Where to stay in Penang: the best areas and hotels

This is the reason Penang is on the map. The old quarter is a few dense square miles of pastel shophouses, incense-wreathed temples and grand clan houses such as Khoo Kongsi, where every corner seems to hide a mural, a noodle stall or a café in a former warehouse. Fort Cornwallis guards the tip of the cape, the clan jetties stretch out over the water at Weld Quay, and Little India turns the volume up a few streets inland.

Hotels here trade on history, and the best are destinations in themselves. The Eastern and Oriental is the grande dame, a white colonial landmark with a domed lobby and porters in uniform. Royale Chulan sits inside the core of the UNESCO zone at Weld Quay. Muntri Mews fills a row of Edwardian buildings that once stabled horse carriages, and East Indies Mansion has just ten rooms, steps from the Pinang Peranakan Mansion. Expect creaky charm and small room counts; come elsewhere for a big pool.

KOMTAR, the tower that pokes above everything else in George Town, marks where the heritage streets give way to the working city. Around it are the shopping malls, the main bus hub and Jalan Macalister, a long road of old mansions, hawker corners and late-night cafés. It is less pretty than the old town and a good deal more practical, and the murals and temples are still within walking distance.

You get more hotel for your money here. St Giles Wembley stands at the Magazine Road junction, about 20 minutes from the airport and five from the ferry terminal. Jen Penang is in the thick of the shopping district and runs a shuttle bus to the beach, and Citadines Connect is close to Prangin Mall and the Macalister café scene. For something with more swagger, Macalister Mansion is a century-old colonial house turned playful design hotel.

North-west of the old town, the city straightens its collar. Gurney Drive is Penang's best-known boulevard, a long seafront promenade backed by condominium towers and two large shopping malls, with a hawker centre that draws crowds every evening. The Thai and Burmese Buddhist temples, facing each other across a lane, are close by.

This is where the island keeps its sleekest city hotels. G Hotel Gurney, a minimalist design hotel, overlooks the drive itself; its sister G Hotel Kelawai is a few steps from the shore; and the Gurney Bay Hotel has 368 rooms on the same strip. Just inland, The Millen is five minutes' walk from the street food and under 15 minutes from the old town. Staying here means a short ride to the heritage streets, but you gain a pool, a sea breeze and a superb supper.

Tanjung Bungah, 'Flower Cape' in Malay, is the first stretch of beach on the road out of George Town, around 6.5 km north-west of the centre. It is a residential suburb more than a resort: apartment blocks on the hillside, a sandy shore scattered with boulders and shaded by trees, and locals out walking at sunset. The marina and restaurants of Straits Quay are just back towards town.

Choose it if you want sea views without committing to a full resort holiday. The Copthorne Orchid is one of the closest beach hotels to the city, Flamingo by the Beach sits right on the sand with green hills behind, and Rainbow Paradise has balconies facing the water and a pool bar that suits couples. M Social Resort brings a younger, lifestyle-hotel feel to the same shore. Gurney Drive's hawkers and Batu Ferringhi's night market are each a short drive away, in opposite directions.

Batu Ferringhi is where Penang puts its sunloungers. A long ribbon of sand on the north coast, about 17 km from George Town, it is lined with resort hotels whose gardens run down to the beach. Jet skis and parasails buzz about by day; at dusk the stalls of the night bazaar unroll along the main road, selling souvenirs, sarongs and grilled things on sticks.

The resorts are the draw, and they are good. Shangri-La Rasa Sayang is the grandest, set in gardens a short walk from the night market, with its livelier sister Golden Sands next door. Hard Rock Hotel brings sea views and a family-pleasing sense of fun at the western end. Lone Pine, the oldest hotel on the beach, dates from 1948 and is now a boutique retreat for people who would rather read than parasail.

Be clear about the trade-off. The sea here is fine for a paddle but it is not the gin-clear water of Malaysia's east coast, and George Town is 20 to 30 minutes away by car. Come for the pools and the easy family days, and take a taxi into town to eat.

Keep driving past Batu Ferringhi and the hotels thin out, the jungle closes in and the road ends at Teluk Bahang. This corner of the island is still part fishing village, with Penang National Park, the Tropical Spice Garden and the island's butterfly farm on its doorstep. Evenings are quiet. That is the point.

The hotels are few and polished. Angsana Teluk Bahang has 228 rooms and suites, every one facing the Andaman Sea and some with a private plunge pool, and takes its design cues from Penang's Peranakan houses. The InterContinental, also on the beach, adds an infinity pool, a spa and oceanfront dining. Bahang Bay Hotel has three outdoor pools. You will want taxis for George Town, so this suits a lazy second half of a trip better than a first visit.

The south-east of the island is working Penang. Bayan Lepas is home to the airport and the free trade zone whose electronics factories earned the island its 'Silicon Valley of the East' nickname, with Queensbay Mall and the approaches to both bridges close by. Nobody would call it charming, but it is handy.

Stay here for an early flight, a late arrival or a meeting. Eastin Hotel is a short drive from Queensbay Mall and has an outdoor pool; Olive Tree Hotel is ten minutes from the terminal; and Iconic Regency's serviced residences fill a 42-storey tower in the Sungai Nibong commercial district. The surprise is Lexis Suites, a seafront resort beside the fishing township of Teluk Kumbar on the south coast, which gives the airport side a proper holiday option.

Penang is not only an island. Half the state sits on the mainland, linked to George Town by two long bridges and a ferry from Butterworth, where trains from Kuala Lumpur and the Thai border pull in. This side is industrial and unpretentious, known to Malaysians for its food and for St Anne's Church in Bukit Mertajam, and almost unknown to tourists.

Hotels are modern, business-minded and good value. Holiday Inn & Suites is the tallest building in the commercial district of Prai, about 30 minutes from the airport. Crowne Plaza Penang Straits City is a 15-minute drive from the Penang Sentral bus, train and ferry hub, Sunway Hotel is in the town centre of Seberang Jaya, and Citadines Prai has apartment-style rooms. It makes sense if you are driving the peninsula or catching a train. For a holiday, cross the water.