Iâve stayed in two quarantine hotels so far (see below for reviews). Iâm 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 didnât 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 chairâs arms also hit the desk, preventing me from moving closer to the desk. The junior suiteâs 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 flightâs arrival time. Because my flight arrived at 6am from the US, the hotel required an extra nightâs 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 wasnât my favorite. I chose the âbento packageâ, which meant I had food that was all made in-house, but I also felt like there wasnât enough variety for a two week stay. I ended up ordering Uber Eats seven times to replace some lunches/dinners I didnât 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
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
Room rates have fluctuated a bit, so I would recommend finding the latest information on this page. Each quarantine hotel has a Google Sheet with latest room availability here (scroll down and click on âdaily room available statusâ links).
Room rates have fluctuated a bit, so I would recommend finding the latest information on this page. Each quarantine hotel has a Google Sheet with latest room availability here (scroll down and click on âdaily room available statusâ links).
Quick update: I just booked the same hotel again for my upcoming quarantine after returning to Taiwan next month. Price still NT$ 2500 per night.
The more I kept looking at these more expensive choices, the less happy I felt paying 50-100% more for what in the end could be a comparable or even less pleasant experience. Probably better to âsuck it upâ, order delivery frequently, save some money and try to get it over as fast as possible.
Now hoping that I will again get a room with a big window that opens and a the work desk will still be fine. And of course, there is always hope that they improved the food a bit by now
And of course thereâs still the risk that CDC suddenly puts Turkey on the list of high risk countries and I need to go to the government quarantine facility. Then that cheap flight over Istanbul could still get back on meâŚ
I quarantined at the Shihzuwan Hotel, Love River branch in Kaohsiung twice â I highly recommend it! The rooms were large, clean and comfortable. The staff was helpful and prompt. I opted out of their meal plan and relied on Uber Eats and Foodpanda both times. Food was always dropped off soon after it was delivered to the front desk. There was RO water on tab, so I did not drink bottled water they provided.
My first room was NT$2000/night (plus $800 government subsidy paid to the hotel directly). The second time was NT$1800/night with a smaller room, no balcony, no jacuzzi (The NT$2000 rooms were sold out). It was still nice, but I would rather have the NT$2K room. NT$200 extra for more space, a balcony, and a hot tub is a bargain. (To be fair, the second time they would drop off free fruit and desserts in some afternoons, which they did not the first time.)
I did not use their internet as I rented my own Wi-Fi router, but their password scheme is a joke: even though everyone has their own AP, everyone who stayed there would be able to guess everyone elseâs passwords, so itâs no difference than using a public network.
The down side - the journey is 3-3.5 hours longer and slightly more expensive (Quarantine taxi fare: NT$2660, and the return HSR ticket if you live north) than if you choose to quarantine in Taoyuan or Taipei. But I believe the overall cost saving and quality of life is worth it.
Seriously?! 14 days of pacing a cramped âhotel roomâ and they also expect you to do it sans booze? The cigarettes I can understand, though that would be really hard on a smoker.
Is this just the government hotels or has anyone heard of this in private hotels?
Yep, no alcohol, no cigarettes.
There is also no possibility to order food via Uber Eats, Food Panda.
I am in a government quarantine facilities as I arrived from one of those countries with âhighâ Delta outbreak.
Private hotels are also making their own rules. Some self-paid hotels allow alcohol and others do not.
Iâm going to be delivering daily care packages with fresh fruit, real bread to my husband next week with a beer or two inside. Iâll see if they go through his stuff or not.
The government says quarantiners arenât to be treated like prisoners.
I think that Thailand is/was the same with no alcohol officially allowed. I was a bit surprised to read in this thread recently that Taiwan has this policy too.
As long as people arenât getting trashed and singing sea shanties all night, I donât see how itâs any of the hotelâs/governmentâs business if adults choose to drink moderately while in quarantine - itâs supposed to be quarantine to stop people bringing the virus in, not prison. I donât think they should have the right to go through peopleâs luggage to check whether theyâre bringing in any âcontrabandâ, when that has little to do with the risk of virus transmission.
