Cheong Fatt Tze, The Blue Mansion

Staying at the Blue Mansion was an unforgettable experience. From the moment we arrived, the staff were warm, professional, and incredibly welcoming. Jalal and Rubel, in particular, went above and beyond to make our stay comfortable and memorable – truly exemplary in their service. The mansion itself is stunning – a beautifully preserved piece of Penang’s history with so much character and charm. It was a privilege to stay in such a famous and iconic heritage property. Every detail, from the architecture to the atmosphere, made our visit feel special. We would highly recommend the Blue Mansion to anyone visiting Penang. It is more than just a hotel – it’s a chance to step into history and be cared for by a wonderful team.

We had a wonderful 4 night stay at The Blue Mansion. Excellent service from all staff in the hotel and restaurants. We particularly enjoyed the delightful cuisine at Indigo as well as Cafe Mangga. Breakfast was also plentiful with a range of choices.|Our room was Feng Shui on the first floor. It was immaculately clean and full of character and charm. We were extremely comfortable here and would highly recommend.|The included mansion tour was informative and interesting.|We particularly appreciated the assistance of all staff in getting me to a doctor quickly following a bee-sting incident a couple of hundred metres down the road from the hotel. From reception to the manager and Kenny who drove us to the clinic and came in with us to ensure we got the assistance we needed, we are very grateful.

I chose the Blue Mansion for my last week in Penang because it is my favourite hotel on the island. I love the history in the building and I always feel as though I am part of the world heritage site when I stay there. The rooms are comfortable and spacious with good modern bathrooms. One of the best features of the hotel are the staff who are always helpful, polite and interested in my welfare and ensuring I enjoy my stay. Jalan even remembered me from my last stay 10 months ago!

We stayed at the Blue Mansion for a week and it was one of the best weeks in my life. I felt so privileged to stay here and continually found enjoyment in these surroundings. The rooms were spacious, clean and comfortable, with everything you could wish for. The service was exceptional and all staff friendly and respectful. The breakfasts catered for all tastes and the afternoon treats were a lovely touch. We went in 3 tours during our week - each with a different guide! The building was just so amazing and on two evenings we enjoyed cocktails listening to the Guzheng performance which was fantastic. We have fabulous memories of our stay, not to mention a stack of photos! Thanks so much

It was a lovely stay. Our room used to be a kitchen, and the hot stove is now used as a table. I like how they preserve and restore the place. Unlike going to a museum, you do not need to see things behind the glass but can live with the old things We are cat lovers. The hotel’s cat🐈, Ginger, came to us and lay down quietly next to our breakfast table in the restaurant area on the last day of our stay, and this added extra joy to our time there

We really loved our stay at the Blue Mansion. We stayed in one of the Town Houses which was beautiful. 3 floors, 2 bedrooms, a very well restored traditional house. The breakfast at the main hotel was fantastic, and we also highly recommend the tour. The staff of Blue Mansion were wonderful, very friendly and helpful. If you can, we also recommend the dinner at the Indigo restaurant.

This hotel truly delivers the feeling of history, comfort and desire to return again. We had a pleasure staying here and completely satisfied with the service and location. It’s a walking distance to major city points, shops and restaurants. There is a complimentary house tour session that takes place in the afternoon and it’s must visit for everyone who wants to know more about the story behind this beautiful mansion. Highly recommend to take a room with the breakfast as it truly suits all types of dietary preferences. It was a great surprise for me to discover the organic salad options as part of menu breakfast as it’s rare even for a high priced international 5-star hotels. Credits to chef and the whole service team! Definitely a place to come back!

I love this hotel, it really felt like I was staying as a guest in a mansion and not a hotel. The people that run the hotel are the best, they are so kind and friendly while being ever so attentive. I truly felt at home here and part of a family. And yes, the hotel itself is also a unique and beautiful grand historic mansion as you likely have read about.

