Penang Family Vacation-Our Stay at Golden Sands Resort

The month of October can be summed up in two words for me, Family Vacations.

And unlike other trips, where it was just the 3 of us, this time, my in-laws and parents came along and it was 3G family vacation first to Bangkok my in-laws and then to Penang with my parents. I’ve so much to share about both trips so I’ll start with our Penang trip while it’s all still fresh in my memory.

We took a short flight to Penang on Air Asia. Thankfully I don’t have to bring along my usual arsenal of in-flight entertainment for Sophie for the one hour flight. But I did prepare books and did an impromptu crossword activity to prep Sophie on the places we were going and seeing on our trip. She also made a paper aeroplane for the Captain and scored herself a photo with him!

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The lucky girl who got to met the Captain of the plane


After we picked up our rented car from the airport, it was off to the hotel where we checked into the Golden Sands Resort, located along the popular Batu Ferringhi beach. When I was doing my research on family friendly hotels in Penang, the hotel came up many times among friends who gave it glowing reviews especially from those with kids. Besides the usual family friendly amenities, we liked that it gave us an opportunity to head to the sandy beach and get our toes in the sand and sea and be close to nature.

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Golden Sand Resort in Penang

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Being Golden Circle members, we were ushered to the Cool Lounge for check-in where we were greeted with warm hospitality and a welcome drink. Here guests can use their facilities like complimentary internet access, borrow books or watch the TV if the rooms are not ready yet. The hotel very thoughtfully arranged to have our room on the same level as my parents and we had the Deluxe Sea Facing Room while they had the Deluxe Hill Facing room.

Our room was furnished in a modern and contemporary style that exuded a very comfortable and relaxed resort vibe. I especially liked that the we had a full glass panel for the sliding door that opened up to panoramic view of the sea while overlooking the swimming pool. Sophie was welcomed by Polly the Parrot, the mascot for Adventure Zone that is an indoor playground right on the same grounds as the hotel!

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The mandatory selfie upon check in

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We wasted no time after unpacking and headed straight to the pool. As a family friendly hotel, they truly won me over when I saw the shelter above the kids pool. You know how we mothers will always try to get the kids out of the pool before they get burnt. In this case, never mind that it was 3pm  in the afternoon, and I can play to her hearts content in the cool of the shade, under the watchful eye of a lifeguard on duty.

Besides this pool for the kids, there was another childrens’ pool with a water slide and it was a hot favourite among all the kids who went on the slide again and again. Too bad adults are not allowed! Guess it no surprise that we were at the pool on all three days of our stay.

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The pool facility was only one of the reasons that makes the resort a child friendly establishment. Young guests between 5 to 12 years old also get to enjoy complimentary access to the Cool Zone Kids Club where they have activities such as art and craft, t-shirt painting, sand sculpture and even cooking lesson so parents can sneak off for some couple time. And not to worry, complimentary meals are also provided for your child.

While we didn’t a chance to check Sophie in at the Cool Zone Kids Club, we had a spectacular time at the Adventure Zone. Yes it wasn’t just her who got to play this time, Alexis and I also got to be kids and zipped down the rainbow wave slides along with her. The main highlight of the Adventure Zone is their thrilling drop slides where they have three levels, the Hyperglide Astra Drop also known as the rainbow wavy slide to Sophie, the Double Drop and the Demon Drop which none of us dared to try.

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The hair raising Demon Drop Slide with a vertical drop of 7.3metres!

I took the most mild looking rainbow slide and it was so exhilarating that I embarrassed myself and let out a scream as I zoomed down the slide on the gunny sack while Sophie laughed at me. But I didn’t let that deter me and we were off for more thrills.

We were not aware that we need to dressed in long sleeves and long pants so we couldn’t try the other two slides. But Sophie did muster her courage and took the Double Drop where she landed into what she called M&M coloured balls and oh what joy to see her pride for conquering her fears and her her excited laughter from the rush of adrenaline.

Besides the slides, there were also challenging play modules that had us crawling, climbing, swinging, spinning and running around with abandonment. We must have played there for close to 3 hours and we probably would continue for another 1 or 2 more hours if we didn’t have to go for lunch.

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Lounge area for parents

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Toddler Zone within Adventure Zone for little tots

Our stay came with breakfast where we started our day at the open-air Garden Cafe that overlooked lush tropical greenery. We were spoilt for choice with local delights and international cuisines from freshly prepared roti canai to scrambled eggs, nasi lemak and dim sum, just to name a few.

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But more than just the food, the service staff were all very welcoming, wearing bright smiles as they ushered us into the restaurant. They would occasionally check in to see if we needed anything, asked how was our meal and assisted with every request with a smile. That’s the warm hospitality that we really appreciated during our stay which made it extra special.

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Polly dropped by at breakfast

Since we haven’t been able to head outdoors back home with the annoying haze, we were more than happy to wander out to the Batu Ferringgi beach which was right behind the resort. There were little huts offering massage, hair braiding as well as sea sports.

