Couzi Couji a fabulous boutique hostel in Penang located right in the centre of UNESCO World Heritage Cities Zone. Couzi Couji greets the visitor generously in a warm and vibrant atmosphere. Beautifully restored while keeping the charm of boutique Heritage accommodation, this "century old house" provide guests with the whole vibe of low-key and discreet rather than showy. You get simple, no-fuss service from the sophisticated and friendly staff, who give you as much attention as you require,making your stay lovely and enjoyable. Couzi Couji café is the ideal place to wind down after a long day exploring the great city. We boast one of the biggest get together area for all the guests to mix around with chill out like atmosphere with great music. Glorious central courtyard, complete with artistic wall mural let travelers chill out and share memories from all over the world. A cozy chill out bar with comfy sofas to slump into after a day of sightseeing. By opting for this neighbourhood, you'll get an instant taste of how the locals wind down and enjoy themselves, follow their lead and fall in love with this beautiful city. This luxury charm hostel in a youthful area of Penang is great for meeting fellow travellers. Featuring Free Wifi throughout the property. Couzi Couji has 2 mixed dormitory and an exclusive all female dormitory. We also have 3 elegant and beautiful boutique private rooms for guests that wants more privacy. All rooms are air conditioned with blankets provided. A peaceful haven as no children under 16 are allowed. Couzi Couji rooms are exceptionally pretty and very spick and span. There is no curfew with 24hrs security card access throughout your stay. Located in the heart of UNESCO Heritage Zone of GeorgeTown, Couzi Couji Boutique Hostel is the preferred choice of travellers into Penang. Perfectly nestled in the quiet street of Lebuh Gereja (Street) and walking distance to the beautifully famed Penang Street Art Wall Painting and walk through George Town's heritage streets such as Lebuh Armenian, Love Lane and Lebuh Muntri to enjoy refurbished shop houses that are trendy cafes and boutique hotels while some remain antique stores, small businesses and Chinese coffee shops. All this within the walking radius of Couzi Couji Boutique Hostel. Experience refurbished heritage buildings by staying here in Couzi Couji, one of the most gorgeous boutique hostels. "Your most preferred getaway boutique hostel in Penang"
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HOTEL STYLE
Boutique
Quirky Hotels
Location
84 Lebuh Gereja, George Town, Penang Island 10200 Malaysia
Couzi Couji Boutique Hostel
282 reviews
Getting there
Great for walkers
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travellers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
We stayed at couzi couji for two nights and were very impressed! It was clean and spacious and the beds all had separate curtains and room at the end of the beds for bags and changing and extra activities!! Jessica (the owner) and her husband were very helpful and friendly and gave us lots of advice on places to eat and how to get buses and things. There was lots of chill out areas and a computer and wifi to use for free, the drinks were cheap (cheaper than the bars) and the toilets and showers were always clean and warm with plenty of toilet roll. The location was brilliant, right next to little India, lots of restaurants and easy to get to bus stops and sightseeing! I would definitely recommend, helpful staff, clean rooms, toilets and beds and all for very cheap prices! If I'm ever back in Penang I would go straight back to couzi couji!! Thanks guys!
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Date of stay: December 2015Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
By far the best hostel I've ever stayed at!! *smile* The staff is incredible and the facility is super clean/modern. The location is also perfect - it's near lil' India, so there's lots of great places to eat and bus stops near by! I highly recommend this hidden gem if you're looking for a friendly, cozy and reasonably priced place to stay while in Georgetown. I stayed for 5 nights and will certainly be back if I'm ever in town again! :) :) :)
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Date of stay: September 2016
Rooms
Cleanliness
Service
Trip type: Travelled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from je55_78, Owner at Couzi Couji Boutique Hostel
Responded 6 Sept 2016
Hi thanks for staying with us. Hope you can share your great experience with your friends and see you again soon.
