Rooms at The Hard Rock Hotel Penang are snapped up really quick during school holidays for obvious reasons – It has the coolest and most fun facilities. The design of the resort is centered around its pools and the adjacent beach. However you may not get the most perfect vista of the beach and horizon from a Seaview Room as there is a bunch of pretty obstructive trees restricting the view, the balcony and its explicit cleanliness are rather amazing nonetheless.
The Lagoon Deluxe Rooms are the most popular as they have a deck that allows you to dive into the swimming pool.
Customer Service
We were greeted warmly by the attendant when we arrived, the lobby felt crowded but people were socially spaced out. The check-in counters were all occupied and as I approached, a staff gestured towards another section of the counter to proceed with the check-in process. I booked two twin-sharing bedrooms, unfortunately I got the king-bed ones instead. He must have spotted my grimace, subsequently offered to provide two extra beds for free.
The Amazing Pools
My son shouted “The swimming pool is insane!” after laying eyes on it. There went the rest of my 3 days baby-sitting by the pool, on a poolside bar cocktail and menu endeavor while he went down the water slides 500 times, in style.
Frequent sanitization of the shared utilities and benches, QR code scan for the restaurant menu are some of the safety measures in light of Covid
Direct Access to the Private Beach
Lovely beach with restricted crowd and a shady area with seats
The beach is privately owned and only hotel guests with a band are allowed in. There are a few seats on the beach for people to relax. You can also do water sports, ride a horse, and soak up the sun.
Horse riding on the beach at RM50 per ride (5-10 minutes)
Breakfast Buffet
Servers would scoop the food for the guests rather than them helping themselves with the dishes. Breakfast here is not something you must try, you can go for it for the convenience. The spread consists of mostly local fare such as porridge, fried noodles, noodle soup, nasi lemak, spring rolls, meat dishes and the Egg Station with sausage, ham, hash brown, cereal stuff, sandwiches, etc.
The staff would serve one portion of the dish requested by the guest to minimize contact
Covid-19 SOPs and Social Distancing
It’s not perfect but I think that Hard Rock Hotel enforces the SOPs and social distancing measures effectively taking into consideration the need to allow more guests in, as part of the initiative to revive the sluggish economy greatly impacted by the pandemic. The hotel which has been refurbished in 2016, is not the newest nor the most fancy, but it takes cleanliness and service incredibly seriously.
Safety Guidelines and Hygiene Protocols
From Hard Rock International under the new SAFE + SOUND programme in partnership with EcoLab and NSF
LUGGAGE SANITIZATION – before it enters the lobby
SAFE+SOUND DOOR SEAL – on every guest room door upon arrival
SPA TREATMENT – one guest in each treatment room
