The Crag Hotel, Penang is an abandoned hotel, and former school building on the north edge of

Penang Hill Penang Hill is a hill resort comprising a group of peaks near the center of Penang Island, Malaysia. It is located within the Air Itam suburb, west of the center of George Town. Penang Hill is also known by the Malay name ''Bukit Bendera'', w ...

Hotel history

The original site was first occupied by a Mr Bright in 1845, and was most likely a private residence. By the early 1850s, it was used as a sanatorium. In 1896, Captain John W Kerr, an employee of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

took over the lease and made numerous improvements to the site and was a popular retreat for Europeans who lived in Georgetown and Penang Island as a way to escape the intense heat and humidity of the lower coastal areas. In 1905, the lease was then taken over by four Armenian immigrants, the

Sarkies brothers The Sarkies Brothers, Martin (1852–1912), Tigran (1861–1912), Aviet (1862–1923), and Arshak (1868–1931), were a group of brothers of Armenian ethnicity best known for founding a chain of luxury hotels throughout Southeast Asia. The brother ...

and following minor renovations was turned into a hotel that boasted nine bungalows. The hotel prospered until the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, when it was sold to the colonial government. Although it was still managed by the Sarkies brothers, by 1925 it was handed over to the

Federated Malay States Railway The Federated Malay States Railways (FMSR) was a consolidated railway operator in British Malaya (present day Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore) during the first half of the 20th century. Named after the then recently formed Federated Malay ...

. Most of the hotel was completely rebuilt in 1930 and it continued operating until the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, when it was requisitioned by the Japanese Army of occupation. The Crag hotel re-opened in 1947, but was not as popular as it had been and finally closed its doors in 1954. File:KITLV - 80044 - Kleingrothe, C.J. - Medan - Government Villa at the Crag Hotel Penang - circa 1910.tif,

School history

After the war, the building fell into disuse for a number of years, until it was leased to the Uplands School

The International School of Penang (Uplands) The International School of Penang (Uplands), commonly known as Uplands School or simply Uplands by its members (called ''Uplanders''), is one of the International Schools in Penang, Malaysia. Founded in 1955, it was first situated on Penang H ...

. The international boarding school opened in 1955, as a safe location during the

Malayan Emergency The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War was a guerrilla war fought in British Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA) and the military forces o ...

. During her overseas tour it was visited by Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

in 1972. It was moved to a new site in 1977, and the buildings abandoned.

Film set location

The abandoned buildings became a location for the 1992

Indochine (film) ''Indochine'' () is a 1992 French period drama film set in colonial French Indochina during the 1930s to 1950s. It is the story of Éliane Devries, a French plantation owner, and of her adopted Vietnamese daughter, Camille, set against the backd ...

, featuring

Catherine Deneuve Catherine Fabienne Dorléac (born 22 October 1943), known professionally as Catherine Deneuve (, , ), is a French actress as well as an occasional singer, model, and producer, considered one of the greatest European actresses. She gained recogni ...

- a French period drama film set in colonial French Indochina during the 1930s to 1950s. Later it was again used for the BBC Channel 4 television series

Indian Summers ''Indian Summers'' is a British drama television series that began airing on Channel 4 on 15 February 2015. The show details the events of summers spent at Simla, in the foothills of the Himalayas, by a group of the British governing and tradi ...

screened 2015–16, a British colonial historical drama series set in India during the 1930s-1940s, featuring

Nikesh Patel Nikesh Patel (born 1985) is a British actor, best known for his role as Aafrin Dalal in the TV series ''Indian Summers,'' Kash Khan in the mini series ''Four Weddings and A Funeral'', and Tom Kapoor in the sitcom '' Starstruck''. Early life Pa ...

as Aafrin Dalal and

Julie Walters Dame Julia Mary Walters (born 22 February 1950), known professionally as Julie Walters, is an English actress. She is the recipient of four British Academy Television Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, two International Emmy Awards, a ...

as Cynthia Coffin. The main building becoming the fictional Royal Simla Club.

Footnote

There have been several attempts to interest an overseas hotel chain to redevelop the Crag Hotel site, but nothing has materialized to date.

(1901) Yangon (Rangoon).
The Sea View Hotel, Singapore, originally built in 1906 and operated by the Sarkies Brothers under lease until 1931. It was one of the first hotels located outside of the busy town centre. Situated in the Tanjong Katong area, especially popular with clients who had recently recovered from illness and were seeking the tranquillity of an idyllic seaside resort surrounded by coconut trees to rest and recuperate. It was leased to various operators until 1962, when it was demolished and a new property bearing the same name was built in its place. The new hotel operated from 1969 to 2003 before it was pulled down to make way for a condominium development.

References & Sources

{{reflist * Crag Hotel, Abandoned Film Set in Penang: https://amyscrypt.com/crag-hotel-abandoned-penang/ * Crag Hotel, Abandoned hotel on Penang Hill: https://fromheretonowhere.com/asia/malaysia/abandoned-crag-hotel-penang-hill * Article about TV series Indian Summers: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/expateducation/11649036/Indian-Summers-prompted-a-flood-of-Malaysian-school-memories.html * Crag hotel, Penang: http://www.penangseaview.com/crag-hotel-penang-hill/ * Picture of Crag Hotel Penang 1933: https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/pictures/Details/26b034b6-8dc4-41e8-b6a3-2bf890d87d59 Defunct hotels

Hotel history

School history

Film set location

Footnote

See also

References & Sources