Just before the junction of Leith Street and Muntri Street, lies an old white mansion with a dragon featured water fountain in the front. From the outside, it may seem like a modest home to a wealthy merchant but in fact it’s the newest addition to George Town’s growing boutique hotel list - The Edison.
Photograph courtesy of The Edison
Built in 1906, this mansion has been lovingly restored to its former glory. Designed by British architect David Nathaniel, the original plasterwork, cast iron work, right down to the floor tiles have been carefully restored, that it gives the Edison hotel its charm and character.
Photograph courtesy of The Edison
The George Suite
As you walk towards the front desk, you can’t help but notice the cast iron work on the windows – a Victorian-art-deco type styled cast iron work done with finesse. Just after the reception you’d be greeted by a small courtyard, and open area within the building where one can sit, enjoy the sun while admiring the cast iron work of the supporting beams.
*If you look closely to the base of the cast iron supports, you’ll notice that they were made in Glasgow.
Colours of white and teal, combined with the glow from the yellow mood light give this place its romantic ambiance that you can’t help but feel as ease – also you would feel like you’ve been transported back in time to when it was first built, still new and pristine. Boasting 35 rooms, each room is carefully fitted with plush furnishing of wood and marble, accompanied by crisp white linen that makes one feel that the bed is just too perfect to lie in – but you’d most likely jump on it the second you put your bags down.
*If you look closely to the base of the cast iron supports, you’ll notice that they were made in Glasgow.
Colours of white and teal, combined with the glow from the yellow mood light give this place its romantic ambiance that you can’t help but feel as ease – also you would feel like you’ve been transported back in time to when it was first built, still new and pristine. Boasting 35 rooms, each room is carefully fitted with plush furnishing of wood and marble, accompanied by crisp white linen that makes one feel that the bed is just too perfect to lie in – but you’d most likely jump on it the second you put your bags down.
The first floor - the door and windows in this hotel is from the original build.
The top floor has a beautiful library or what I’d like to call a reading room, that has every bit of an ambiance of being at home. Shelves of dark wood, furnished with high-backed reading chairs, its something out of an old Victorian library.
To the back of the hotel is the Lounge area – the kitchen, as I would coin it, as it feels like one. Similar to a kitchen this lounge has the cupboards, coffee machine, confectionaries and such on the back, with a long table in the middle. This layout is warm and inviting, making you feel at home.
As much as this new boutique hotel, The Edison, has brought life back to the old mansion, the history of this building is far more intriguing.
*Let me take you on a tour to its past
To the back of the hotel is the Lounge area – the kitchen, as I would coin it, as it feels like one. Similar to a kitchen this lounge has the cupboards, coffee machine, confectionaries and such on the back, with a long table in the middle. This layout is warm and inviting, making you feel at home.
As much as this new boutique hotel, The Edison, has brought life back to the old mansion, the history of this building is far more intriguing.
*Let me take you on a tour to its past
The Lounge
Journey to the past...
The Edison was once a mansion to a wealthy business tycoon by the name of Yeoh Gee Wark. It is said that Yeoh Gee Wark came to his fortune by a way of being part of a Hokkien syndicate group that controlled the opium trade into the Strait Settlements. Yeoh also had strong ties with the Khaw family, which had links to shipping, rice-milling, smelting and mining, where he served as a director to Kwah’s five principal companies; the Tongkah Harbour Tin Dredging Co., Eastern Smelting Co., Eastern Shipping Co., Eastern Trading Co. and the Penang Opium & Spirit Farm.
*Straits Settlements consist of Penang, Malacca and Singapore – this was during the British rule of Malaya.
These Chinese tycoons loved to show off the wealth; One way of doing it was to build a lavish home, in a game of one-upmanship with other tycoons. David Nathaniel, the architect behind the mansion, used nothing but the best materials and designed a home in the Anglo-Indian styled layout with European architectural features. A lot of the Chinese businessmen took to adopting the British-European styled homes as they saw it as a sign of prestige.
The Edison was once a mansion to a wealthy business tycoon by the name of Yeoh Gee Wark. It is said that Yeoh Gee Wark came to his fortune by a way of being part of a Hokkien syndicate group that controlled the opium trade into the Strait Settlements. Yeoh also had strong ties with the Khaw family, which had links to shipping, rice-milling, smelting and mining, where he served as a director to Kwah’s five principal companies; the Tongkah Harbour Tin Dredging Co., Eastern Smelting Co., Eastern Shipping Co., Eastern Trading Co. and the Penang Opium & Spirit Farm.
