I just got back from a long week end at The Lalu hotel in Sun Moon Lake and this is definitely the place to bring your significant other for any celebration or anniversary or for a surprise…
The easiest way to reach there is by taking the green bus (豐榮客運) at the corner of Zhong Xiao and Fu Shing (subway station of Sogo). Round-trip is NT$700. The bus departs every hour from Taipei and it takes around 4 hours to get in Sun Moon Lake. Once you arrived, try to call the hotel to fetch for a taxi to bring you to the reception (NT$100) or walk to the lobby (10 minutes walk on an ascendant road).
Once you get there, just relax and enjoy the magnificent view. We stayed 3 days there and did not get out of the hotel once, except for a walking tour of 30 minutes around the lake…
Also do not forget to treat yourself well with a massage. I recommend the Lalu massage and the warm stone massage if you don’t like heavy Chinese style accupressure massage. The view from the Spa room and the sauna is also wonderful. Just a pity that the lady and the man sauna are separate… You feel like in heaven and you are treated like queen/king. In addition, the small sesame biscuits they serve you before and after your Spa treatment is delicious.
The Japanese Teppanyaki restaurant is delicious. Do try their Angus Beef… The Occidental buffet is better during breakfast than lunch. We did not have time to try the Chinese restaurant, but the Tea House is great for tea but also for dim sum.
Also don’t forget the swimming pool. Be aware that it closes at 7.00pm, which is a pity.
The smallest room is a one-bedroom suite. You have a bathroom (shower+bath), your bedroom and a living room with fire place indeed and a huge balcony overlooking the lake. The price during the week end in August is I guess the most expensive one = NT$13,800 + 10% tax and there is no breakfast/no meal with the room price. During the week, the price goes to NT$13,400 + 10% tax but you got breakfast for 2 and an afternoon tea for 2.
If someone knows how can we get a better price than that, please pm me.
I’m curious how the furnishings, walls, doors, etc, are holding out. Were there scratches, nicks on your doors, stains, however small. One of the hallmarks of a true 5 star is that there are no flaws. However, when I reviewed the place a year and a half ago there were many visible imperfections around. Tsk. Tsk. But then that’s Taiwan management for you. I bet in 5 years this place will still be charging outrageous prices but will be visibly aging.
For now, it’s a lovely place for sure, the service is great, the views outstanding, but it is overpriced. However, according to the sales department, they do not ever offer discounts or promotional prices.
NT13,000 a night? Come on. Labor is cheap, water and electricity are cheap, and they have a sweet deal on the land. What exactly are we being charged this price for?
Location?[/quote]
It’s a bit more than just location – it’s a really nice place. I mean NICE. Or it was. It’s gone downhill since it opened though – typical local management. Sumptuous furnishings and fittings that are not properly maintained. Water-stained walls/carpets might not be a big deal normally but for those prices I would expect perfection or close to it.
And I would kick up a stink like all holy HELL if some flunkey tried to make me vacate the pool before I was good and ready.
I’ve been but I haven’t stayed the night, and several areas were off-limits to non-residents, but from what I could see, it’s running down, so you’d better go soon if you’re going. Linky goodness
[quote=“sandman”]It’s a bit more than just location – it’s a really nice place. I mean NICE. Or it was. It’s gone downhill since it opened though – typical local management. Sumptuous furnishings and fittings that are not properly maintained. Water-stained walls/carpets might not be a big deal normally but for those prices I would expect perfection or close to it.
And I would kick up a stink like all holy HELL if some flunkey tried to make me vacate the pool before I was good and ready.
I’ve been but I haven’t stayed the night, and several areas were off-limits to non-residents, but from what I could see, it’s running down, so you’d better go soon if you’re going. Linky goodness[/quote]
I see. Sad to hear that it’s being neglected, especially given the price they are asking for a room.
Anyone been to this hotel and know their prices? s-villa.com.tw/
Saw this add at the MRT station and it looks as it’s actually close to the Sun-Moon lake.
Really? When I was there (nearly 3 years ago now) the management company wasn’t Taiwanese, and the general manager was a westerner. Dunno if things have changed since then though.
As everyone else has said - it’s overpriced but (IMHO) definitely worth it for a one-off. The standard rooms are designed so that the whole of one wall is a window onto Sun Moon Lake; if you push back the sliding wall to the bathroom you can laze in your bath looking out over the lake … that alone made it one of the nicest rooms i’ve ever stayed in.
I don’t know about getting kicked out of the pool at 7pm, but I do no it’s a bit chilly at 7am in January at that altitude before they’ve heated the pool up! At least it meant I had the pool to myself
[quote=“Rascal”][quote=“sandman”]It’s a bit more than just location – it’s a really nice place. I mean NICE. Or it was. It’s gone downhill since it opened though – typical local management. Sumptuous furnishings and fittings that are not properly maintained. Water-stained walls/carpets might not be a big deal normally but for those prices I would expect perfection or close to it.
And I would kick up a stink like all holy HELL if some flunkey tried to make me vacate the pool before I was good and ready.
I’ve been but I haven’t stayed the night, and several areas were off-limits to non-residents, but from what I could see, it’s running down, so you’d better go soon if you’re going. Linky goodness[/quote]
I see. Sad to hear that it’s being neglected, especially given the price they are asking for a room.
Anyone been to this hotel and know their prices? s-villa.com.tw/
Saw this add at the MRT station and it looks as it’s actually close to the Sun-Moon lake.[/quote]
It starts at NT$4500 w/breakfast for 2 persons in a smaller room. (1 big bed, 2 small beds). I did not see if they wanted a 10% service chage.
