The Sea Lion by the beach is a fantastic hotel located in Tanjung Bungah, in a neighborhood away from the hustle and bustle of George Town. The rooms are tidy and clean, with a double bed, desk and a shelf. We had a shared toilet, which was always available when we needed it. The pillow were a tad hard! There is a lovely shared patio area, living room and a kitchen, equipped with anything that you need. There are also laundry facilities that are very cheap to use. The local area has several great restaurants, food courts, food markets and supermarkets. We extended our stay, and got to know the hosts Alex and Jo, as well as Kevin and Nalidsa. We enjoyed their company and had lots of nice conversations with them and other visitors. We loved the company of Birdy the cat too! This was our favourite place to stay in Malaysia. It was one of those rare places where everyone in the house was open and friendly and wanted to explore the area together. We made some great friends here and enjoyed our time so much. Thank you!

Stayed in February 2025

Definitely the best place I’ve stayed in Penang. The owners are very kind and helpful, it’s a pleasure to chat with them. The house feels like a home. It’s very convenient, quiet and clean. I wish I spent more time there. Hope I will come back!

Stayed in March 2025

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It was wonderful! Very friendly and familiar. Lots of great and helpful local tips! Highly recommended for people who want to have contact with others. There is also a lovely cat. The house is lovingly decorated and very neat and clean. Beach, food market, restaurants, public bus and much more just a few minutes walk away.

Stayed in February 2025

You have to enter the room through the owners living room, but was no big issue. The beach nearby is not really suitable

Big and spacious room, very clean, AC worked well, wifi worked well, own balcony and solid bathroom, great value for money, I could check in even earlier. Very nice and polite host

Stayed in January 2025

What really makes this property are the hosts Jo and Alex. They were incredibly helpful from start to finish. They helped us with various things during our stay. For the price you pay (it’s a budget accommodation) visitors receive a great experience.

Stayed in January 2025

Very homely place, the local hosts are super friendly and easy going. They’re around enough to chat and also are happy to share recommendations :) and they have a really cute cat 🐱 there are some shared areas, like the 1st floor balcony (good for yoga) and also a garden where you can chill, read a book. Also easy to meet other travellers. They even have some give&take items, from previous guests. Like books, shampoos, etc. Kitchen and fridge are good and clean, we used it for breakfast and that was perfect. Location was close to a busstop that takes you into georgetown (but we didn’t go there as we wanted less city energy). And through batu ferringhi and past the waterpark towards the national park (2 ringgit, about 20-30 min). Of course grab is also easy. Good base for a relaxed couple of days in Penang.

Stayed in January 2025

Its a safe, clean, relaxed and comfy place that feels like home. The owners are very nice and thoughtful and made sure their guests had everything they needed. They give nice recommendations on places to visit and how to get there. The place is convenient: local market nearby everyday selling fresh veggies and serving diverse authentic food, 2 min walk to bus that brings you to attraction places, its close to pharmacy, medical clinic in case of need... I recommend this place to anyone who likes calm and still able to access by bus or Grab main attractions in Penang

Stayed in September 2024

There isn’t anything to dislike about the property!!!

Everything was Great, the owners are very nice and kind and great hospitality. Very comfortable feels like being at home. Great Location and def. A lot better than a regular hotel. I couldn’t be happier and if I ever travel to Penang again, this is the only place I will stay no need to search around when you got everything you need right here. Also meet very great people that’s traveling and stay here as well. It’s very humbling and plenty of phenomenal food. I’m very thankful and quite blessed to have been able to stay here.

Stayed in October 2024

Everything was great.

The owners were very nice to welcome us and gave us useful information on where to eat and what/when to visit. The beach is not far and it's very nice because it's not too busy.

Stayed in August 2024

Everything was good.

We had an amazing time at Sea Lion. Not only were the hosts friendly and made us feel at home, but the house itself was very clean, and had everything we needed. Birdy (the resident cat) was also very sweet. The location was nice and quiet, being a bit out of town (but only a 20-40 minute bus ride away, depending on traffic). There were quite a few popular restaurant areas near the house. Great place to stay, would 10/10 recommend!

