šŸ˜· COVID - [2021] "Good" Quarantine experiences / hotel reviews / ratings / recommendations?

I think we can all agree that quarantine will never be like a vacation or something, but with home quarantine still being suspended, thereā€™s not much choice unfortunately.

While we have quite a few threads about quarantine, most of them where started last year (when the challenge was more finding a place willing to accept quarantining travelers) or were started out of bad experiences rather than good ones.

In this thread, I am looking for quarantine experiences which did not suck that much - and general recommendations of places where Forumosans have quarantined in the past and can give their recommendation.

I am not looking for the information provided by the government and the hotels themselves (those are obviously biasedā€¦), but more for personal experiences by members and their friends / families / maybe even some bloggers.

Some thoughts about topics for a recommendation:

  1. Cleanliness
  2. Room comfort / amenties
  3. Food quality and/or ā€œdelivery friendlinessā€
  4. Wifi / Office Chair / Desk / ā€¦

I will try to summarize some threads mentioning hotels into this thread too - maybe we can build up some sort of list with good places and places to avoid.

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We have @Aikaili who stayed in Amba Zhongshan: Any other Forumosans in a Taiwanese quarantine hotel?

About the food - apparently not too good:

Room in General:

On the other hand, @henrik00 stayed at the same place and apparently liked the food:

Prices per night: $4300 - $6300

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My quarantine last year in the Holiday Inn Express Taoyuan: Taiwan Food Diaries - Quarantine Hotel Edition

Food was not very good, but still acceptable most days - size of the room was still fine. Window could be opened and they provided a real office chair. Wifi was stable mostly. Price was 2500 - overall that seems to be a ā€œfairā€ deal when it comes to a quarantine hotel. However, this time, I am looking for a bit better place (even if I have to pay more). If someone is on a budget, though, I can still ā€œrecommendā€ the place (others might suck as much and cost more).

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@sbc Stayed in the ā€œHome Hotel Xinyiā€:

Some issues with the Wifi , but otherwise fine, it seems.

Not sure about the food quality, though (maybe @sbc can share some more experiences)?

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Found a blogger writing about the Aloft Taipei Beitou in December 2020:

Fortunately, the room is relatively spacious, very clean, and comfortable. The floor to ceiling windows looked out to the mountains. Having a great view definitely helped while in hotel jail. [ā€¦]
We had purchased the ā€œquarantine bento package,ā€ which included 3 meals per day. There was an option to get the hotel restaurant menu package but at a significantly higher price. For lunch and dinner, the bentos typically consists of rice, some type of meat, a few veggies, and some pickled items. The novelty of the bento wore off pretty quickly. For the first few days, waiting to see what bentos arrive was the high point of the day.
[ā€¦]
The bentos were all same-same but different.
[ā€¦]
By week two, the food got quite repetitive. We were crazy excited when pesto pasta showed up for lunch one day, and dumplings another. Itā€™s the little things in life. As the days passed, we ordered more frequently via Food Panda and Uber Eats. Fortunately, the Aloft wasnā€™t very on top of tracking the NT$100 per order fees, and we were only charged twice at check-out.

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The food was okay. Very taiwanese style (the sauces, the soups, etc.). Western food that was served sometimes wasā€¦ ummā€¦ ā€œdifferentā€, haha.
It really depends on your taste. I wouldnā€™t expect too much. Iā€™d say you can totally survive with quarantine food only, if your stomach isnā€™t super big and not super picky. But you eventually will do UberEats or Foodpanda, because you wanna enjoy some more decent food too when being quarantined. You still have to ā€œliveā€. Or all those convenience store foods you missed before coming back.

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Thanks for the reply!

Mhh, that really leaves me wondering whether paying almost double for one of the ā€žhigher endā€œ places is really worth it if Iā€˜d still need to keep ordering delivery every day to supplement the hotel foodā€¦ :roll_eyes:

Some hotels give you the option of not ordering the food (and take off maybe NT$300/day). Youā€™d have to contact each one though to find out. You will want a hotel that doesnā€™t charge you per delivery. The above-mentioned NT100/delivery is straight up extortion. I stand by what I said about getting yourself a small multi-cooker (like an instant pot), which would allow you to make whatever the heck you want, even if it takes forever because you have to cook one thing at a time. Or you do one-pot meals. Your penne pasta might be oddly mushy and al dente at the same time, but it would be better than bento x3 x15. That way, even if thereā€™s a hundred NT fee for delivery, you can just stock up groceries for a few days at a time (depending on fridge size) and eat what you want, when you want it.

I would be more concerned about room size and window than the food. Crappy food can be solved by delivery. Crappy, cramped, moldy, cigarette-stenched rooms cannot. Also, be willing to fight them on the room size. If they say itā€™s ā€œ5 pingā€ and you arrive in a room that is a bed with walls surrounding it on three sides and a half step to the bathroom, that is not 5 ping. Fight them on it. Make sure you have at least space to lay on the floor do you can do some exercise. Anything smaller is inhumane, regardless of how massive the bed might be.

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Yeah, definitely a valid point!

