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.

Amir A Mutalib

Had a great time at the Rasa Sayang ShangriLa . Customer service was top notch from the day we arrived till we checked out. Cant praise the customer service enough. Made us feel welcomed from the front desk right to the housekeeping crew. Food was excellent. The breakfast is a must. The one I would recommend is to perhaps update the rooms. That’s about it. Next time we visit Batu Feringgi, most definitely will be staying at Rasa Sayang.

Roland Lee

Stayed in the garden wing for 3 nights a month ago and loved it ! Had a room on the 4th floor with a balcony looking into the 2 beautiful old rain trees and the swimming pool.. what a sight! Those pictures on the website don’t lie as they often do when you get there and see the place in real life.. How can anyone get tired of looking at these magnificent trees with all those ferns growing on the trunks..they must surely have their own stories to tell.. not to mention the truly expansive beautifully kept grounds of the hotel next to the sea where you can just stroll and relax in the mornings and evenings in the cool tropical sea breeze, it is just about perfect! The rooms are nicely furnished, generously sized and very well maintained for an old hotel like this (as is the rest of the hotel) and the service is top notch and friendly without being pretentious. The buffet breakfast is very good with a huge choice indeed and you can seat indoors if you prefer it cooler or outdoors looking at the gardens and swimming pool. We wanted a hotel that would help us to relax at the start of our trip to Penang and it certainly does that from the moment we rolled up in the driveway and the reception area. Oh we just had a look at the building that houses the spa and gym and it’s certainly worth checking out even though we didn’t use the facilities. Overall 5 out of 5. Would we stay here again? Oh hell yes please !! And if you are staying here or around this area, you should check out Tai Tong seafood restaurant and Yu Xiang kitchen both in Teluk Bahang, they really made our stay in this area even more enjoyable :)! Oh and if you like durians, that stall just across the road from the hotel is highly recommended. Prices are very reasonable compared to other places we had checked out and staff are friendly, helpful and honest and durians are fresh daily from what we could see. We ate there 4 times :)! They even managed to get us cempedak fresh from their farm too which was utterly delicious !

Amin Zack

Personally, I find Penang a little boring sometimes. But Shangri-La was different. This place actually made us feel like we didn’t want to leave the hotel at all. The landscape here is really beautiful and it’s so nice just walking around the resort. We spent most of our time walking around, taking photos, chilling by the pool and just enjoying the hotel. Sometimes you don’t really need to go out when the hotel itself already gives you a nice place to relax. We had breakfast here as well and I’d say the food was quite good. Nothing much to complain about. This is actually my second time staying at Shangri-La Penang, and I still enjoyed it. If you’re looking for a place to relax, take a break and enjoy some quality time without having to go everywhere, I’d definitely recommend this place. For me, it’s worth the price and I’d definitely come back again.

ADIMASHALIM ABDUL MANAF

This resort has been a favorite of my family for over a decade. This time, I stayed for 4 days and 3 nights with my family. The check-in process was smooth and satisfactory—congratulations! However, there was one thing that deeply disappointed and upset me. When I went to the Pinang Bar (next to the pool) around 11:15 AM on August 28, 2026, to order drinks, I was treated very unprofessionally by an Indian female staff member (I believe she was the cashier). She was unsmiling and unprofessional—behavior unbefitting of the Shangri-La Group, which is renowned for its standards of excellence in customer service. I hope management will reprimand and provide further training to her so she does not tarnish Shangri-La's image in the future. Regarding breakfast, I noticed some improvements, especially at the beverage station. Fresh fruit juices—such as watermelon, carrot, and cucumber—were available. I hope this continues and that the variety of fresh juices is expanded in the future. However, I was somewhat disappointed with the sausages; only chicken sausages were served every day. There was no rotation—unlike other five-star hotels that switch to beef or lamb sausages—so long-stay guests like myself wouldn't get bored of the same menu daily. Regardless, kudos to Mr. Vijay (Restaurant Manager) for providing excellent service to my family, as he has done for so long. For the Evening Cocktail service, I hope management might consider providing at least one substantial dish in the future, such as fried rice, fried noodles, or fried vermicelli. Kudos also to Mr. Guna at the Rasa Wing Lounge for his excellent service to guests over the years. Kudos to other outstanding staff members as well, such as Mr. Harun, Mr. Tahir (Recreation), Miss Pui Yin (Front Office), and Mr. Sugu & the Concierge team. Well done!