| Crag Hotel | |
|---|---|
 Crag Hotel in 1902 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Hotel |
| Architectural style | Colonial |
| Address | Jalan Bukit Bendera, 11500 Ayer Itam, Penang |
| Country | Malaysia |
| Opened | 1885 |
| Landlord | Penang Island City Council |
| Design and construction | |
| Developer | Sarkies Brothers |
The Crag Hotel is an abandoned hotel and former school building on the north edge of Penang Hill, in Malaysia.
 | This section may be confusing or unclear to readers. In particular, there may be some confusion as to the exact years that the site was used by John W. Kerr and when the hotel opened.(January 2025) |
The original site was first occupied by a man named William Clubley in 1845 and was most likely a private residence. [1] [2] By the early 1850s, it was used as a sanatorium.[ citation needed ] In 1896, John W. Kerr, an employee of the East India Company, [3] took over the lease and made numerous improvements to the site, naming it "the Crag", [2] and it became a popular retreat for Europeans living in George Town and on Penang Island as a place to escape the intense heat and humidity of the lower coastal areas. [4] In the late 1880s, the lease was taken over by four Armenian immigrants, the Sarkies brothers, and following minor renovations was turned into a hotel that boasted nine bungalows. [5] [3] The hotel prospered until the outbreak of World War I, when it was sold to the colonial government. [2] Although it was still managed by the Sarkies brothers, by 1925, it was handed over to the Federated Malay States Railway. [2] Most of the hotel was completely rebuilt in 1930, and it continued operating until the Second World War, when it was requisitioned by the occupying Japanese army, [3] who turned it into a prison for British captives. [6] The Crag Hotel reopened in 1947 but was not as popular as it had been previously, and it finally closed its doors in 1954. [7]
After the war, the building fell into disuse for a number of years, until it was leased to the Uplands School in 1955. When the school moved to a new site in 1977, the buildings were abandoned. [3] [2]
The site became a filming location for the 1992 Régis Wargnier film Indochine , which starred Catherine Deneuve. [8] It was also used for the 2015–2016 BBC Channel 4 television series Indian Summers . [3]
Several attempts have been made to attract the interest of an overseas hotel chain to redevelop the Crag Hotel site, but as of January 2025, it continues to lie in ruins. [9]
Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia along the Strait of Malacca. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. These two halves are physically connected by the Penang Bridge and the Second Penang Bridge. The state shares borders with Kedah to the north and east, and Perak to the south.
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 backdrop of the rising Vietnamese nationalist movement. The screenplay was written by novelist Érik Orsenna, screenwriters Louis Gardel and Catherine Cohen, and director Régis Wargnier. The film stars Catherine Deneuve, Vincent Pérez, Linh Dan Pham, Jean Yanne and Dominique Blanc. The film won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 65th Academy Awards, and Deneuve was nominated for Best Actress.
Raffles Singapore is a historic luxury hotel at 1 Beach Road, in Singapore. It was established by Armenian hoteliers, the Sarkies Brothers, in 1887. The hotel was named after British statesman Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, the founder of modern Singapore.
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, 9 km (5.6 mi) west of the center of George Town. Penang Hill is also known by the Malay name Bukit Bendera, which actually refers to Flagstaff Hill, the most developed peak. One of the peaks is known as Strawberry Hill, which was also the name of a house owned by Francis Light, founder of Penang colony.
St. Xavier's Institution, at Farquhar Street in George Town, Penang, Malaysia, is the oldest Lasallian school in Southeast Asia and one of the Catholic Lasallian schools in Malaysia. While it has a history dating back to 1787, the present-day institution, named after St. Francis Xavier, was only established in 1852.
The International School of Penang (Uplands), commonly known as Uplands School or simply Uplands, is a boarding FOBISIA-member school in Penang, Malaysia. Founded in 1955, it was first situated on Penang Hill, moving to Gurney Drive and finally Batu Ferringhi in 2006. Uplands School is a multicultural, multiracial and multinational community whose aim is to promote the School Motto: "Respect for Self. Respect for Others".
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 brothers were born in Isfahan, Iran.
The first Armenians in Burma were merchants who arrived in 1612, and settled in Syriam, where the first Armenian tombstone is dated 1725.
The Armenians in Singapore are a small community who had a significant presence in the early history of Singapore. They were among the earliest merchants to arrive in Singapore from the British Raj when it was established as a trading port by Sir Stamford Raffles in 1819. They numbered around 100 individuals at their peak in the early 1920s, but most have moved on to other countries or become absorbed into the wider Singapore community. Despite their small number, they had an impact in the commercial life of early Singapore and members of the community co-founded the newspaper The Straits Times and built the Raffles Hotel. The Armenian Apostolic Church of St Gregory the Illuminator on Armenian Street, the second church to be built in Singapore, is today the oldest surviving one.
The Strand is a Victorian-style hotel located in Yangon, Myanmar (Burma), built by Aviet and Tigran Sarkie, two of the Sarkies Brothers. The hotel, which opened in 1901, which faces the Yangon River to its south, is one of the most famous hotels in Yangon and Southeast Asia, and is managed by GCP Hospitality. The hotel is named after its address, at 92 Strand Road.
The Eastern & Oriental Hotel is a British colonial-style luxury hotel in George Town, Penang, Malaysia that was established in 1885 by the Sarkies Brothers. The sea-fronting hotel is known for its luxurious accommodation and restaurants.
Beach Street is a major thoroughfare in George Town within the Malaysian state of Penang. Part of the city's central business district, it is also one of the oldest streets in Penang, having been created soon after the founding of the state by Captain Francis Light in 1786.
The Penang High Court, founded in 1808, is the birthplace of Malaysia's judiciary system. It is housed inside a Palladian-style building at Light Street, George Town, Penang. To this day, the High Court sits at the top of Penang's hierarchy of courts.
The George Town Central Business District (CBD) is the financial and political centre of the city of George Town, the capital of the Malaysian state of Penang. The financial district, which was first envisioned by the Penang Island City Council's Local Plan 2030, lies entirely within the city centre, and is home to much of the city's banking and financial services. The term CBD is often used interchangeably with Downtown George Town, encompassing both the historic core and modern sections of the city centre.
Light Street is the oldest road in the city of George Town within the Malaysian state of Penang. It was named after the founder of Penang, Captain Francis Light. As the epicentre of George Town, the street was created soon after Light established the settlement in 1786 and has been serving as a major thoroughfare within the city centre ever since.
Farquhar Street is a major thoroughfare in the city of George Town within the Malaysian state of Penang. Created in the late 18th century, the road forms part of the city centre's civic precinct, and is notable for the colonial buildings built under British rule. These include some of the most significant civic, religious, and commercial buildings of Penang, such as Penang High Court, Penang State Museum and Art Gallery, St. George's Church, Church of the Assumption, and Eastern & Oriental Hotel.
The Town Hall is a British-built administrative building in George Town, Penang, Malaysia. It is located adjacent to the City Hall, which now serves as the seat of the Penang Island City Council.
The Seri Teratai is the official residence of Penang's head of government, the Chief Minister of Penang. It is located in the city of George Town in Penang, Malaysia. The colonial-era double storey mansion was constructed in the early 20th century.
The OCBC Building is a historical building in George Town within the Malaysian state of Penang. Completed in 1938, the office building, situated at Beach Street within the city's Central Business District (CBD), forms part of the Penang branch of the OCBC Bank.
The HSBC Building is a historical building in George Town within the Malaysian state of Penang. Opened in 1951, the office building, situated at Downing Street within the city's Central Business District (CBD), houses the Penang branch of HSBC.