*Straits Settlements consist of Penang, Malacca and Singapore – this was during the British rule of Malaya.
These Chinese tycoons loved to show off the wealth; One way of doing it was to build a lavish home, in a game of one-upmanship with other tycoons. David Nathaniel, the architect behind the mansion, used nothing but the best materials and designed a home in the Anglo-Indian styled layout with European architectural features. A lot of the Chinese businessmen took to adopting the British-European styled homes as they saw it as a sign of prestige.
Photograph courtesy of The Edison
Yeoh’s son loved to gamble hence the mansion was lost in a gamble to a Chinese cartel. For a number of years, it was rumoured that the Yeoh mansion was used as an Opium den by the cartel. During World War II when the Japanese occupied Penang, the Chinese cartel had to give the mansion up to the Japanese army where it was used as an administrative office.
After the war another wealthy tycoon by the name of Lim Lean Teng bought over the mansion. He rented the mansion out to a hotelier who turned the mansion into Cathay Hotel. What’s interesting is that the hotelier sub-let out the back portion of the hotel to another business – Cathay Health Centre. Due to the services of this ‘health centre’ the Cathay Hotel was known, for many years, as a brothel.
The back portion, where the current main office of the Edison is, was once the main office of the health centre a.k.a. brothel. Men seeking pleasure would first go to the office at the back, pick the number of the woman they would like to spend the evening with then walk across to the back (now lounge area) to the room on the other end (now the open air seating area) to look for the woman with the said number.
*Apart from the funny business this beautiful mansion was a film set for the 1995 movie, ‘Beyond Rangoon’ starring Patricia Arquette and Frances MacDormand as well as ‘The Touch’ (2002) starring Michelle Yeoh. And no – she is not related to the Yeoh family who initially owned this place
After the war another wealthy tycoon by the name of Lim Lean Teng bought over the mansion. He rented the mansion out to a hotelier who turned the mansion into Cathay Hotel. What’s interesting is that the hotelier sub-let out the back portion of the hotel to another business – Cathay Health Centre. Due to the services of this ‘health centre’ the Cathay Hotel was known, for many years, as a brothel.
The back portion, where the current main office of the Edison is, was once the main office of the health centre a.k.a. brothel. Men seeking pleasure would first go to the office at the back, pick the number of the woman they would like to spend the evening with then walk across to the back (now lounge area) to the room on the other end (now the open air seating area) to look for the woman with the said number.
*Apart from the funny business this beautiful mansion was a film set for the 1995 movie, ‘Beyond Rangoon’ starring Patricia Arquette and Frances MacDormand as well as ‘The Touch’ (2002) starring Michelle Yeoh. And no – she is not related to the Yeoh family who initially owned this place
Photograph courtesy of The Edison
Cathay Hotel closed its doors in 2013 after its long lease ran out and the mansion was left in despair until Singaporean hotelier, Eddie Tan, decided to turn the mansion into a boutique hotel. Together with the Lim Lean Teng Foundation, Eddie tan and his son Eugene restored the placed to its former state.
*The building was restored by the landlord, Lim Lean Teng Foundation, while ET Hospitality Ventures Sdn Bhd outfitted the mansion.
The Edison is truly a beautiful boutique hotel, with its charm of the old and the new its sure to transport you back in time – even if it’s just for a split second. When the yellow mood lighting floods the building at night, it is indeed a sight to behold.
A night at the Edison would set you back between Rm550 to Rm850 a night – depending on your choice of room. The rate is inclusive of breakfast, all day snacks and non-alcoholic beverages from the Lounge. If you’re in Penang and fancy a bit of history and charm, do stop by The Edison.
*The building was restored by the landlord, Lim Lean Teng Foundation, while ET Hospitality Ventures Sdn Bhd outfitted the mansion.
The Edison is truly a beautiful boutique hotel, with its charm of the old and the new its sure to transport you back in time – even if it’s just for a split second. When the yellow mood lighting floods the building at night, it is indeed a sight to behold.
A night at the Edison would set you back between Rm550 to Rm850 a night – depending on your choice of room. The rate is inclusive of breakfast, all day snacks and non-alcoholic beverages from the Lounge. If you’re in Penang and fancy a bit of history and charm, do stop by The Edison.
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