Hotel Penaga, a sustainable taste of historic Penang

Yes, it is; in this case, the brainchild of architect Hijjas Kasturi and his Australian wife, Angela, an environmentalist. "We don't pretend that this renovation is a true restoration," say the couple, on the hotel website. "Ours is an adaptive re-use of buildings that were not so old, but are on the very edge of the Unesco World Heritage area." What is now the hotel was originally three rows of double-storey terraced houses and shophouses - built in the 1920s, probably - that had fallen into disrepair. The buildings form a square and new floors have been added, giving the hotel 45 rooms in total. Original timber, lumber recovered from colonial-era buildings and tiles sourced from traditional craftsmen in Indonesia, Vietnam and China were used in the renovation. The hotel satisfies its electricity needs from its own photovoltaic panels and it was the first heritage restoration project in Malaysia to be rated by the Green Building Index, which takes into account the living conditions and safety of the workers involved in the project.

The hotel gets its name from Tanjung Penaga, meaning "the cape where the penaga trees grow", the Malay name for the first settlement on Penang, where Georgetown now stands. The only penaga trees to be found in Georgetown today grow in the hotel's garden, which is small but bursting with life. The in-room information book lists the many indigenous species that grow here, around granite slabs that came to Malaya as ballast in trading ships from China.

Wood-panelled, serene and evocative of another age. As elsewhere in the hotel, much of the wall space is dedicated to art, lists in each room detailing the specific works hanging within. At the top of the hotel is a room given over to an artist-in-residence (Australian Nina Rupena, until May 2), who pays their way by donating pieces to the hotel's display collection.

There is a pleasant enough restaurant, the Cinnamon (above), run by an outside catering company, but Penang is known for nothing more than its wonderful food. You'll probably want to try other places.