In its early days as an outpost of the East India Company, Penang attracted travelers—merchants, missionaries, mercenaries, sailors, and adventurers. From London to Singapore, one had to sail around the Cape of Good Hope, a difficult journey that took on average four months. In the 1840s, a land railway route was established, allowing travelers to bypass the Cape of Good Hope altogether.

But it was only after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 and the arrival of the steamboat that travel to Asia gained unprecedented style and luxury. Writers, actors, playwrights, wealthy and titled people, bored with Europe and America, turned to the exotic East to satisfy their passion for travel. Suddenly, a new breed of travelers appeared—globetrotters. It was to meet the needs of these new affluent travelers that the Eastern & Oriental was born.

The Sarkies brothers, Armenians Martin and Tigran, already known in Southeast Asia for their enterprise and business acumen, settled in Penang and founded the Eastern Hotel in 1884. Encouraged by its success, in 1885 they opened another hotel, the Oriental, on an adjacent sea-view plot. United, these two hotels became the largest hotel in Penang, offering 80 comfortable and tastefully furnished rooms.

In 1891, another Sarkies brother, Arshak, joined the business. More flamboyant than his brothers, he added a large ballroom in 1903. Soon, the E&O (as it came to be affectionately known) became the center of social life in Penang and its surroundings. It was the venue for the island’s major events such as weddings, banquets, and the annual St. George’s Day ball. Invited musicians and cabaret performers also found their way to the E&O. Among the famous guests who enjoyed its hospitality were Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, Noël Coward, Rudyard Kipling, Somerset Maugham, and Hermann Hesse.

In 1922, Arshak allocated a large plot of land to the hotel, expanding its already impressive sea view. On this land, the magnificent Victory annex was built, adding another 40 rooms. By 1927, the E&O was advertised as the “First-class hotel east of Suez,” boasting more than 100 rooms, 40 of them with adjoining bathrooms, hot and cold running water, individual telephones, and an 842-foot-long promenade, “the longest of any hotel in the world.” Unfortunately, with the onset of the Great Depression, Arshak’s extravagance and poor management caught up with him, and the E&O began to decline slowly. After Arshak’s death in 1931, it changed hands several times but even in decline retained its charm and endured the passage of time with character and grace.

Today, more than a century after its founding, the E&O has restored its heritage. And with a return to elegance, it is no surprise that, as one writer once put it, “those who have once visited this famous hotel regard the E&O as a refuge to which one must strive to return again and again, as the traveler returns to his beloved home.”

The hotel on Penang Island is the only hotel in the very heart of George Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with magnificent sea views. Over its 125-year history, the E&O has hosted the most famous artists, writers, and world leaders, including the great Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, as well as renowned novelists and poets. There is a photograph taken around 1889 showing Rudyard Kipling writing on the hotel’s coastal grounds; Hermann Hesse stayed here in 1911 while working on his novel “Siddhartha,” along with Somerset Maugham and Noël Coward. The E&O still hosts famous and powerful people: just last year, the Sultan of Brunei stayed at the hotel with a very large entourage.

Sources:

https://hotmagazine.website/lets-stay-eastern-oriental-hotel-penang-malaysia/

www.eohotels.com

Penang's Pearl: The Eastern & Oriental Hotel (forbes.com)