San Want Hotel Taipei
The slick lobby and restaurants, and attentive English speaking staff lead you to expect more from the rooms. But this is still a solid choice on a trendy, central street...
Taiwan provides the full range of lodgings, from basic hostels to world-class resorts. Air-con is standard and no key deposit is required but you'll need your passport or ID to check in. Note that the quality can vary, even at the same price range. Foreigner visitors are not overcharged. Outside of popular areas in summer there is usually no need to prebook rooms.
Accommodation is generally priced per room (or number of beds per room) and not per guest. What is called a 'single' room in other countries (one single bed) is rare; a 'single' in Taiwanese hotel lingo usually means a room with one queen-sized bed, suitable for a couple. 'Double' generally means a double bed but could also mean a twin, ie two beds per room. A suite is generally called a taofang (ie a room with a separate living area). In the countryside many hotels and homestays have rooms called tongpu (東埔). These have no beds but offer thick quilts and floor mats. Usually you must book the whole room but if it's not busy you can often have the room to yourself and just pay for a single person.
Summer, Chinese New Year and Saturday nights are high season. Discounts off the rack rate are the norm even in high season except for a very few hotels (mostly strictly budget) that always charge the same price. Sometimes you must ask, but mostly discounts are given automatically (often they are written on the hotel's price list). Discounts range from 10% to 50%. For resort discounts try midweek and for business hotel discounts try the weekends.
The slick lobby and restaurants, and attentive English speaking staff lead you to expect more from the rooms. But this is still a solid choice on a trendy, central street...
The elegant Italian design, attentive staff, and amenities such as dedicated fax numbers for each room are just some of the features that make this intimate 100-room hotel one of the best boutique/business hotels we've seen in Taipei...
There's a light, breezy, whimsical and secluded feel to the pastel-coloured Chateau, the only resort in Kenting to sit right on the beach. Room interiors could have come from anywhere, but the dazzling views of the sea and mountains are pure Kenting...
A true boutique hidden off a quiet alley. Rooms are large, bright, and super contemporary in look. It's a unique look and even the light fixtures, chairs, and carpeting (a tasteful parquet design) are not what you'll find anywhere else...
Museum-lit objets d'art in the corridors, clean, handsomely furnished rooms and kind staff are just a few reasons that make finding this 55-room business hotel worthwhile. While the address is on Chengdu Rd, the entrance is on a small side street...
Close to the business district and airport, the Evergreen Laurel has a spacious and relaxed atmosphere. Facilities are top-notch and include a business centre, a number of excellent restaurants and cafés and a health club with squash courts...
With its European exterior and comfortable rooms, the Riviera is a favourite with business travellers and those looking for a quiet oasis within walking distance of some of Taipei's busiest nightlife districts, not to mention the Fine Arts Museum...
The First makes the most of its four-decade-old shell and smallish rooms with renovated facilities, free wi-fi and several restaurant options. For friendliness, the staff can't be beat.
Ah, the Cosmos; if it were any closer to Taipei Main Station it would be inside it – it even gets its own sign on exit 3! This is where visiting midlevel businessmen on expense accounts, working for companies with tight-fisted accountants, come to s...
If high-priced American-style hotels are what you like, then the high-rise Westin, with its 288 rooms, piano bar and a dozen food and beverage outlets, won't disappoint. An indoor pool means that you can swim all year.
A design that can't decide if it's English country inn, or garish KTV parlour may not bring you happiness, but the large rooms, comfy beds, and softly lit interiors will at least bring you a good night's sleep...
The spaceship-like exterior of this hotel might have you wondering if the name comes from 'Take me to your leader'. But don't look for super-futuristic designs on board. This place is chic and modern, with delightfully large, airy rooms...
Some might say the Baguio Hotel is a bit long in the tooth, but we prefer to use the phrase 'old-school Taipei'. Expect Chinese art on the walls and a well-kept interior. Rooms are clean and comfortable and the staff are quite friendly...
Set back from busy Zhongshan Rd, the Regent is tops in every way, from the gold-leaf accents and exclusive shopping to the mountain views from the rooftop pool. Standard rooms are large and well furnished, complete with lovely deep-soaking tubs...
The Grand Hyatt is huge (more than 850 rooms) and looms like a massive stone hawk, wings outspread in the shadow of nearby Taipei 101. Rooms have three phone lines, there's a business centre, health club and the very upmarket Ziga Zaga nightclub...
Part of a group of luxury hotels in Taiwan, the Ambassador is rated one of Kaohsiung's best. Facilities include business centre, outdoor pool, health club and a host of food and beverage options...
The bigger rooms (around NT$2500.00) in this intimate, somewhat kitschy love hotel not only have a Jacuzzi in the bathroom but a two-person wood sauna, as well...
This used to be the Ritz, and it's still very ritzy indeed. An Art Deco theme spreads throughout the hotel and melds well with the crisp design of the rooms...
This contemporary hotel features a subtly understated French design (dark wood and white linen) that goes well with its overall quality of service. It offers a gym and sauna, and each of the 202 rooms has bathrobes, a safe and a minibar.
It's the big Kahuna of Taiwan's hotels and a tourist attraction in itself. Since the opening of cross-Strait tourism ties, this 1970s reconstruction of the original 1952 Chinese-style high-rise has become a serious magnet for mainland tourists...
It's one of the few true luxury hotels in Taipei, and a pillar (or do we mean a 43-storey tower?) of good taste. The location is prime for the business traveller...
Crisp, contemporary and international in style, the 430-room Ambassador is a beautiful hotel that's popular with business travellers and flight crews. There's blonde wood and marble throughout and a spa with massage services.
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