good hope inn
March 14th, 2005 by boon
i was in Penang over the weekend for a friend’s wedding, and since i still don’t consider myself paying for at least a 3 star hotel, stayed at the Good Hope Inn on jalan kelawei. first impressions were good. the staff wore uniforms, the compound and interiors were neat and tidy, and the plastic notices and signboards hinted a par above the usual budget motel fare. and for RM80 a night for a location a stone’s throw away from gurney drive (and everything else), i couldn’t complain.
this was far better than the nightmare hostel on bencoolen street, singapore. at least it didn’t have an anal cat that tried to get into your room and peed in the hallways. it had a working TV, working sink, working water heater, a bed that was adequate, even a drawer with the giddeon’s in it. no, this was far better.
it was only at midnight that i realized the apparent lack of parking space. and on a saturday night, hundreds of people flock to the club at gurney hotel next door. i waited no less than 30 minutes for a parking spot, and still did not find one. frustrated, i tried to get the hostel staff to let me squeeze into some tiny spot in their compound. the guy told me that you can park next door at the evergreen hotel and then claim back the parking fee from good hope inn. well, at least they had the sense to do that.
i just felt bad for the tenants of the evergreen because their cars would be trapped in since the parking guy gets everyone to double park at RM2 per entry.