Shangri-La Rasa Sayang, Penang

Intan Syafiza

I am extremely disappointed with my recent 4-day, 3-night stay at Shangri-La Rasa Sayang. This trip was supposed to be one of the happiest moments of our lives as it was our honeymoon, our wedding anniversary, and my husband’s birthday. Instead, it became one of the most disappointing hotel experiences we have ever had. From the moment we arrived, no one welcomed or greeted us. We had to wait for assistance with our luggage, and my husband eventually had to approach the check-in counter himself because no staff acknowledged us. Throughout our stay, we couldn’t help but notice the difference in how we were treated compared to foreign (Mat Salleh) guests. Staff who barely acknowledged us suddenly became warm, cheerful, and attentive when serving them. It honestly made us question whether we were treated differently because we are Malays, locals, or simply because we are young. We paid exactly the same as every other guest, yet we were made to feel invisible. Our special requests for our honeymoon, anniversary, and birthday were also poorly handled. We had requested in advance for the cake, fruits, and decorations to be prepared on 6 July. The request was ignored. The cake was delivered on the wrong day, the promised fruits never arrived, there were no decorations, and no one apologised or followed up. To make matters worse, the room was not cleaned to the standard expected of a luxury hotel. The most upsetting part came during checkout when my husband overheard a reception staff member making comments about us. After hearing that, we no longer felt comfortable accepting the recovery gesture offered because it no longer felt genuine. Discussing guests within earshot is extremely rude and unprofessional. What disappointed us most was not the missing cake or fruit. It was how your staff made us feel: ignored, unwelcome, unimportant, and undervalued. At times, it genuinely felt like no one cared because we were not Mat Salleh or wealthy-looking guests. Whether that was your staff’s intention or not, that is exactly how the experience made us feel. We paid luxury prices expecting luxury hospitality. Instead, we received poor service, broken promises, poor communication, and an experience that felt like a complete waste of our money. This is certainly not the Shangri-La standard I remembered, and unfortunately, instead of remembering our honeymoon and anniversary with happiness, we will remember Shangri-La Rasa Sayang as the place that disappointed us the most.

Reshwani Reddi

Had a wonderful getaway with family and Shangri-la doesn’t disappoint. Rooms looked refreshed and there is a good view of the pool and beach. Well maintained grounds, one of the best in the country with good amenities like the Kids club. Enjoyed the dj live music by the beach at night. Chess game at the gardens was a welcoming change to the previous checkers. Special mention to Dulal the house keeping staff for a job well done. Room service food was excellent. Keep up the good service.

Steven Tang

I recently stayed at Shangri-La Rasa Sayang, Penang, with my family and came away with mixed feelings. First, the positives. The resort grounds are beautiful and well-maintained, the rooms are comfortable, the beds are decent, the shower water temperature was consistently good, and the air-conditioning generally worked well. Batu Ferringhi offers a nice beachfront setting, although guests should be aware that traffic between the hotel, Gurney Drive and Georgetown can be extremely heavy during weekends and public holidays, so additional travel time should be expected. The highlight of our stay was undoubtedly the poolside massage service. Mr Zhackie was excellent, and his foot, shoulder and neck massage provided much-needed relief after a long day. I would also like to commend Mr Nabeel at the front desk, who was courteous, professional and helpful throughout our interactions. Unfortunately, several operational issues prevented this stay from meeting the standards I expected from a Shangri-La property. Despite completing mobile check-in, submitting passport details in advance and indicating our arrival time, one of our rooms was still not ready when we arrived close to 5pm. We only discovered it was available after personally returning to reception to enquire about it. The mobile app experience was also disappointing. We used the Shangri-La Circle platform to request bowls, chopsticks and cutlery for takeaway food. After multiple follow-up calls and waiting more than an hour, nothing arrived. I eventually went to the restaurant myself to obtain the items. Ironically, the requested items arrived more than an hour later and the quantity was still incorrect. Breakfast at Spice Market Café had an acceptable variety of food, but the crowd was overwhelming and we were seated outside the restaurant. The coffee from both the live station and machine was also not to my liking. The buggy service between Rasa Sayang and Golden Sands lacked any apparent queue management system. Guests simply gathered and boarded when a buggy arrived, and there did not appear to be any guest verification process. On one occasion, I was overlooked while waiting because there was no structured system in place. Another surprise was being informed at Golden Sands that there were no fresh pool towels available. For a resort under the Shangri-La brand, this was unexpected. There were also a number of smaller operational issues throughout the stay, including a leaking air-conditioning unit in one room on the first day, limited television channel selection, and a lack of proactive communication when issues arose. To be fair, staff were generally polite and willing to help when approached. The challenge was not staff attitude, but rather inconsistent execution, weak follow-through and operational processes that did not match the premium pricing of the resort. While we enjoyed the beautiful grounds, comfortable rooms, and excellent service from Mr Zhackie and Mr Nabeel, the overall experience fell short of the Shangri-La standard we were expecting. Based on this stay, we would likely explore alternative accommodation options on future visits to Penang unless significant improvements are made.

Oshio Shida

This is my first time staying at Shangrila. A sweet and fun experience. The room is complete, beautiful, spacious and clean. Interesting view pool. Breakfast with many choices, quality, interesting and very delicious. All staff from every part are very friendly and helpful. The whole surrounding of the hotel is very beautiful natural and the deco is attractive and antique. Worthy and Recommended.

Richel Choong

Had a wonderful stay at Shangri-La Rasa Sayang, Penang. The resort is beautiful, well-maintained, and located right by the beach. The rooms were comfortable, the facilities were excellent, and the overall atmosphere was relaxing and family-friendly. What stood out most was the hospitality of the staff. Everyone was warm, professional, and attentive throughout our stay, making us feel welcomed and well taken care of. Thank you to the team for helping make our anniversary getaway a memorable one. We look forward to visiting again in the future.