Top Hotels in Taiwan

Travel Taiwan Travel
1

I’m not going to pretend here for even an instant that I know how to write a hotel review or a food review for that matter as I can only just about spell hotel, let alone describe one. So forgive me as I’m going to be rather vague and very blunt.

I’ve been in Taiwan and been around Taiwan for quite a while and quite a few times. I haven’t been to any of its islands and I don’t really feel like hitting every spot of Terra Firma it has to offer. It’s too damn muggy in the summer, too dirty in many places and well, has a lot of a certain type of people in many places. In fact I could say with some degree of accuracy that if I have to go to a place that even so much as pretends in its brochure that it has a garden, or an ounce of scenery, or even some other interesting or polite hosts or even guests, then I would rather string myself from the ceiling and just get it all over and done with before I’ve even bothered. I like my living room. I like a mountain with nobody on it. I like anywhere as long as there’s not a soul in sight or even the faint whiff of a congee breakfast. I hate being around lots of Taiwanese and I hate being around lots of marauding foreigners at a beach bash even worse. Ironic then that I consider myself as a bit of a people’s person.
Anyway, let’s cut it short and get straight to the point.

I have been to a hotel. I just got back. For the first time ever in a hotel anywhere in the world I felt relaxed. More than relaxed I felt surprised. More than surprised, I felt flabbergasted. And more than even flabbergasted, I was stunned to the point that I was and still am stuck for words. I can’t begin to describe how much I have fallen in love with this simple yet extravagant hotel. I can’t begin to describe how they served a fusion food of a type I have never even imagined. If anyone knows me they will tell you how much I can’t stand local food, yet at this hotel they fused local, indigenous and Chinese food with western serving style and western taste. I can’t describe it, not just because I’m crap at food reviews, but because it simply was the best food I have ever eaten in Taiwan and I’m wondering if it is indeed the best I have had anywhere, ever; and I know that’s not something I should exaggerate.
The hotel itself is pure art. Its traditional and yet astonishing.
It has gardens as far as the eye can see with beautiful trees from all over the world. It has rocks brought from all over Taiwan and buildings that have taken traditional craftsmen careers to achieve.
I can quite simply say that if anyone hasn’t been there already and wonders really what traditional craftsmanship is really like and what Taiwanese can achieve given the right tools and enough money, then you must go. Forget any other hotel in Taiwan I would say, pick your cases up and get off to this place.

Its called

The One.

The only one fly in the ointment is that they still have a bloody congee breakfast, but I’m trying to get them to offer an alternative. Apparently it has only been open to the public for a year now. It was originally built by Lian He Bao newspaper owner for entertaining foreign dignitaries and was closed to the public.
There is a free tour for guests around the vicinities with lots of background on the history and materials and craftsmanship.
If people would go more often they might be able to better afford the upkeep of the buildings which require constant attention as well as funds to keep them preserved and believe me its worth it.
I believe they told us that in the past year they have already spent over 200 million NT in restoration.

I’m going to put up a few pictures here later as they are uploading to my photobucket at the mo.
In the meantime check out their site. nanyuan.theonestyle.com/in1.asp

2

Here you go

Don’t mind the wife in the shots. She was watching a serious movie about a crying camel.

I must say I took next to no pictures of all the buildings and artworks in that place as my camera battery was flat for some of the trip. There are literally an incredible number of interesting and amazing design elements to that place. More so than anywhere else I have been in Taiwan. Its practically a live in museum with the most modern of accommodative rooms.

3

It looks lovely!

If you don’t mind my asking, how much did you pay for that room? Was it the best of their rooms, or do they have even better? How much was dinner? Were you the only guests there?

4

Oh this is very NICE!! Will plan a trip there with my missus real soon :smiley:

5

Website says 2 meals one night NT$3,600/person. You can check in at 9am and don’t need to check out until 6pm the following evening.
Looks quite nice.

6

The 3,600 mentioned is per person and that’s not the full dinner experience. Its also for the smaller room which I haven’t viewed so I can’t comment on that. Please give us some pictures though if anyone happens to try it.

If you want the full monty, including the bigger room as in the pictures I took then the minimum if you book directly is 12,800NT for a room and two ten course meals, plus an additional two or three drinks.
I believe the food is one of the best parts so I would recommend going the rest of the way.

That 12,800 NT is also not inclusive of the ten percent service charge.

Their special at this time is something like 4,800NT per person, per night including the full monty dinner experience, not including service charge, which still makes it an easy 10,000NT plus per night for a couple.

I would take advantage soon however before the masses begin hearing about this place. At the moment they are offering promotions, but something tells me that this place is so impressive that they won’t need to do that too often in the future.

The room we stayed in was of the largest variety, although there is another room entirely identical but which has a large private balcony with seats. Its another several thousand NT extra on top of the price I quoted above, but there is already a great communal balcony on the ground out the front of those rooms, beyond their balconies which I believe is even nicer and more pleasant.

I have to add as well that the staff there were brilliant. When ever I asked them a question about the place or the design or even history they never once didn’t know the answer. They all seemed very polite, extremely knowledgeable and not the typical type of knowledge that all employees would attain from simply having been on the company introduction course. They really knew their stuff and they really were happy to stop and chat about things. They were also very happy to receive our thanks and appreciation as well as our advice that they should offer a better selection of beer than Heineken and Taiwan beer as well as an alternative to the traditional Congee breakfast. I’ll let others know if we receive a response to those requests. In the meantime I would suggest stocking up at 7-11 with beer. They do offer two or three wines and a very small selection of stronger beverages, a couple of whiskies, rum and one or two others.
Their coffee is great! They didn’t mind me drinking gallons of it either.

It is also worth knowing that there is no convenience stores, or in fact any stores immediately close by. The nearest one would be a 10 minute drive at least.
They do speak English very nicely.

7

Thanks for the tip! Will be in Taiwan in late Sept, so perhaps will try to book the place in Oct, will definitely be looking you up too in regards to the VW T4 :smiley: