Just returned. Here are my thoughts. The hotel itself is very modern and new. The staff are also very friendly, polite and helpful.The property itself though suffers from width space. So, areas such as the pool cannot have a bar or a social space. The Sago on the 2F also struggled on busy mornings to accommodate everyone and there was a waiting system in place. Similarly, the rooms are not that large by Penang standards considering the price. That being said, we enjoyed our five night stay particularly as we had lounge access. So, could alternate breakfast there with Sago.
In terms of food, we ate at Kucina one evening and found it to be very good and as authentic an Italian as you will find in Malaysia. However, in Penang, we come for Hawker food. So, to that end we often went to Pulau Tikus Hawkers which is opposite Balai Polis. A wide range of hawkers serving different noodles, char kuey teow and the famous Ban Chang Kuih pancakes all at local prices.
We also tried some of the hawkers on the sea front but found it more expensive and less authentic.