--- description: Find out why Soori Penang is on TIME’s list of the World’s Greatest Places 2026. title: Soori Penang: World's Greatest Places 2026 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0dd9897784bf4eb1/69ae7546fa0d71bc85726dcd/SooriPenang_WGP_2026.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Mar 12, 2026 # Soori Penang George Town, Malaysia by [Kathryn Romeyn](/author/kathryn-romeyn/) ## Kathryn Romeyn Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  Courtesy Soori Penang In George Town, Penang’s historic core, heritage hotels often lean heavily on ornate Peranakan antiques. [Soori Penang](https://sooripenang.com/ "undefined") charts a more considered, contemporary path. Designed and owned by SCDA Architects founding principal Soo K. Chan, the 15-suite hotel mines his early years living in a historical shophouse within the storied Khoo Kongsi compound, reinterpreting those memories for modern travelers. Outside, it blends into its traditionally styled surroundings. Inside, custom onyx lamps cast a soft glow through once-shadowy interiors, while restored glazed light wells illuminate serene water features—a reference to monsoon rains Chan recalls filling interior courtyards below. The restrained color palette lets form and texture lead, with subtle references to Penang’s multicultural history, like _shishi_ lion statues and stone-look circular windows modeled after those in the ornamented clan house temple. Weekly performances spotlight _wayang Cina_ (Hokkien Chinese opera), _bian lian_ face-changing art, or _wayang kulit_ shadow puppetry. Guests can explore temples by chrome trishaw, fortune-telling included, before returning for Penang-inflected Mediterranean dishes alongside elegantly re-plated Nyonya classics sourced from the city’s best stalls. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collection/worlds-greatest-places/2026/soori-penang/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collection/worlds-greatest-places/2026/soori-penang/"},"headline":"Soori Penang","datePublished":"2026-03-12T10:56:38.611Z","dateModified":"2026-03-12T10:56:38.988Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collection/worlds-greatest-places/2026/soori-penang/","keywords":["World's Greatest Places","Malaysia","list","franchise"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0dd9897784bf4eb1/69ae7546fa0d71bc85726dcd/SooriPenang_WGP_2026.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kathryn Romeyn","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/kathryn-romeyn/"}],"creator":"Kathryn Romeyn","articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0dd9897784bf4eb1/69ae7546fa0d71bc85726dcd/SooriPenang_WGP_2026.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/worlds-greatest-places/","name":"World's Greatest Places"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collection/worlds-greatest-places/2026/soori-penang/","name":"Soori Penang"}}]}] ```