Sophie was contented to wet her feet in the sea and walk on sand and requested to go back to the pool. And since I missed my chance to do parasailing when we were in Phuket last year, I did it this time. It was exciting at first to be lifted off from the ground and flying up high and it was such an awesome feeling until I had difficulties decending. No matter how hard I pulled to get myself down, I was still afloat and I went for another round by which time I started to panic…

Anyway long story short, I realised I was supposed to only pull one side of the parachute to decend and finally managed to get myself on the ground after a loud thump 🙁 But still it was an experience I’ll never forget.
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This is our third family trip to Penang and I’m certain we’ll be back soon. The short budget flights definitely makes it easy for the family to get away for a vacation and oh the food, glorious food that Penang offers, which I must blog about in another post. 

Now that I’ve experienced Golden Sands Resort, I can see how my friends all have such fantastic reviews of it and my parents have been recommending the hotel to friends and family after we got back as well. Perhaps this 2016 Singapore Public Holidays is what you need to get booking for your next Penang trip 🙂

 

 

If you’re seeking for an escape in Penang, then slip away with the new wholistic wellness escape programme at Shangri-La’s Rasa Sayang Resort & Spa in Penang. The all-inclusive retreat that will allow you to unplug from your everyday routine and refresh your body, mind and soul.

rasasayang

 

* A Juggling Mom received a complimentary stay at Golden Sands Resort to write this review. No monetary compensation was received. All opinions are honest and are my own.

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Comments: 18

  1. Ai Sakura October 29, 2015 at 1:48 pm Reply

    Woah the kids club looks even better than some indoor playgrounds!! And that pool!! This is really a very grand place to stay in. Love that it’s so family-friendly for all 3 generations too.

    • Susan October 30, 2015 at 10:12 pm Reply

      Yes the Adventure Zone was so much fun even for us adults. We took some videos but shy to share them as we totally forgot that this is a kids playground when we kept going on the slides.

  2. SengkangBabies October 30, 2015 at 4:44 pm Reply

    Penang is one of our favorite travel spots too.
    The food, the beach, exploring the city area.

    I noticed Adventure Zone is exclusive for your family?

    cheers, Andy
    (SengkangBabies)

    • Susan October 30, 2015 at 10:13 pm Reply

      No, there were other kids too but it was close to lunch time so I guess most were out for lunch, leaving us to have the whole place to ourselves at some point.

  3. June October 30, 2015 at 4:48 pm Reply

    So cool that Sophie got to go into the cockpit, they’re usually quite strict about this – amazing! We loooove Golden Sands Resort, had a family holiday there 2 years back! We hope to visit again soon!!

    • Susan October 30, 2015 at 10:13 pm Reply

      Yes, it was a real treat for her and so nice that they even allowed her to take a photo with the Captain.

  4. Jacqualine October 30, 2015 at 5:55 pm Reply

    I have been bugging my hubby to bring us to Penang for the longest time!! How do we sign up to be the Golden Circle member?

    • Susan October 31, 2015 at 10:32 am Reply

      Go go, with so many budget flights and just an hour’s flight, a short weekend getaway is very doable.
      You can enrol for the Golden Circle membership online or do it at all Shangri-La hotels or resorts. The Golden Sands Resort is part of the Shangri-La hotels and we signed up during our last stay at Jen hotel in JB.

  5. Waiwai October 30, 2015 at 8:02 pm Reply

    The indoor playground looks so fun! Nice getaway for family!

    • Susan October 31, 2015 at 10:32 am Reply

      The indoor playground was indeed great fun for us all 🙂

  6. edmund tay October 30, 2015 at 10:47 pm Reply

    Wa. Looks like u guys had great fun! We will be heading there this Nov, and we are looking forward to these fun acitivties too! 🙂

  7. oinkquack October 31, 2015 at 10:14 am Reply

    They had an indoor playground in the hotel? I only knew of some in Phuket that had that. Penang can now be on my “places to travel” list! 🙂

    Vivien @ Beautiful Chaos

  8. mmlittlee October 31, 2015 at 2:22 pm Reply

    Wow! Was sophie invited to the cockpit or you requested for it? Actually my friend who is a pilot with SQ says that such solicitations in the cockpits aren’t allowed and the pilot might get fired from his job if found out! Eeks! I wanted to take photos and share on social media too but he told me not to do it. Then again, I see so many people posting! I wonder if the pilots are all ok.

    The playground in Golden Sands is payable right? Even for guests? Argh. They should just give it as a complimentary.

  9. Daddy B October 31, 2015 at 6:45 pm Reply

    Wow really nice there. Thanks for the review. Was the hotel in vicinity to any malls out there where we can buy things? It looks totally like a bali trip to me with a sensation of penang taste 🙂

  10. Angie.S October 31, 2015 at 8:54 pm Reply

    You are so brave to try parasailing! We stayed at the Golden Sands last Dec and Dana LOVED the slides. Hope to utilise one of the long weekends next year to return to Penang 😀

  11. Pooja Kawatra Gupta October 31, 2015 at 11:57 pm Reply

    You guys seem to have a wonderful time. Hotel looks great and is this indoor playground part of this hotel or at a separate place.

  12. yvonne August 5, 2016 at 9:07 am Reply

    Hi, will there be extra bed for kids at no additional charge? For breakfast, are vouchers for adults & kids same?

    • Susan August 17, 2016 at 12:38 pm Reply

      Hi Yvonne, our Deluxe Seafacing Room room came with the Pull-down Murphy bed but I understand that not all rooms have this pull down bed. So if you need an extra bed, you’ll need to request for it. For kids under 12, they get to dine for free with paying adults. But do check with the hotel as the promo may differ when you’re there.

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