autumn or attitude,
Do you have the phone number or Chinese name of the Full Moon Spa? I told my wife about it and now she wants to go. Thanks.
A room in Ilan will cost considerably less than 3500. But, yes, for the most part the private HS are attractions, and are the main reason people go to areas like Bei Tou. Plus, let’s face it - wouldn’t you rather take a private HS instead of sharing one with 50 people?
Actually, if you just want to use the HS and not stay at the place, just rent a private room for an hour. Or, if you want the full ‘xiu xi,’ rent a hotel style room with a HS for 2 hours. Save quite a load of dough that way.
There are a number of good books about HS, but a bit of Chinese will be required. Try “Lai qu Taiwan pao tang” Pretty awesome bargain at 250 NT.
For my money, it’s hard to find a nicer 1-2 day excursion outside of Taipei than hotsprings. It’s one of the great natural treasures of the place and should be experienced at least once by everyone.
Gotta watch out though - don’t stay in for more than 10-15 minutes at a time. 
Oh, and the nicer places in Bei Tou are 3-3.5 stars or so. Some have really excellent facilties, but of course the price is higher.
Actually it was a spur of the moment trip and we totally stumbled onto the place. I didn’t even write down or remember any of the names of the resorts anyone mentioned. We just walked around checking out places. The Full Moon was the first place we saw.
That’s what I was afraid of. I wonder if its like that at Wulai? For NT$3,500/night for a small unstarred hotel I expect more than a hot bath as an “attraction.”[/quote]
Yeah it was just a tub. The hotel and room was beautiful and clean but the only attraction I needed was my man 
jlick the number is (02)26617678
The prices I got for Full Moon were 4200-12000. I suspect attitude went midweek and got the 30% discount.
Except for the most expensive rooms, the private spas at Wulai (or Yangmingshan for that matter) are really just bathtubs. You have to pay considerably more for something nice with a view. If in Wulai, I’d much rather swim in the ‘free spa’ - that is the river down buy the bridge. It doesn’t look like much form the road, but when you’re down there lying in the hot water, looking up at the stars, it’s really quite nice. Much better than a bathtub.
Another otpion for Wulai would be Dreamland, up over the Gondola. It’s 5500NT for a wood cabin with a 30% midweek discount. That includes the cost of the gondola, breakfast and use of the pool in Summer. No spa. Weekends would not be so good though as there’s hordes of kids at the amusement park. But without the kids, Dreamland is really quite a beautiful setting.
Does anyone have any suggestions for a villa or something near Taipei (accessible by public transport or maybe scooter) besides Wulai and Ilan?
Brian
there are places around macao (over the back of yangmingshan) of varying quality. used to go to sun moon farm just for the outdoor private springs but for some reason the water temp. is now too low…
There aren’t too many in the immediate area outside of those places and Beitou. Between here and Zhiben, there are a few scattered here and there, but not so many in large concentrations. The best bet is to get a book like I mentioned and check out what’s out there.
I actually find the hs in the nicer hotels much more than just a tub. Many of them are made of stone or nice wood, and are spacious enough for several people. Of course, there are also the super cheapies that charge by the hour and have nothing in the room save the hs tub and a shower. Those are OK once in a while.
Private rooms in nicer places also have higher quality, non-diluted springs. I haven’t used the free public springs, but I assume they’re diluted to an extent by rainwater and such - no? A simple test is how long can you immerse yourself in them without getting lightheaded, and how hot are they? If you can hang out immersed up to your chest for 30 minutes at a stretch, then they’re definitely diluted.
The free springs are undiluted. It’s right where it bubbles up into the river. In some places it’s almost boiling. You’d burn yoursefl if you tried to stand in it.
Brian
We just got back from a night at the Full Moon Spa. It nice, clean and modern and the service was generally good. We stayed in the 6200TWD room which was discounted to 4800TWD. The room was nice and uncrowded and had a nice big wooden tub overlooking the river (the side river, not the main one). The spring water was very hot coming in (the thermometer said 47C) and needed to cool considerably before being usable, so it’s probably not diluted. I would recommend this place to anyone.
By the way, they have a website, though Chinese only: fullmoonspa.com.tw/index.htm
You can get a free bilingual handbook of hostels around Taiwan from the Youth Hostels Association in Taibei. It includes hotels that offer discounts to people with Youth Hostel Association or Hostelling International cards. The first edition of the book may never be distributed because of errors and poor layout, but you can go to the YHA and ask for one.
Chinese Taipei Youth Hostels Association
12th Floor, Asiaworld Building,
No. 50, Section 1, Zhongxiao West Road,
Taibei 100
(opposite Taibei Train Station, next to the Mitsukoshi Tower)
You can also get one from the hostel on the 13th floor of the same building.
The Asiaworld Building. The YHA office is on the 12th floor, the hostel on the 13th.
Phone number for Full Moon?
Actually it was a spur of the moment trip and we totally stumbled onto the place. I didn’t even write down or remember any of the names of the resorts anyone mentioned. We just walked around checking out places. The Full Moon was the first place we saw.