GIve them their due, it’s far from being “neglected.” More like just not paying enough attention to the little things – furniture that’s getting a bit chipped around the legs, ring marks on table tops, water stains (as I said) on the carpet right as you enter the reception area.
For those kind of prices I expect that kind of stuff to be taken care of.
I agree with Sandman that some details are annoying when you pay for this price. But honestly, I have been to quite a few luxury hotels so far (thanks to work…) and the Lalu is one of my best. The view itself is so magnificent and the architecture of the hotel really fits into the natural environment and only for that, it is a 5-star hotel that I would go back again. Take the Oriental in Bangkok (one of the top 5 hotel in the world?), nice staff, nice hotel… everything is perfect, including the price, but when you rest by the swimming pool, you hear the traffic and air is polluted… so I definitely prefer the Lalu. I still need to try the Ritz Carlton in ali and I’ll tell you which one I prefer… But you are definitely paying for the view… and also for the high season.
[quote=“SK”]I just got back from a long week end at The Lalu hotel in Sun Moon Lake and this is definitely the place to bring your significant other for any celebration or anniversary or for a surprise…
The easiest way to reach there is by taking the green bus (豐榮客運) at the corner of Zhongxiao and Fuxing (subway station of Sogo). Round-trip is NT$700. The bus departs every hour from Taipei and it takes around 4 hours to get in Sun Moon Lake. Once you arrived, try to call the hotel to fetch for a taxi to bring you to the reception (NT$100) or walk to the lobby (10 minutes walk on an ascendant road).
Once you get there, just relax and enjoy the magnificent view. We stayed 3 days there and did not get out of the hotel once, [u]except for a walking tour of 30 minutes around the lake… [/u]
Also do not forget to treat yourself well with a massage. I recommend the Lalu massage and the warm stone massage if you don’t like heavy Chinese style accupressure massage. The view from the Spa room and the sauna is also wonderful. Just a pity that the lady and the man sauna are separate… You feel like in heaven and you are treated like queen/king. In addition, the small sesame biscuits they serve you before and after your Spa treatment is delicious.
The Japanese Teppanyaki restaurant is delicious. Do try their Angus Beef… The Occidental buffet is better during breakfast than lunch. We did not have time to try the Chinese restaurant, but the Tea House is great for tea but also for dim sum.
Also don’t forget the swimming pool. Be aware that it closes at 7.00pm, which is a pity.[/quote]
Man … it takes me 20 minutes to drive around … you must be one heck of a walker
13k … for what … the view :s
You are sure it’s Angus? … Me thinks that beef from the UK can’t be imported … Mad cows you know …
It’s not a question of being annoying. It’s a question of claiming 5 star status and charging for it and not delivering the goods. It’s as simple as that. 5 stars are supposed to meet certain criteria. Soiled carpets, nicks and scratches on the doors and furniture are not acceptable. Having just finished reviewing over a hundred hotels in Taipei and Beijing I can tell you that such things are in fact quite common in Asian so-called 5-stars (though not all) but they are still unacceptable.
But it is not a true 5-star and hence not deserving of the price if it does not maintain everything at the highest standards.
I was just checking out the Banff Springs hotel online. Price is around NT9-10,000 a night right now, which is high season. This is one of the best hotels in Canada with a peerless view of the Rocky Mountains. How is it they can offer a lower price (and seasonal rates) and the Lalu can’t?
Even the Taiwanese tourism board has admitted that the hotels here are overpriced and have encouraged hoteliers to lower prices to match world standards for what is being offered.
The Springs is far from one the best hotels in Canada. The place caters to package tours and conventions not discerning guests that expect world-class service. You obviously have never had the misfortune of staying in one of the confining Manor rooms (formerly staff accom) or experienced the bus station like atmosphere of the lobby.
Like others I feel the Lalu is rather pricey, but no more so than other high-end boutique resorts. Perhaps a better Canadian comparison is the Wickaninnish Inn or Kingsbrae Arms.
It’s not a question of being annoying. It’s a question of claiming 5 star status and charging for it and not delivering the goods. It’s as simple as that. 5 stars are supposed to meet certain criteria. Soiled carpets, nicks and scratches on the doors and furniture are not acceptable. Having just finished reviewing over a hundred hotels in Taipei and Beijing I can tell you that such things are in fact quite common in Asian so-called 5-stars (though not all) but they are still unacceptable.
But it is not a true 5-star and hence not deserving of the price if it does not maintain everything at the highest standards.
I was just checking out the Banff Springs hotel online. Price is around NT9-10,000 a night right now, which is high season. This is one of the best hotels in Canada with a peerless view of the Rocky Mountains. How is it they can offer a lower price (and seasonal rates) and the Lalu can’t?
Even the Taiwanese tourism board has admitted that the hotels here are overpriced and have encouraged hoteliers to lower prices to match world standards for what is being offered.[/quote]
Why the Lalu can’t, they won’t because they think they can get away with overcharging Taiwanese, in fact they can get away with it because the Taiwanese want to be overcharged for everything they even remotely ‘think’ is good or excellent, which in fact is not. They even don’t notice they’re getting screwed. :s
Forgot something: it’s about face, I can afford this, can you?
Taiwanese are a minority of the Lalu’s clientelle, as they are at all the expensive hotels in Taipei. Japanese and Korean make up the bulk of visitors.
The problem is with the management of these hotels, not the people who frequent them.
Chung, I repeat, the Lalu is overpriced because it is not a luxury, or as you called it, high-end resort. Would you call Britanny Spears a classy lady just cause she was wearing a silk cocktail dress?
You’re right that the Springs was not the best anaology (though it’s hardly 2nd rate), but I am sure places like the Wickaninish Inn do not have one metre stains on the reception area carpet, nor obvious scratch marks on the doors of 16,000 a night rooms, etc.
