our room looked so much prettier, with pretty blue floral quilt covers on warm cosy quilts, matching floral sheets, with colour tones perfectly matching the “bed-heads”.

The room included a TV on a table at the foot of one of the beds, a jug of water with two glasses, a chest of drawers with bedside lamp, a padded bench seat at the end of the other bed (which was handy for storing suitcases on). There was no fridge, and no wardrobe. There was a towel-rail on the wall opposite the beds that you could hang a coat-hanger over if need be. There was an airconditioning unit over one bed, and a window – however it was covered with shade cloth (in lieu of flyscreen).

The wetroom bathroom was very small – you could not leave your toilet paper in there when having a shower. It consisted of a basin, mirror, shower head, and toilet. The room would have been 4 feet / 120cm square. It was very clean, we could smell the bleach left from cleaning the bathroom just minutes before we were allowed in the room. The toilet cistern did constantly leak (more so when flushed) which meant the floor was always a little wet. On the up-side, it was the clean water, not the waste water so the only issue was wetness, not cleanliness. The cistern top was a little sloped – we learned the hard way not to leave the toilet paper roll on top as it rolled right into the toilet! We were somewhat embarrassed so didn’t ask at reception for a new roll, rather bought one at a convenience store along Batu Ferringhi.

The beds were soft, super comfortable, super cosy. An indication – Subbi is normally awake by 6am… On our first morning at Ali’s Ferringhi Guest House she woke up at 9am (half the day was gone – hehehe, this is her catch phrase when waking Lise up on a weekend or on a holiday “half the day is gone”). Set the airconditioning cold, and you could snuggle down under the quilts – so, so nice!

You had to take your shoes off going into the main house area, as with traditional Malaysian homes. The hallways were very clean. There was an iron and ironing board in the hallway that was (presumably) available to guests to use. The walls were perhaps a little thin - but this, in our experience, is the case in even some of the best hotels – so when the “neighbours” had their TV up a little loud we could hear it.

The gardens were lovely, it made the Guest House more private, and tropical! It made it much prettier than the surrounding Guest Houses, and we were pleased every time we wandered back to be able to stay in the prettiest one.

Location:
Ali’s Ferringhi Guest House is down a side street off the main Jalan Batu Ferringhi (near where Guan Guan restaurant is/was located – it was all closed up when we were there). It is directly opposite the beach across a little 1 – 1.5 lane road, through the little cafe-bar-restaurants on the beach and you are at the water’s edge. The little cafe-bar-restaurants that run along the beach are great for a few quiet drinks while watching the sun set! Very relaxing, very nice.

Ali’s is around a 15 minute walk to the Long Beach Hawkers, about a 5 minute walk to the start of the night markets. There are a number of bus stops just along the main Jalan Batu Ferringhi so access to transport is very easy.

Overall it is very very quiet (no traffic noise), however you should note there is a mosque nearby so you will hear the azan (call to prayer) each morning (and evening if you are in). While it didn’t bother us – we feel we can’t really get annoyed with something like that when we are travelling in a predominantly Muslim country (roughly 60% of the population) – some may find that off-putting.

Summary:
We really enjoyed staying at Ali’s Ferringhi Guest House. We loved the location – walking across that tiny road onto the beach was nice, and while you don’t even have to cross a road from the resorts, it actually takes you longer to get down from your room, through the lobby, past the restaurants and pools onto the beach. Also, the end of the beach where Ali’s is located is reasonably uncrowded. The little cafe-bar-restaurants add a nice atmosphere.

We would stay at Ali’s again. It is not super cheap, but when compared to the price to stay in the resorts along Batu Ferringhi you are paying half the price or less (we would have paid more than twice what we paid at Ali’s to stay at one of the resorts, and couldn’t guarantee getting a queen size bed each).

You must remember, it is an hostel, and it is in a “traditional” Malay home. Don’t go in expecting a resort. We could easily overlook the little things like having a wetroom as a bathroom and the leaking cistern, as the price was right, and the beds were super comfy.