That’s what I was afraid of. I wonder if its like that at Wulai? For NT$3,500/night for a small unstarred hotel I expect more than a hot bath as an “attraction.”[/quote]
Yeah it was just a tub. The hotel and room was beautiful and clean but the only attraction I needed was my man
jlick the number is (02)26617678[/quote]
My wife and I were thinking of going to a hotspring hotel this weekend and called the Full Moon Spa. Check in is 8pm. 8PM WTF!!!
Called some places in Beitou and the same. 7 or 8pm check in.
I am disgusted and incensed. I refuse to spend more than 5,000 a night for a place that has been rented out to 10 other people during the afternoon. In addition, we all know that hotels are recycling water and have excessive bacterial counts. So for a lot of money I get an inferior, possibly unhealthy product served up with absolutely no regard for my comfort. Of course every hotel room is used before you get to it, but it shouldn’t be used all day with the sole purpose of extracting the maximum value from it.
This is customer sevice in Taiwan at it’s fuckign best. Gouge, gouge and then, gouge some more. Treat the customer as a source of money. Nothing more.
Has anyone run into a hotspring hotel that doesn’t have such a ridiculous check in time? I mean around Taipei: Wulai, Yangmingshan, or Beitou. Also, has this practise been going on for a long time? I’ve only ever stayed in local hotsprings for an hour or two. Other ones around the island I’ve been to had normal check in times, probably because they just don’t have the volume of people coming through.
God, what a world, what a world…
You might try this:
springresort.com.tw/_index.html
As far as I can tell, check-in is 3pm and rates are around $6000/night. Stayed there a few years ago and, if you’re looking for romantic, this might be the one for you.
Good luck.
Went to the Spring in Beitou. Nice place but not very romantic as it is very geared toward families. Tried to have a romantic dinner in the Japanese restaurant but could not with all the noise and activity from children. Also, the level of dress was appalling. People spending $2-3000 on a meal for two think that wearing a baseball cap to dinner is fine? :loco:
Furthermore, the bathtubs in the rooms are too small amd not deep enough. Two people will find themselves quite crowded inside and not in a nice way. The view out our bathroom window was good but the only way to enjoy it was to sit up in the tub which meant being half out of the water.
The rooms were nothing special and so overpriced. They should have better decorative touches and even furniture for that price.
The outside facilities were good and there was one nice private pool at the end with a good view. Nice to be in on a starry night. That said, many newer hotels have better facilites.
Just up the road from the hotel is the Shann Garden restaurant and teahouse. This is worth visiting as it was built during Japanese times as an officers’ club for Kamakazi pilots. Good atmosphere and great views day and night. The teahouse area serves beer if you want to just sit and enjoy a beer on the deck.
I wouldn’t go back to the Spring for a night but I might consider going up in the evening and using the outdoor hotspring facilities and then heading up to the Shann for a beer.
My favorite hot spring area then remains Taian in Miaoli county. The Sunrise Hotel there has stylish looking rooms with very large and deep tubs in a bathroom of purple marble, and great outdoor facilities with splendid unspoiled views across a green valley. The water is also the best I have experienced in Taiwan. Smooth, odorless, and soothing it relaxes you immediately. Perfect after one of the long hikes you can do in the area.
wow, those prices are a real eye opener,
I did some romantic getaways back in Toronto, Canada, stayed at 5 star hotels in a large 2 room suite with a huge jucuzzi bathroom at the Sheraton for $5000NT, shocked to see that the same hotel suite costs double here 
i thought it would costs half since ppl here make much less $$ but i guess not…
any hotel have a special forumosa rate?
[quote=“webdoctors”]wow, those prices are a real eye opener,
I did some romantic getaways back in Toronto, Canada, stayed at 5 star hotels in a large 2 room suite with a huge jucuzzi bathroom at the Sheraton for $5000NT, shocked to see that the same hotel suite costs double here
I thought it would costs half since people here make much less $$ but I guess not…
[/quote]
Exactly, hotels are way overpriced here for what they offer and also, as you say, when adjusted for wages. Employees makes far less than they do here and utilities like water and electricity and even the hot spring water are dirt cheap.:fume:
For those going to Wulai, if you’re going for a romantic night, I’d recommend Hallyard Springs. I posted about it in another thread. Here’s the [url=http://tw.forumosa.com/t/wulai-resort-hotel-w-in-room-hot-spring/12881/4
If I read the website right Hallyard has a 6pm check in. No fucking way I am checking in that late to subsidize my room for the hotel’s profit. Think about it: if they are charging you 5000 a night and can also rent the room out maybe 5x during the day for 1000 a pop or more they can make over 10,000 a day for that room. Those rooms sure don’t look like they have the amentities and design of a 10,000 a night hotel to me. And how romantic is it to consider that 5 couples have fucked in your bathtub that afternoon.
No way.
There are always deals around. We paid far less than $5000NT and it included dinner too. Though in fairness, I’d say that it wasn’t much. More like a snack for most people. This was a weekend package btw. Anyways, whatever floats your boat. I’d still prefer Hallyard for an overnight trip to Wulai than FullMoon Spa, for the reasons listed in my link above. Enjoy y’all.