Sleep Peacefully At Malaysia's UNESCO-Recognized Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion

October 20, 2009 at 1:58 PM | by Omri | 1 Comment

Originally built as a 38-room feng shui masterpiece for 19th century merchant Cheong Fatt Tze, the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion fell on hard times as its Malaysian Georgeton neighborhood became a mid-20th century slum. Nonetheless it never lost the fame of its singular design, a unique mix of Eastern and Western influences that somehow blends cast-iron staircases and pillars, Gothic windows, Chinese porcelain, and Art Nouveau stained glass.

Some time after its original construction the mansion was coated with its now-famous blue exterior, a mix of lime and Indigo plant die, and became the Blue Mansion. Eventually restorers took over and began transforming it into a modern half-hotel half-museum conservation project, part of a more general city-wide Penang revival spurred by UNESCO recognition.

The hotel has 16 rooms, each one a uniquely themed restoration of a space in the original mansion. The highly requested Fragrant Poem Room, a deluxe double with a king sized bed, contains period antique furniture that was original to the house. The first floor Tai'Pu' Room, a twin room with two separate beds, is filled with Chinese medicine bottles, period leather suitcases, and a timber dressing table. The largest room in the house, the multi-story Escoy Suite, is decorated with items from the Escoy Tin Smelting Company that dominated the region for decades.

The restoration project has now been going on for 6 years and looks to continue well into the future. The organizers seem to be going out of their way to restore the building to its original splendor, and they've received recognition and awards from groups as varied as UNESCO, ASEAN, and the Malaysian Ministry of Culture.

Room prices at the Cheong Fatt Tze range from $100 for the doubles and twins to $250 for the Escoy Suite's 2 bedrooms, sitting room, dining room, kitchenette, and private garden entrance. All rates are inclusive of a light breakfast for two and broadband.

[Photo: Tony Jones / Wiki Commons]

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