Amari SPICE Penang

Amari SPICE Penang opened its doors during the fourth quarter of 2022 and the excitement of a new, grand hotel in the bustling Bayan Lepas was eminent. Amari SPICE’s location is indeed strategic as it is just 5km away from the Penang International Airport, and directly connected to the SPICE convention center, making it an unbeatable place to stay when attending events, meetings and conventions at the SPICE arena. And while Amari SPICE (under the Onyx Hospitality Group which has headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand) brands itself as a business convention hotel, luxury is not far behind. Therefore, guests can look forward to a comfortable stay with luxurious and thoughtful touches that any traveller would need, be it for business or leisure, or both!

Amari SPICE Penang boasts over 450 rooms in 6 different categories – Deluxe, Premier, Executive, Executive Deluxe, One Bedroom Suite and Amari Suite.

On a recent weekend, I checked into the Executive room for a much needed staycation. Guests who stay at the Executive floors & Suites have access to the Executive Lounge on the 25th Floor as well as exclusive Amari club perks (Complimentary pressing service, shoe shining, use of Executive Lounge meeting room etc). Check-in can also be done at the Executive Lounge over welcome drinks.

Amari SPICE Penang – Executive Room

Power Nap chair – a must have for the busy business traveller!

Work table – which you can swivel, to suit your needs

Room amenities – Coffee, tea and coffee machine

Bathroom – with rainshower and I just love the lighting on the mirror! In fact the entire bathroom door is a full length mirror so you can check out how you look before leaving the room, because Amari knows how important it is to look smart and spiffy before your business meetings!

Open concept wardrobe for easy access – everything you need at one glance! Iron, ironing board, safe (inside the drawer compartment) and a full size hairdryer! (YES!)

Open wardrobe and more storage space

Pillow Menu for your sleeping pleasure

Small, handy torchlight just beside the bed, easily accessible & functional

Toiletries from Breeze Spa (Amari SPICE’s in house Spa) They smell really good!

Rest asured, the rooms have been cleaned, sanitized and sealed before your check in.

Amari SPICE Penang’s rooms are fitted with smart TV which has several useful functions, other than for entertainment purposes. I was happy to note that there is an option to hook up your devices to the TV via HDMI cable.

One of the most interesting functions to note is the link to the Penang International Airport where you can check flight departure & arrival times in real time. Very cool and super useful.

Schedule your wake up calls and check your messages on the smart TV

In Room Dining Menu is also available here (more about room service later)

I didn’t expect the menu to be on the smart TV, as I was hunting for the traditional printed menu. I have a habit of checking out room service menus at all hotels that I visit, just for fun! haha

Welcome Snacks & Pralines. I love the use of our local ‘tau sar peah’ biscuit

Amari SPICE Penang’s Executive Lounge is impressive. It’s easily one of the larger Executive Lounges on the island offering plenty of spaces for work, networking and dicussions, or simply relaxing over the complimentary cocktails and canapes. The Executive Lounge is open all day and complimentary drinks are available, but the highlight would be complimentary canapes and cocktails which is available from 5.30pm-7.30pm daily.

Complimentary cocktails, drinks and canapes from 5.30pm-7.30pm

Amari club perks include the complimentary use of the Executive Lounge meeting room for up to two hours per day.

After enjoying the cocktail and canapes at the Executive Lounge, I decided to check out the other facilities around the hotel.

Salt water pool

Probably my favourite spot at Amari SPICE Penang

Jogging track and herb garden that’s connected to SPICE arena. You can access this from the alfresco bar terrace

Fitness center which is well equipped with Technogym equipments for a full body workout.

At time of visit, the Breeze Spa was still under renovation and is slated to open soon.

Amari SPICE houses a large coffee house by the name of AMAYA which offers a delectable buffet, but since we were too stuffed from the cocktails & canapes at the Executive Lounge, in room dining seemed to be the wiser choice. The menu covered an array of cuisines from western, to local and Thai favourites. I decided on the chana masala and green curry chicken since the Onyx Hospitality Group is based in Thailand. My in room dining order arrived in about 20mins during peak dinner hour with a full fledge festive buffet going on at AMAYA, so I was definitely impressed. Very generous portions, and most importantly, delicious!

After stuffing our faces with in room dining and a good night’s sleep, the next morning I was super stoked to find out that breakfast was served at the Executive Lounge as well as AMAYA on the 4th floor. And that I could actually eat breakfast at both places if that tickles my fancy! lol

In general whatever that is served at the Executive Lounge would be available at AMAYA as well but AMAYA would have a larger variety.

Let’s check out some of the offerings at the Executive Lounge for breakfast

Beeswax honey – only available at the Executive Lounge

The Executive Lounge offers a more private and quiet place to have a quick breakfast if one is in a hurry. But if you have time to spare, I would definitely recommend having the buffet breakfast at AMAYA on the 4th floor. I was amazed at the sheer variety available. In fact, I would actually come back again just for the buffet breakfast! hehe