The gate was closed right behind me. So how lucky I was to get the last tour ticket. I suggest pre buy on line. This mansion, now historical hotel was built in the late 19th century by Cheong Fatt Tze. He wanted to convey the essence of majesty and elegance. And he did !! The mansion seems to have it all. He consulted with the era's leading Feng Shui master and sophisticated beauty of traditional Chinese houses. He was trying to preserve his heritage and share his love of culture and tradition through architecture. He had an incredible eye for details, so allow yourself time to wander on the self guided tour. He brought artisans in from Southern China and imported building materials from as far as Scotland, like the wrought iron spiral staircases. The mansion is one of two such buildings of this size, it has 5 courtyards. In its heyday The Blue Mansion was the pivotal heart of the city. The mansion served both as a home and an office. It was the base for Cheong Fatt Tze's commercial enterprises, housed the Chinese Vice-Consulate and was home to his favoured 7th wife. The back of the mansion were kept away Cheong Fatt Tze's business and administrative work. These quarters were for favored family members. Today the back rooms are hotel rooms and suites. After the passing of Cheong Fatt Tze in 1916, the Mansion fell into disrepair and left the Mansion to erode with the passing of time. The Mansion was sold to a small group of Penang conservationists who took to restore it to its former glory around the 1990's. They took six years for the conservationists to repair the Blue Mansion trough a detailed process to preserve and restore as much of its original fabric and structure. They used Penang artisans, local materials, and the principle to retain the with the application of traditional methods. So today you set onto the property and it's a portal back in time over a hundred years ago. Tours are limited and go fast. The tour is restricted to the front main portion of the mansion since a large portion is now a restaurant, bar and hotel rooms. This is definitely on my list to stay at when I return to the area. Also on the tour were fabulous pieces of housewares, clothing and notes from popular movies shot here. Definitely a must see.

Pretty low end experience. Not sure what is being paid for. Entry gets you into a hotel / restaurant lobby. Interesting building and history but not that interesting that is it worth visiting. I would pass on this place.

If you venture to Penang, you should stop at the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion Museum. Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion Museum is a historic sight on the island of Penang. It is also known as the Blue Mansion as the color of the mansion is blue. This was the former residence of Cehong Fatt Tze who was a well respected businessman, politician and instrumental to Penang's growth. The mansion conducts tours during the day at 3 showings. It also is a hotel and houses a restaurant. During the tour, you will learn about Cheong Fatt Tze and how the creation of the mansion. You will be able to go to the two floors and view the various belongings of the past inhabitors. The tour is about 1.5 hours. Tours are conducted in English and in Chinese. The famous mahjong scene from the movie Crazy Rich Asians was filmed here on the first floor. Note - they are diligent in time management. They will allow visitors to gather in the lobby 15 minutes prior to the start of the tour time.

This museum is also a hotel accomodation. I booked my tour online and they only do two tours in english on certain days. I booked mines a day ahead and there were still a lot of spots that were not filled when I looked. Although it seemed like it gets sold out because it can only accomodate up to certain amount of people. If you're too early for the tour, there's a cafe where I bought coffee but also served breakfast and pastries thats attached to the mansionand its really cute and after the tour you can opt out to dine at the fine dining restaurant if you want to splurge. I reserved mines before the tour started. They have a really good 3 course menu.

Note that they only offer tours of the mansion at 11am, 2pm, and 3:30pm. The mansion is also a hotel and restaurant, so you may be able to check out the lobby, but I don't think you can just walk in to browse otherwise. If you're not planning on going for the hotel or restaurant, take the tour. You just show up at the tour time, buy a ticket (no tour participant limit), and walk in. The tour guide was really engaging, and although he didn't show many rooms, he talked a lot about the history and architecture of the home and the life of Cheong Fatt Tze. Highlights of the tour: - Hearing about how the mosaics outside the building were made (not using flat mosaic tile, but chips from bowls) - How the mansion survived WWII and became a slum - The painstaking restoration process to bring the mansion back to its former glory - Learning about feng shui and the impact on the mansion - Hearing how Cheong Fatt Tze got rich - Hearing why the mansion was painted blue - Seeing the main courtyard area, a wife's bedroom, and where Cheong entertained guests - Checking out the architecture influences from Europe (tiles from England, columns from Scotland) and China ("East meets West") This mansion was designated as an UNESCO site, and the upkeep of the property and the tour were both fantastic. About a 45 minute tour. 17 RM per person. Well worth it!

This place is one of those places you must visit if you travel to Penang. You must know Cheong Fatt Tze. If not, you need to learn about this man. There are many historical reasons to come and learn about his life and what he did for Malayasian culture, but there are important lessons to learn about the rise and fall of wealth that go beyond the rags to riches story. It's a short walk through, but our tour guide gave such a colorful picture of this world. He was excellent she painted a picture of the height of its empire worthy of a Disney award she had the voice and the soulful dance to pull you into the Fengshui. I recommend stopping by and planing maybe 2 hours here. Expect to chill and request the English version and if you can seek the lady with the British accent. She is excellent!

It's not bad. I wish the curator Pat would go upstairs and talk about the fashion of the people then. Her talk is good but she needs to show the exhibit as well. She talks at the entrance and inside the pond area . I got nice pictures though.

We arrived early to the tour (10:15 when the tour starts at 11) and we called the front desk to ask if we could wait in the hotel lobby while we wait for the tour to begin. They said that they couldn't since the hotel guests were still eating breakfast. We originally thought that the hotel was open to outside guests for breakfast but they said that they were not. Very disappointing since it was over 30C outside. We had to find shade across the street.