My Taiwanese wife, our 2yo kid and me are planning to come back to Taiwan around October/November (from Greece) and we are looking for a decent hotel either in Taipei or Kaohsiung (where we have our home but unfortunately cannot quarantine there) with the option of a bigger room (above 30sq.m).
The main reasons for bigger room are a) the kid to have some space to move around and b) some space to kind of âisolateâ for remote working. @quandary mentioned the Shihzuwan Hotel, Love River hotel in Kaohsiung that has pretty spacious rooms. Also I think it will be cheaper for something similar in Taipei (or even New Taipei).
Any other suggestion will be greatly appreciated.
It was my understanding that you will need 2 separate rooms. 1 adult + child in one room and the other adult in a different room. Has this changed? Can a family quarantine together now?
No idea about family in quarantine but when I arrived I saw a family, couple with 6 kids. I was wondering what quarantine facilities they were going to get if the rules are so tough in here.
Iâm not sure about this either, but I know from photos on Facebook that a couple of acquaintances who just arrived back from the U.S. are currently quarantining together with their baby in Taipei (the baby is <2 years old and the room seemed pretty large and pricey, like a family room or something, if those things make a difference).
Hi, we do know that you can apply for an exemption and we do know families with small kids (or even without) that they did quarantined together, so we will try to do the same as it is difficult for my wife to handle our boy for 2 weeks alone.
We are looking for something that at least can have 2 separate areas, even just with a partition, not necessarily 2 individual rooms. In XinYi, we found 1-2 hotels (like the Hanns House - Accommodation | Hanns House ) but the prices are crazy.
The only one we found that is also âkids friendlyâ is this one Kaifong Taipei-Orange Hotel | Taiwan Hotel, Taipei, Taichung, Chiayi .
Thank you all for your interst
I think the key word here is âmoderatelyâ. I thought it was ridiculous policy, but youâre alone for 14 days. If you are a âsensibleâ drinker, drinking alone can be fine. But alcoholism is also a thing. Does the government really want alcoholics drinking alone? and how would they know if the person ordering alcohol is an alcoholic? Maybe the person themself doesnât realize they are an alcoholic. It would be pretty easy for someone in a bad place to drink themself to death with unlimited alcohol orders. And since youâre not allowed to leave your room, no one would notice you were dying/dead until itâs time to check out, which could be many days after the fact. To me, I think the thing to do in that case would be to place a limit on how much booze can be delivered. Like, if there are three liters of hard liquor being delivered to a room each day, that would be cause for concern. So there could be limits placed on how much booze can be delivered. Certainly someone should be allowed to have at least one alcoholic beverage with lunch and one with dinner? I donât know what a âreasonableâ limit would be. For me, getting smashed 14 nights in a row would get old by night 3, even if I was doing that via virtual happy hour. I also understand hotels have enough to worry about without having to be pseudo bartenders âcutting people offâ, so I can understand a blanket ban, as annoying as that is.
I would just suggest not being in Taipei. Everything costs more and space is always smaller for the price. Since quarantine taxis have capped rates, driving all the way to the south and buying HSR tickets back looks cheaper for what you get than Taipei. You might want to keep in mind whatâs available for delivery near the hotel though. If you book a quarantine hotel in the middle of nowhere, you could end up with very limited delivery options. At minimum, youâll want Carrefour delivery.
Try to find a hotel with adjoining rooms. I think @Mithrandir did (not admit to) doing that.
Yeah, I know what you mean that it wouldnât look great to have an alcohol-related death etc. in quarantine, and maybe taking two crates of vodka into the hotel shouldnât be permitted, but it still seems like overreach to me for them to absolutely forbid any alcohol being taken in by anyone.
nz, you are right but actually I am discussing with my wife and we think that as our flight most likely will be ATH-DOH (5hrs) then DOH-TPE (9hrs) it will be too much for the kid another transportation from Taoyuan to even Taichung (2hrs?), not to mention Kaohsiung (4hrs?) by taxi (I do not think we are allowed to take HSR or any other public transport.
So, I guess we look for Taoyuan, (New) Taipei (and Hsinchu ?).
Thanks!
