Review of funicular ride and visit to the hill:

After queuing for around 15 minutes to buy a ticket I was told that the regular tickets came with a 3 hour wait. I could buy a fast track ticket for RM 45 per person (one way). The ride itself was basically a very busy, short train journey. People were crammed in to the carriages until there was no room for another passenger then the doors were closed.

The top of the hill was a real tourist trap. Half the viewing platforms were closed and many of the areas required extra payment to visit. We walked down a path and was told we had to pay RM 1 to walk any further. I'm not entirely sure why.

I found the place to be quite dirty. Aggressive monkeys ripped rubbish from the bins and hissed at passers by.

The view wasn't fantastic as trees blocked most of it from the available platforms.

We opted to walk down to avoid forking out another RM 90. The walk was quite strenuous, more of a hike. It was fairly pleasant but definitely recommend bringing proper walking gear for this.

Overall this was our least favourite place we visited during our week in Penang. For nature and wildlife I'd recommend the (free) botanical gardens instead, these were much nicer and well maintained.

For a view of the island, I'd recommend visiting The Top. The 360 view here was much better, tickets were cheaper, and all areas including a couple of sky walks were included.

This was the worst part of my trip to Penang. Came on a weekend around 10.30 am and was told that I'll get to board the train within 1 hour. However, it became a 2.5 hours wait. When I finally entered the train, it was packed to the brim with people.

The view from the top is all right but quite a few of the attractions are chargeable. It seems like a tourist ripoff!

Was forced to upgrade to fast lane ticket when going down as I was in a rush and the overall price paid was RM80 (compared to RM30 for normal lane). I feel it's too expensive.

If I had to go to Penang Hill again, I'll go on a weekday and consider hiking over taking the tram. Perhaps only then will I be able to appreciate the beauty of Bukit Bendera.

So much potential but so poorly managed. Run like a kampung place. Banglas hasstling you to take pictures. Run down attractions and totally incompetent and poorly trained staff. The whole place is a third class attraction. The only jewel is The Habitat and David Browns Restaurant. The rest of the hill is so disappointing. They should just fire the whole management team for doing such a poor job.

laporan yang disiarkan pada 24 Ogos itu tidak tepat dan dihasilkan berdasarkan 24 ulasan buruk yang diambil secara rawak.

"Ulasan akhbar berkenaan mempunyai keterbatasan dengan pengumpulan data. Hanya berdasarkan ulasan menggunakan satu bahasa tanpa mengambil bahasa utama lain yang digunakan di rantau ini seperti bahasa Melayu, Mandarin dan Tamil.

"Ulasan buruk yang diperhati mengandungi 24 komen dan tidak mempertimbang komen baik yang jauh lebih banyak, berbanding komen buruk mengenai Bukit Bendera," katanya dalam kenyataan di sini, hari ini.

sejak 1923, kira-kira 47 juta pengunjung melawat ke Bukit Bendera, iaitu menjangkau rekod lebih sejuta pelancong saban tahun.