Picolo recommends · Hotel in George Town, Penang
Cheong Fatt Tze, The Blue Mansion
An indigo merchant's mansion from the late 1800s, with open courtyards and carved shutters, where the day visitors leave and the house is yours again.
Late in the afternoon the tour groups file out, and the courtyards fall quiet. Light drops through the open roof onto old tiles, carved timber and the deep blue walls that gave the house its name.
The mansion was built for Cheong Fatt Tze, a rich Chinese merchant, and is now a small hotel with only a handful of rooms. George Town's shophouses and hawker streets begin a few minutes from the front door.
Picolo’s verdict
Why we chose Cheong Fatt Tze, The Blue Mansion
We chose it for history you can sleep in. Few hotels in Malaysia have this much character, and staying overnight lets you see the house when it is calm, long after the daytime tours have moved on.
The house is a working museum by day, so expect visitors in the shared spaces. Rooms follow the old layout rather than modern hotel logic. If you want a pool and a big gym, look at the beach hotels instead.
What you get
- Restored 19th-century mansion
- Open courtyards
- Small hotel with few rooms
- Guided tours of the house by day
- Hawker stalls on the streets nearby
A day at Cheong Fatt Tze, The Blue Mansion
- Morning
- Coffee in the courtyard before the first tour arrives.
- Midday
- A plate of char kway teow at a hawker stall.
- Afternoon
- A slow walk past the shophouses of George Town.
- Evening
- Assam laksa outdoors once the heat lets go.
Location
George Town, Penang, Malaysia
Open in MapsQuestions about Cheong Fatt Tze, The Blue Mansion
Can you stay overnight at Cheong Fatt Tze, The Blue Mansion?
Yes. The house works as a small hotel with a handful of rooms, while also running guided tours for visitors during the day.
Why is Cheong Fatt Tze, The Blue Mansion blue?
The walls are painted a deep indigo, which is where the house gets its nickname. The house dates from the end of the 1800s, when it was commissioned by a wealthy merchant.
Is Cheong Fatt Tze, The Blue Mansion near the street food?
Yes. The old town and its hawker stalls are a short walk away, so you can eat out every night without a taxi.
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Updated 6 Nov 2026All articles
How Picolo chooses
Our editors pick every hotel themselves, and most of them we have stayed at. No hotel can pay to be included or ranked higher. When you book through our links, Hotels.com pays Picolo a small commission. It never changes the price you pay, and it never decides what we write.