Stayed in August 2024

I was embarrased by carelessly eating a take away snack in bed which stained a spot of the white sheet with yellow turmeric. The owner allowed me to pay for the sheet at my siggestion. I promised him never to eat in bed again unless maybe a hospital bed. This was a good lesson for me in taking care of others property. Crossing the main street on foot was dangerous, a problem of traffic congestion in crowded Penang. Fortunately the airbnb is far removed from traffic noise. Some outside light filtering into the room through an uncovered transom wondow slightly stressed this light sleeper but I adapted with eye pads This was a problem with room 6 but not room 3. A small curtain could fix this easily

I enjoyed a very satisfactory quiet stay of four weeks while revovering from cataract surgery. I only went out once or twice a day to get a favorite meal of nasi khandar white rice with a couple of cooked vegetables, perfect for my vegan diet. There was a shared kitchen on the main floor but I did not have to cook anything thanks to the nearby Indian cafe. Sometimes I used the microwave to make instant coffee. The room air conditioner and overhead fan and wifi access were excellent. The owner Alex was very helpful by referring me to a taxi pickup service at 5 am to make an early flight, otherwise I may not have succeeded in calling grab at that hour because the location is far from most tourist activity downtown. City bus 101 was convenient although time consuming for visiting an optometrist in George Town a few times.

Stayed in June 2024

The staff were really nice and welcoming and even brought in our drying laundry out of the rain while we were out :) the place was so clean and the shared bathroom was well maintained during our multi day stay. No complaints!

Stayed in June 2024

Extended my stay another three weeks but a bit disappointed in alternate room location on third floor with a shared bathroom having wet floor, need to go buy sandals somewhere.

Quiet Airbnb-type hotel, clean, comfortable.

Stayed in June 2024

The house was clean and staff was extremely helpful. It is a bit far from georgetown but easy to reach there by bus. You can also reach national park by bus too so no need to pay big moneys for grab. Highly recommend

Stayed in May 2024

The sea is close but if you want a beach for swimming this is the wrong place. X

A friendly house, very welcoming and kind people. It is a nice place to take a longer stay and get to know people and the city. There is a food court and market very close.

Stayed in May 2024

Very peaceful location with night market on Tuesday near by and beautiful host that have lots of great food recommendations! Easy and affordable bus ride into Georgetown for all your tourist needs

Stayed in April 2024

We had a great stay here. The owners are very friendly and helped us with a lot of tips about the area. The shared kitchen is great with everything you could possibly need for cooking. We could also use the washing machine and rented a scooter for three days. We got there by public transport, which stops just 2 minutes from the homestay. Across the street there is a street food night market every Tuesday, which was very nice.

Stayed in April 2024

Great property, close to the beach. Easy to make friends with other travellers staying there.

Stayed in February 2024

I prefer a private bathroom, but you get used to sharing pretty quickly when they kept as clean as these were.

It was clean, quiet and comfortable thanks to the oversight of friendly owners who regularly dropped in to say hi and check that all was in order. What I liked most was the homely atmosphere that encouraged lots of chatting amongst guests. I had a view of the water from my balcony. The room was large with queen bed, sofa, desk and wardrobe. There are 3 rooms per level that share a bathroom on each level.

Stayed in December 2023

Wery communicativ owners and wery helpfully. Wery clean room. Refrigerator for use, laundry for only 5 MR.

Stayed in December 2023

Large tree blocking the seaview

Almost everything

Stayed in November 2023

It’s quite far from city center (25 minutes by car)

Very big confortable and clean room. I had a pleasant stay in the property !

Stayed in September 2023

all good :)

Lovely designed and equipped room with little private balcony. Lovely little garden for relaxing and kitchen for common use. Quiet area, with a lot of different food options nearby, just a half an hour bus ride from Georgetown, a couple of steps away from the beach. The owners & the cat complete the homely feeling.

Stayed in July 2023

The staff are so happy, helpful and kind. The place is in a great location near food places and the beach. Public transport is easy to access.

Stayed in July 2023