Luckily, at least for Taipei, the government spreadsheets contain two prices for some hotels (with and without food). However, Iā€˜ll probably still get the hotel food and only order delivery 0-2 times per day.

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I am currently having quarantine at government facilities. Very basic roomā€¦did not expect to be placed in a such a place. Unfortunately I could not choose the placeā€¦Still several days to gošŸ˜Ÿ

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Sorry to hear!

Would you mind sharing some pictures? I feel some members would be curious to see (me included) :grin:

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Just out of curiosity, did they search your belongings when you went in? I was surprised to read that.

No, they did not go through my belongs. They just asked me if I had any alcohol, cigarettes with me as these are not allowed inside.

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Interesting - so I guess duty-free shopping isnā€™t much of an option.

Good to know, because I often come back to Taiwan with a bottle of something.

Well, I told them I didnā€™t have any alcohol in my suitcase but it does not mean that I donā€™t have any :grinning:

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As long you remember to pack up any empty bottles and bring them with you, and that you donā€™t drink yourself to death, youā€™re probably OK sneak drinking by yourself.

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I have not opened them yet. I am trying to keep myself busy with other thingsšŸ˜€

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Attention!

I was with my kids in a horrible government facility until today. After a lot of complaining (one week) we were moved today to a nice hotel. I was in the UK before coming to Taiwan, so actually we shouldnā€™t be here, and of course not for free. But that is what they promised ā€œno cost for youā€. I paid the taxi from the facility to the hotel.

If somebody is with kids in a bad government facility, keep complaining about the conditions, maybe they move you to a nice hotel, like the just did with us.

After the quarantine I will share more details.

I think home quarantine should be allowed and we must fight as much as we can to avoid 1. to pay anything 2. to stay in those horrible goverment facilities.
If they donā€™t let us stay home, and they want us to stay in a controlled enviroment it should be a nice enviroment and it should be free.

Good luck everyone!

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Iā€™ve stayed in two quarantine hotels so far (see below for reviews). Iā€™m quarantining at Yusense Hotel next month because of their rave reviews on Google and will follow up afterwards.

Les Suites Taipei (Ching-Cheng); Rating: 3/5 stars

I spent my 14-day/15-night quarantine here back in August 2020. The primary reason I chose this hotel was because of the great online reviews and its tremendous value for room size (e.g. junior suite, corner suite). If I am going to be locked away for 15 nights, space is very important. The service was absolutely excellent, and they were very responsive to LINE messages. I could request additional milk or Nespresso pods, and they would bring it quickly. Breakfast and lunch were from their hotel kitchen, and for dinner, you could choose from a short menu of meals from two local restaurants which changed every day. They also allowed food deliveries (e.g. Uber Eats/Food Panda), which came in handy when there were a few lunches that I didnā€™t love. I was also able to borrow a yoga mat and two dumbbells to work out.

The reason why I am giving three stars is because of the room itself. It is in need of a complete refresh. The furniture was old and was not particularly comfortable. For being a business hotel, the desk chair provided was not ideal for working. The seat was so deep that I had to put a pillow behind my back for support. The chairā€™s arms also hit the desk, preventing me from moving closer to the desk. The junior suiteā€™s layout was also not ideal, since the living room/desk area was far away from the windows. This made the living/work space dark, even during bright sunny days.

Despite my criticisms, I would still recommend staying here for quarantine. The daily meals, customer service, room size, and price were good. If I return to Taipei for another quarantine, I would consider the corner suite (more windows/light) and ask for a different desk chair.

Amba Songshan; Rating: 4/5 stars

I stayed here recently in the Extra Large River View Room for my 15-night mandatory quarantine (March-April 2021). Overall, I would consider staying here again for another quarantine.

Pros:

  • The hotel itself is located in the upper levels of a high-rise, and the 21st floor is dedicated to quarantine guests. This means incredible views and no outdoor street noise.
  • With no other buildings blocking the sun and huge windows (basically wall to wall, floor to ceiling), the room got tons of sunlight.
  • Clean and modern (no carpet) with nice amenities (e.g. smart TV with YouTube and Netflix app - need own log-in; bluetooth speakers - although had tape covering and muffling the sound)
  • Large space to lay out a yoga mat and work out
  • Lots of fresh fruit included with breakfast

Cons:

  • There was no free early check-in. An early check-in fee was applied based on my flightā€™s arrival time. Because my flight arrived at 6am from the US, the hotel required an extra nightā€™s payment. So instead of 15 nights, I paid for 16 nights. When I stayed at another Taipei hotel for quarantine in August 2020, they allowed free early check-in
  • The food wasnā€™t my favorite. I chose the ā€œbento packageā€, which meant I had food that was all made in-house, but I also felt like there wasnā€™t enough variety for a two week stay. I ended up ordering Uber Eats seven times to replace some lunches/dinners I didnā€™t find appetizing. For breakfast, you could choose between three types - American, Japanese, or Chinese. Lunches and dinners were primarily Chinese.
  • Window cleaners suddenly appeared outside my window one day, and it would have been nice to have been told beforehand
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Thanks for sharing. Do you mind giving a rough estimate on the prices of both those places? They seem to be on the higher end of the mid-range quarantine hotels

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