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Couzi Couji is located in the heart of the old quarter of George Town in a quaint heritage building. The location is perfect. The main floor and lobby has been beautifully restored to heritage building codes, exposing original wood detailing and stonework. The staff at the desk were extremely helpful and spoke amazing English. Their friendly recommendations of local spots to eat and drink were perfect. The common room (past the lobby) is equipped with a bar and a movie area with a TV and an excellent DVD collection. They sell drinks at a reasonable price and have most of the traveller supplies. Due to the heritage upkeep of the building, shoes must be taken off and the code restrictions have also limited the amount of space for bathrooms, making the total 3 (2 on the first floor and 1 on the second) there is a large sink on the second floor for washing etc. The bathrooms were modern and kept very clean. On the second floor there are also lockers and a PC (with very slow internet - actually the wifi is pretty slow on all floors). I stayed in an 8 person dorm room. The bunk beds are comfortable and have privacy curtains, although they don't reach the edge of the matress. The noise from the upstairs private room was annoying at times and the walls, since old and heritage, are very thin - you can hear every guests bed creek in the night.
Great place for a great price. Such unexpected gem in the heart of Georgetown!
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Date of stay: June 2016Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I was really expecting big things from this hostel but it fell way below expectations from a hostel that was rated no.1 on TripAdvisor at the time of booking. Having travelled the world for 5 months, this is the only hostel I've stayed at where I've booked for two nights but left after just one.
When I was initially researching where I would stay in Georgetown, I came across this hostel but was a bit hesitant to book because of a few things... A) it had lots of positive reviews but I became suspicious upon realising that the majority of these reviews were 'first-time' reviews and B) it was extremely cheap, at £4 a night, whilst most of the other top rated hostels ranged from £10-12 a night.
I went ahead and booked it anyway as it was so cheap, and I was in a rush to get a place booked before I went off travelling. So what does £4 a night get you at this hostel...
1) a dorm bed in a very small, cramped room with little space to move. Oh and some cheap linen as well.
2) access to 3 small and dirty combined shower/toilets which are always in use as the ratio of people to toilets is extremely high. Did I mention they were unclean? I never saw any of the staff cleaning, so this didn't surprise me.
3) They claim to be a party hostel and on my first night, I was invited out by 2 girls staying there. However, there was a total of 6 people that went out (4 guys, 2 girls and some of the staff)... Not exactly the best party. Also they blast music constantly at night and during the day, which wouldn't be a problem if the music was actually good... I heard 'Barbie Girl' and 'Blurred Lines' numerous times, eg the type of music that you would listen to at 13.
4) The staff at the hostel are non-attentive and seem to care more about interacting with certain guests/watching TV. On numerous occasions, I came down to ask questions but had to get their attention by calling out as they were distracted.
You might be thinking that the huge number of positive reviews surely means this is a good hostel, and usually it does, but not in this case.
Stay at this hostel if you want a cheap bed but nothing more. If you want to have a shower and get some space, I would recommend Syok which is where I moved to after I checked out early.
P.S. The wifi at the hostel also sucked. The only good thing was the cheap price but you should think about why it is so cheap before you book... And that's because all you're getting is a bed.
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Date of stay: July 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I was mislead by the reviews, I really wonder why this is voted as #1 hostel in Georgetown??? Well, in fairness my reservation was easy because I just messaged them and they said I can just come for check-in without paying anything online, and it was really cheap but when I got there and saw the dormitory that I will be sleeping, I saw an old guy going to one room after the other spraying something for bed bugs. Being tired and just wanting to sleep, I just lay down on the bed assigned to me but later on, I saw some bed bugs creeping on the wall!!! I didn't have any choice but to swat them myself and patiently wait for the morning to come and just check out early to look for another cleaner place to stay. You couldn't sleep with the noises of people hanging out downstairs as well.
