When a wedding invitation in Batu Ferringhi found its way to us, we took it as an opportunity to have a quick family getaway to Penang and booked ourselves into the quaint Lone Pine Hotel.
Unfortunately, we found ourselves drenched and hotel-bound most of the weekend when Penang was reported to have floods that “reached the highest level expected in over an average period of 40 to 50 years”.
Our three youngsters were rather disappointed they couldn’t spend all day building sand castles but, fortunately, our hotel offered nooks and crannies to explore.
Lone Pine Hotel is a beach-front, 90-room boutique hotel at the quieter end of the stretch of Batu Ferringhi. It’s a lovely hotel with lots of space and personal touches. Each room comes with (new and unused) beach thongs, umbrellas and batik sarongs/beach wraps.
The breakfast buffet was extensive and the food was varied in both F&B outlets. A bar stays open till 1am for those in need of a night cap.
Keeping the kids occupied at Lone Pine Hotel
It was a bit of a challenge to keep our three under 8’s occupied during the the downpour so it was off to the games room, some DVD-watching and exploring around the hotel with camera in hand to take photos of anything that caught their fancy…
I was told the equally priced Golden Sands Resort by Shangri-La next door would have been an even better option for rainy days as they have a Kids Club – but how were we to know the weather would be so!
Nonetheless, I’m glad we booked in this lovely hotel. The pretty things and well-thought spaces helped make our wet weekend a proper short holiday for the family. Next time we’ll hopefully get to enjoy the pool (photo by Lone Pine Hotel).
PS: We availed ourselves of babysitting on the night of the grown ups-only wedding and were pleased with the service (though prepare to spend, especially if you go past midnight!).
Written by Marite Irvine
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