Media Review
Penang is a very popular holiday destination for Singaporeans because it’s easy, cheap and fast to get there. Flights take merely an hour and travelling by budget airlines will set you back by only S$100 or less per pax. If you have time on hand and wish to save even more, you can even travel by coach or train. A holiday in Penang is best divided into two parts – Georgetown and Batu Ferringhi. The former is a heritage site of Penang, with traditional shophouses, wall murals, boutique hotels, cafes, tourist sites and plenty of good food. The latter is the beach area with lesser crowd but just as charming and very serene. When I visit Penang, I would opt to stay a few days at each place, so that I get to enjoy the uniqueness of both.
On my family’s most recent trip to Penang, we stayed at Golden Sands Resort on the Batu Ferringhi leg of the trip. It was our first time staying at this resort, which is part of Shangri-La Group of hotels, and everyone especially the kids had a wonderful time. As a family-friendly and kid-oriented hotel, Golden Sands Resort has exceeded all expectations. It is certainly a great choice and option for families holidaying in Penang. How pretty is this view I get to see everyday from my room!
The Luxurious & Cosy Rooms
Holidays often feel too hectic and fast-paced. I guess it’s human nature – We want to make full of every minute of the holiday, so we tend to pack it from morning to night with so many activities that we feel more tired at the end of a vacation than before. At Golden Sands Resort Penang, take time to slow down and just laze in the room. I loved our room so much – The color scheme, furnishings and the coziness. Our view was fabulous too – We could see the swimming pool at Level 1 right below us and the sea in the distance. Every morning, I stood at the balcony and took in deep breaths of the sea and felt liberalized instantly.
Everyday we would be greeted by different towel animals made by the housekeeping and that made the kids really thrilled. It was something we look forward to seeing every day. =)
I could get used to waking up to this!
The Yummy & Satisfying Meals
Food is so very important on a holiday and at Golden Sands Resort Penang, you can be assured that good food is always within reach. There are many restaurants within the resort and you will be spoilt for choices. Breakfasts can be enjoyed either at the main restaurant at the lobby, or at the beachfront restaurant!
Apart from the breakfasts, we also settled some of our lunches and dinners within the resort. On one of the days, we had western dishes at the beachfront restaurant, and everything tasted awesome! With the beach just in front of us and viewing the sun setting before our eyes was a magical feeling. That’s the best thing about holidays – It brings us out of our daily routines and gives us a unique memory and moment that we would remember for a long time to come.
Besides the yummy food, the service was top-notched too. The service staff were attentive to our needs and made sure our water was topped up frequently, and they were always polite.
Very soon, the sun set and we were left in awe of this beautiful sight. Beach holidays are way too awesome.
Here is a list of “Four Fun Things To Do At Golden Sands Resort Penang”, so that you can visualize how your family holiday there will look like!
1. Go Swimming All Day Anytime!
A resort’s swimming pool is so very important, especially for families with kids. The beach may be nearby, but the kids would definitely spend more time swimming and playing in the pool. There are several pools in Golden Sands Resort with different deepness, to cater to different crowds. One of the pools is even semi-sheltered, so on one of the days when a slight drizzle happened, everyone went hiding in that pool. =P I was just glad that my kids loved to hang out in that pool, because they won’t need to be under the merciless sun for extended periods of time.
The swimming pool with a slide was one of the kids’ favorite too, no surprises there. They went sliding down countless times and had so much fun!
2. Go Crazy In Adventure Zone
One of the biggest selling points of Golden Sands Resort is the Adventure Zone housed within the hotel premise. This is an indoor playground for the kids. For a small fee, hotel guests can send their kids to Adventure Zone to use up all their energy. Before I show you what the playground looks like, let me preempt you that this is no ordinary playground. I certainly had no guts to try the slides myself. And this was the reason why:
Yes, a slide that had an almost-vertical drop. Seriously, I felt my knees go weak just by standing there and looking up. The kids were dare-devils though – They went sliding down again and again with absolutely no fear! In fact, the more they went on the slides, the more they enjoyed it. I was just speechless most of the time, as I watched them. =X
The other slides looked less adventurous but certainly just as fun. The big smiles on the kids’ faces told it all.
This place was so popular that many kids asked to go back to it everyday.
Within the same premise of the Adventure Zone, there is also a Kids’ Club exclusive to the guests of Golden Sands Resort Penang. There are staff taking care of the kids and daily activities planned for them. Parents can drop their kids off and go for their spa or sea sports, and pick them up at the end of the day. The kids would also be fed lunch at the Kids’ Club, so parents can really rest assured they will not go hungry.
3. Enjoy the Beach Activities
Like all beach resorts, there are activities you can do along the beach of Golden Sands Resort Penang. Go ride a banana boat, kayak or jet-ski. You can also ride a horse and gallop along the beach or play a game of beach volleyball. If you just want to laze around and stare at the beating waves, feel free to do so too, because it’s really beautiful there.
4. Take To The Skies By Parasailing!
One of the more adventurous things the husband and I did at Golden Sands Resort was to go parasailing. It was not my first time doing parasailing (I did it for the first time in Penang too more than ten years ago!). For about S$20/pax, you can have a really fun and scenic ride up to the skies. There are many folks offering this service on the beach but prices are more or less the same. Don’t have to worry too much about safety because these folks have been doing the same thing for years. I felt very secured and safe the whole time actually, and I took so many photographs and video clips up in the skies! The view was awesome and surprisingly, not scary at all!
These were taken with my phone up in the skies – Feeling on top of the world, literally!
So much fun awaits you and your family at Golden Sands Resort Penang. Start planning for your year-end holidays and book your rooms now!
Disclosure: The J Babies was invited for a 3D2N stay at Golden Sands Resort Penang for review purposes. No other financial compensation was received and all opinions and photographs used in this post belong solely to us.