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Date of stay: October 2014
Value
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from alexsace, Owner at Couzi Couji Boutique Hostel
Responded 17 Oct 2014
Dear blehblehbleh82, First off, we're sorry about the bed bugs. We were actually in the midst of cleaning and debugging on the days when you happened to stay with us – we had just reopened after a debugging session. That's why you saw someone going around with a spray can. As for the noises downstairs... we are a party hostel and noise is definitely to be expected. However, we apologise again that your stay was not pleasant and we do assure that we are keeping the bed bugs issue under control. We also did offer refunds to all guests who were affected on those days. Thank you for your kind understanding and we are truly sorry once again.
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Alex is a great host and gave great advice but the place is overwhelmed with bedbugs. In both the dorms and even in the towel closet. He gave me my money back for the night because I didn't sleep at all. The place could be really great accept for that. Doesn't have anything to do with cleanness but it just needs some serious chemical cleaning!
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Date of stay: August 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I booked it because it is very cheap but never thought that the room is extremely small, have to put bagpacks on our own bed, manager's attitude is extremely bad. I thought customers are the top priority. I even got bitten by bed bugs, now I am not sure if I had brought some back home with me. I don't see any party but just a few gang of tourists sitting together drinking smoking. Not only me got bitten, my other friends also have scar marks. The toilets SUCKS, onky three small toilets for the everyone. I have warned you guys, so stay at your own risk.
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Date of stay: July 2014Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We arrived late in the night and although the door was locked, they have someone sleeping near the door who woke up and helped us. It helps to have a reservation. This hostel is a colonial house that is 110 years old so expect creaky floors! Also expect LOTS of stairs. We were staying in a private room so we had to climb 2 sets of stairs with our luggage (it wasn't that bad) and we shared the ONE bathroom they had. This was the only issue I had with this hostel. There weren't that many people staying at the same time as us but the shower is shared with the toilet so you basically have to wait in the mornings. Plus the shower/toilet is on the 2nd floor and we were staying on the 3rd floor which is inconvenient. The staff were very helpful and offer lots of free maps. Rooms were clean and quaint. Little India is a quick walk down the street and offers great street food (roti, rice and curry) until 10pm.
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Date of stay: May 2016
Rooms
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Stayed here with my friend for 5 nights. Travelling for a year and on a budget. We typically stay in private rooms in hostels. This place has a lot of potential but it doesn't know what it's trying to be: budget hostel with a party vibe or boutique heritage hostel. It's a beautiful clean place in an renovated Chinese shophouse with a cute decor, nice rooms (mix of dorm and private) and nice large common spaces. Rooms are private, large, and come with A/C and night lamps (I like to read at night and don't have a paper white yet so this made me happy)! All bathrooms are shared, come with hot water, and are kept pretty clean. Price & location are very good! Now for the drawbacks. This place has a lot of rules (no food/drink upstairs, no consuming outside alcohol, Quiet Please!), charges for absolutely everything (forget about getting free tea and coffee here, and bring your own soap & towel!), has lazy staff and a lack of bathrooms (misplaced bathrooms might be a better way to put it). Also, it was quite loud in our room on a few evenings - rooms are equipped with original wooden slat windows (no screening or window panes, just curtains to pull over them), which means street noise is unavoidable. While the regular street noise level was no problem, there were drummers practicing just outside the hotel for a couple hours on a few separate evenings - originally I thought this was because of an upcoming parade that they were practicing for but the drumming continued after the parade. They never drummed past 10pm so it could have been worse... To elaborate on the drawbacks... Rules: Some rules are good (for example no shoes upstairs & turn the hot water switch off after showering to save energy), but the no food and drink & no outside alcohol are a bit excessive for a budget hostel (why pay 8 Ringgit for a small can of beer at the hotel when you can get a large bottle for 14 Ringgit just around the corner...would have been nice to be able to drink it in the lobby, this would help bring people together in the common spaces, which are great but lacked any socializing while we were there). Also the "Quiet Please!" sign seems out of place when the staff had overly loud music playing in the lobby for the better part of every day (and a disco ball which they would turn on in the evenings...???) Bathrooms: The hotel consists of three floors, all rooms being on the upper two floors. There are only three shared bathrooms/showers and two of the three are located on on the ground floor where there are no rooms. This means you'll either spend some time waiting to use the one bathroom/shower near the rooms, or you'll be walking down to and through the main lobby to use one of the two bathrooms/sh
