DoubleTree Resort by Hilton Penang tendered for Sale (via Tender) at RM250 million — RM791,000 a key

The DoubleTree Resort by Hilton Penang in Batu Ferringhi was put on the market this July through a tender exercise at an indicative asking price of RM250 million.

That tender closed on 15 August 2026. As at the time of writing, no outcome has been announced — neither a buyer nor a withdrawal. What follows is therefore about the pricing argument the tender was built on, which stands whatever the result turns out to be.

The 316-room resort sits on about 122,000 sq ft of freehold land. The exclusive marketing agent is The Roof Realty Sdn Bhd, whose group leader Alan Wong confirmed the appointment and the closing date.

Who owns it

The vendor is Pinnacle Nexus Sdn Bhd, formerly a member of the Cornerstone Partners Group. A company search lists Cities Connect Sdn Bhd with 88.1% and RHB Trustees Bhd with 11.9%. RHB Trustees is also the major shareholder in Cities Connect, acting as trustee for private wealth manager Areca Capital — specifically the Areca Composite Bond Fund and the Areca Dynamic Growth Fund 9.0.

In other words, the economic owner behind this resort is a pair of investment funds. That matters, because funds sell on their own timetable rather than the market's.

How it got here

• 1998 — developed by Low Yat Group as the 350-room Ferringhi Beach Hotel
• 2007 — acquired by the Mah family through Mister Phoenix (M) Sdn Bhd for RM43 million; rebranded Hydro Majestic Hotel Penang, later Hydro Hotel Penang
• 2014 — acquired by Pinnacle Nexus for RM82 million, then extensively refurbished and repositioned as the DoubleTree Resort by Hilton Penang, Hilton's first resort in Malaysia

The room count came down from 350 to 316 in that refurbishment, to make room for on-site Hilton offices, a spa, reconfigured rooms and additional facilities. The resort is said to run a high occupancy.

The pricing argument

At RM250 million across 316 keys, the ask works out to roughly RM791,000 per key.

The comparison being used is the 2024 divestment of the 199-room Courtyard by Marriott Penang by Tropicana Corp Bhd to IOI Properties Group Bhd for RM165 million — about RM829,000 per room. Timmy Ho, managing director of hotel asset management firm Pragmatique Sdn Bhd, notes that although the Courtyard trades as a city-centre hotel, it is a direct brand competitor and peer in the upscale tier, and on that basis the DoubleTree's RM791,000 per key "is not far-fetched in comparison."

So on the headline metric the ask is roughly 5% *below* the most recent Penang upscale comp. A 2018 valuation of the property came in at RM240 million.

The catch is location. Market observers told The Edge that buyers may be unwilling to meet the indicative price because this is a non-beachfront resort asset — it sits back from the water rather than on it. In a resort market, that distinction does a great deal of work, and it is not captured by a per-key comparison against a city hotel.

Penang Today and Solid Real Estate both report that observers put a more risk-adjusted range at RM190 million to RM220 million. That figure does not appear in The Edge's reporting, so treat it as commentary rather than an established valuation — but the direction of travel is clear enough.

The supply wave

Ho lists it plainly:

"New international hotel chains are entering the island. Among others, we have the JdV by Hyatt and Galaxy Minyoun coming into The Light City, many brands under Ascott have already opened and announced, the Wyndham marquee over the former Hotel Royal, The Westin Penang from Boon Siew Group, Le Méridien at Penang Airport, Radisson Blu in Batu Ferringhi, and the long delayed but eagerly anticipated InterContinental in Teluk Bahang. And that is only on the island — we haven't even started on the mainland yet."

His question: "will demand be able to keep pace with the upcoming supply."

Note that one of those, the Radisson Blu, is in Batu Ferringhi itself — direct new competition in the same enclave.

The demand case is the airport

The strongest argument on the other side is not about hotels at all. Penang International Airport is rated for 6.5 million passengers a year and has been running well past it:

• 2023 — 6.7 million passengers (104.3% utilisation)
• 2024 — 7.6 million passengers (117.7%)
• 2025 — provisionally around 8.31 million (127.8%)

The expansion is expected to complete in 2028, nearly doubling capacity to about 12 million passengers a year. Ho believes that lifts Penang to a second peak.

This is the part worth lifting out of the hospitality context. An airport running at 128% of rated capacity is a constraint on everything that moves through it — and Penang's airport carries a great deal of high-value electronics freight alongside its passengers. The 2028 expansion is a tourism story and an industrial logistics story at the same time.

The risks Ho flags

Energy costs and flight connectivity. "With the recent energy crisis resultant from the Iran-US conflict, both long-haul and feeder flights to Penang's airport may be affected, thus potentially deterring international guests," he says, adding that rising energy costs and inflation will hit supply chains and utility bills "especially for ageing and less energy-efficient hotels."

He also cautions that Penang's position as a medical tourism destination, particularly for the Indonesian market, faces competition not just from Singapore but especially from Thailand, with its cheaper labour and competitive pricing.

What this says beyond one hotel

Three things carry across:

1. Thin comp sets make pricing fragile. A single 2024 transaction is carrying most of the weight in valuing a RM250 million asset. Where evidence is thin, the asking price is an argument, not a fact. (also affected by the fact that Tropicana having lesser room there for per key value is, of course, higher, not a direct comparison) 2. A metric can flatter an asset. RM791,000 per key looks competitive until you add that one property is beachfront-adjacent resort stock and the other is a city hotel. 3. The airport number is the one to keep. 128% utilisation, doubling to 12 million by 2028. That underpins Penang tourism, and it underpins the air-freight case for industrial occupiers on the island too.