Penang (Part 1?): Ren I Tang

Okay, let's get something out of the way - I loved George Town in Penang.  Period.

Part of falling in love with Penang/George Town was staying at Ren I Tang.  This was, to put it simply one of the best places I have ever stayed.  The former Chinese medicine hall was restored and converted to a hotel by a group of incredibly talented women from Kuala Lumpur.  If you get a chance to talk to them about the restoration, two things will likely happen.

1. You will be in awe of the dedication and vision that was required to turn the building into what it is today.  Doing things like adding bathrooms and finding sewer lines while also keeping the beauty and style of the original building was a monumental undertaking.
2. You will likely think twice about ever buying an old home and fixing it up.  I love the idea in a 'romanticised ideal' sort of way, but I also know that the reality would be a mountain of headaches.  I will count myself lucky that Karen and company from Ren I Tang do it so well.

When we decided to go to Penang, we basically went to do an eating festival (more on that later).  We wanted to stay in a nice place, but what we got was a gorgeous spot run by an amazing staff.  The people who work there seem to love the hotel and the city, so if you share any of those interests, they will share tons of information with you.  They love food, too, and will help point you in some new and unexpected directions. 

The location in Little India (yes, even though the building was a Chinese medicine hall) is fantastic.  Walking, nothing in the old part of town was more than twenty minutes away.  With so many places to stop and eat or look, those walks sometimes took a lot longer, but they certainly were not tiring.  Coming back to the hotel at the end of a segment of the eating festival was the perfect interlude to relax, cool down, and build up an appetite all over again.  The only bad part of the location is that there is an incredible noodle stall right across the street (in direct view from our room).  It was often so tempting that it interrupted some of our eating plans.  How do you turn down freshly cooked noodles to start the day?  Especially when you see people lining up to get them?

All I can say is that I have my fingers crossed to go back.