The Rough Guide to Malaysia , Singapore and Brunei 6th Edition 2009

Hyperbole aside, this is the best accommodation in all of Malaysia. This huge, century-old Chinese mansion with sixteen en-suite rooms was used as a set for the movie INDOCHINE. Guests have the run of the place – there are no roped off areas or “staff only” signs here. Besides the reading and TV room, there’s a games room with ping-pong table and free internet access, as well as a stunning courtyard open to the sky, where you can while away the day sipping beer and admiring the intricately carved Chinese scrollwork. If you are really lucky you’ll be in the courtyard during a cloudburst and experience the house being naturally cooled by the rain as the architects intended. Rates includes breakfast. Book ahead.

Coming along Lebuh Farquhar, past the Penang Museum and continuing west underneath a footbridge and turning left on Lebuh Leith, you’ll soon reach the stunning Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion at no.14 Lebuh Leith, whose outer walls are painted a striking indigo blue. Built by Cheong Fatt Tze (Thio Thiaw Siat) a Hakka businessman, it’s the best example of eclectic nineteenth-century Peranakan architecture in Penang. The mansion, with its elaborate ceremonial halls, bedrooms and libraries, separated by cobbled courtyards, small gardens, and heavy wooden doors, has been magnificently restored. The interior can only be seen by joining an hour-long guided tour (daily at 11.00am, 1.30pm and 3.00pm) which is well worth the RM12 entrance fee. The mansion is also a boutique hotel.