Georgetown's Straits Quay

The layout, the accessories and the mood created evoke tropical living at its best. With wooden panels and designs, use of diverse fabric and murals that suggest a rich and exotic past, the place beckons one to come home with promises of cocktails under twilight and snug togetherness listening to the soft swish of the sea tide.

Bedrooms open away to the outdoors, be they the rhythms of cicadas in the gardens or a run under swaying palms. There are balcony partitions to rest tired legs upon and verandas to while away the time reading on sleepy afternoons. Cushions are comfortable and the carpets and rugs kept purposely light. Humidity is kept at bay by the high ceilings.

The baths provide for his and hers. There are suggestions of old London, but not quite.

Glass doors allow freedom and shared intimacy.

Marble tops, hidden shelving and straight lines try to minimise possible clutter in the kitchen.

Lighting can be subdued or highlighted, but never to take away the limelight of shared experiences with family and friends creating, transforming and making delicious outcomes.

The guest room allows the wind under the curtains, and the porcelain carefully placed to remind us of the fragility of soothing times away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. All these where the Straits of Penang meet the Andaman Sea.