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Date of stay: December 2015Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from je55_78, Owner at Couzi Couji Boutique Hostel
Responded 13 Jan 2016
Dear guests, First of all thank you for your feedback, please let me share some of your concern. 1. We take pride in keeping our hostel spick and span. We make sure cleanliness is one of our top priority. We do not encourage our guests to eat upstairs so as not to dirty the rooms and sleeping area which might invite cockroaches. We have a huge lounge area downstairs for your takeaway meals and nice relaxing music. 2. Yes we understand you can get cheaper beers around the corner but that is 'DUTY NOT PAID' liquor which is smuggled liquor that avoided tax. This is illegally sold and to consume it in our hostels might get our Hostel license revoked if anyone caught consuming in our hostels. They might think we are the one selling those illegal liquors to you guys. We priced our beers and drinks as cheap as possible so the guests can afford them,selloing probably at cost price. Rm8 OR US 1.70 for a can of beer duty paid is a cheap as you can get anywhere in the whole Penang island. 3. We are located in the UNESCO HERITAGE ZONE 1 and our heritage house is close to 120 years old. So there is limitation to any renovation to this place. We love to have build more toilets but our we can't get the approval. The toilets are originally build 100 over years ago, and we can't change it. So it's not a question of misplaced bathroom. We need to keep this place as a heritage house and stay as original as possible. There is nothing to worry about coming through the lobby to go the bathroom as we only allow in house guests in our premises and no outsiders. 4. About the noise of drummers. The reason is they are practising for the coming Chinese New Year lion dance performance in February 2016. We have spoken to them and they have already stopped the practise. But if you are in Penang, get the feel of the local life in Penang, Live like one of the local to have a feel of the vibe in Penang. I have spoken to many guests and they love it this way.
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There are 8 beds per dorm. Each bed is equipped with 2 Type G (UK) plugs, an LED light, a pillow + thick blanket and curtains for privacy. The air-conditioned dormitory is very comfortable with wooden flooring and nice ambiance. If you came to Penang to experience its culture and heritage, I would say this hostel is spot on.
There are 3 shower/toilets; one on the 1st floor and another 2 on ground floor. Bring your own towel and toiletries or you can buy them at the reception.
Guests will be given an access card each (they'll lock the door at midnight for safety reasons) and a key to a locker located at the common area on the 1st floor.
Location wise, it's just a stone's thrown away to many attractions (literally a few metres away from Pinang Peranakan Mansion, Penang Museum and St. George's Church, as well as a walking distance from Little India and Fort Cornwallis). At the same time, it's not too close to the commotion. Take the RapidPenang bus with CAT indication. It's a free shuttle bus service that rides through many attractions in George Town. If you wanna go to the jetty by bus, wait for the CAT at Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling (from Couzi Couji turn right to Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling; the bus stop is on the other side of the road). As for to KOMTAR (the sentral bus station), walk further up to Lebuh Farquhar and wait for the CAT at the bus stop located in front of St. George's Church.
It's not a party hostel as suggested before and I think that is good as it suits the name; couzi. Jessica, the new owner of this hostel is very friendly. She was kind enough to ask about my stay and any improvements that she could work out with.
Will definitely choose this hostel again in the future.
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Date of stay: December 2015
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Trip type: Travelled solo
Room Tip:Bunk bed no.4 and 6 are the best (bottom bed and nearest to the windows and air conditioner)....
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from je55_78, Owner at Couzi Couji Boutique Hostel
Responded 24 Dec 2015
Truly appreciate your review. Thank you very much for staying with us. Hope to see you again soon.
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There are more places to choose from in the George Town area.
LOCATION
MalaysiaPenangPenang IslandGeorge Town
NUMBER OF ROOMS
6
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