Had a good stay here in June 2024 and I would happily return. At least at this point the elite benefits and treatment are top notch, and the hotel will be a good choice for any stay in Penang. It's an interesting development in that the hotel set-up is a mixture of residential and hotel - and the hotel itself is a mix between a standard business hotel and a resort:

• Ground floor (#1) - receptions, separate, for the residential buildings/executive apartments and then the hotel lobby (looking onto the water/park)
• Floors #2-#4 have the hotel pool, gym, various restaurants, ballrooms and kiddy club
• Floors -1/-2, 5-10: Parking
• Floors 12 - 22: Hotel, including floor 20 that is primarily the "M Club" executive lounge that you get access to
• Floors 20 - 55 : Apartments (some sold, some will become executive apartments from Marriott)

I'd only booked a week before, but (as an Ambassador) got an instant upgrade from a base room to an executive suite, and a welcome from the loyalty manager who was also around the hotel. The reason I found the treatment was excellent was as the staff recognised me by name (I presume not that many Ambassadors staying at this point) and did go out of their way to be helpful. In addition the Ambassador benefits go way beyond brand standards (see the end of the review for a copy/paste) as it included complimentary mini-bar and item pressing.

Room: Was new with classy brand fittings, had a great big shower with excellent power (not sure if they haven't learned about water saving here, most new hotels have a mere dribble), a bath and separate living room/dining area. My suite was classed as a "City View", which meant a partial water view in reality and a view of the nearby apartments and temple. I had a great elite welcome gift waiting - including something specifically for my children that went down very well (edible painting set, I was very impressed), and then adult chocolates, sweets etc, plus a personalised welcome from the GM and housekeeping.

Breakfast: Offered in the restaurant, a full selection of everything you could want including local specialties such as home-made dim-sums (6 varieties, better than I normally see in China) along with a noodle chef, egg chef, fruits, pastries, fruit juice pressing and Chinese/Indian choices, that did rotate over the three days we were here. It felt on the high end of what you'd normally see in a Marriott and wouldn't be out of place in a St Regis brand.

Lounge: Open throughout the day for soft drinks and nibbles, had a great view and nice furniture. The evening snacks were fairly standard in terms of cheese/fruits/light fried items/noodles and some curry. Not enough to replace dinner, but enough for a nibble. Service was however good, even during the day the staff served you soft drinks from behind the bar area to your table, and in the evening pours were generous and last orders wasn't really called until well after 8.15pm.

Facilities: The kiddy club was small but perfectly fine for leaving children or having a short playtime. Gym looked fairly standard. The restaurants, and shop, seemed to be of a high quality with some good deals on food, buffets etc - we chose to eat out. The pool area has three spaces - a bubble/spa set-up, a main pool, and a children's area under shade. All were nice to relax by - though there was no ability to get any food or drinks by the pool which was a bit of a missed opportunity, there was a person constantly looking after towels though.

Vicinity: Opposite the hotel is an amazing park (for kids aged 6-12) that is being freshly built on reclaimed grasslands. Once the trees have grown up it will have better shade, so it can only improve over the next few years. There is even a pedestrian crossing near the hotel (one of perhaps 3 along the entire waterfront), though traffic barely respects the concept and a hand to cross the road would be more effective. There are also a variety of restaurants within walking distance of the hotel, we tried two of the more highly recommended ones (Bali Hai Seafood Market, in the Michelin Guide to Penang - pricey by local standards but great service and an excellent seafood selection; Restoran 77, famous curry fish head, which was more local, smaller portions but great taste). About 1 mile away were a couple of malls with ATMs and a bunch of chain restaurants like Din Tai Fung, Ippudo etc. Most people wouldn't walk in this heat, but there weren't too many grabs around the area so you'd have to wait a while for a car. Finally, around 300m away (and visible from our room) were two old Bhuddist temples from Thailand/Myanmar[Burma] that provided a nice morning walk. You are out of Georgetown in short, but it's a perfectly reasonable area that will no doubt improve over time with the park getting better and more hotels being added.

Photos now follow

Breakfast - note the Penang noodles and recommendations of local restaurants

Welcome gift for kids - edible painting

Snapshot of some of the evening buffet for food in the lounge

View of the hotel from the park

View of the hotel and the rather impressive park (not ideal when it is very hot though)

View of the adult pool and bubble area on the left

View from the hotel window ("City view")

Welcome towels on the bed - resort style

Welcome gift for an Ambassador, a good selection of bakery and sweet items from the shop downstairs

And finally, the executive welcome letter/benefits (Ambassador), note the last two which are well beyond brand standard:
I'd suggest more people try it whilst it is in this early opening stage and perhaps before the inevitable pull-back on the benefits.