1) Star Beauty Hotel for Taipei (Stayed 3 Nights)
For Taipei, it was pretty hard to find a good hotel since I was booking it one week in advance and looking for a triple room. All the really good ones were booked! I finally settled on Star Beauty Hotel after comparing reviews from various sites.
There's another bed which I did not photograph. The hotel room was really spacious and the toilet was incredibly big. It's about 10 minutes walk from Shilin Night Market (the reason why I chose it) and 10 minutes walk from Jian Tan metro station (劍潭).
The triple room costs $180 per night, which is twice the price of the family room at Kaoshiung! Which I think provides a good contrast of the business development in Taipei and Kaoshiung.
It included breakfast buffet, which was quite decent but not as good as the one in Kaoshiung. I liked that it was spacious, relatively modern and very clean. I would recommend the hotel if you love Shilin Night Market - it was convenient in the sense that after a day of travelling, Dad would return to the hotel (there was a fruit market next to our hotel which he loved) while P and I would shop at the Shilin Night Market till it closed (truer words have never been spoken).
Still, after the trip, I realised Dad and P liked Ximending for the food and shopping, so I would probably stay around that area the next time. I stayed at a hotel at Ximending for my last two trips, and I noticed that the hotels there are much smaller - the usual location/size trade-off.
2) Spring Sweetme Resort for XinBeitou (New Beitou Station) (Stayed 2 Nights)
It wasn't easy choosing a suitable Hot Spring Resort either because a lot of the hot spring resorts offer two pax rooms - catering mainly for couples. My favourite hot spring resort is actually YangMingShan Landis - but again it's more for couples and at the YangMingShan area. There's a range of prices for hot spring resorts - the lower range from $80 to $150, middle range $200-$350, and higher range of $400 above. Some tourists just choose to visit in the day, but I unabashedly belong to the group of staying at least two nights at a hot spring resort. If I had my way, I would hardly leave the resort.
If you want to compare the hot spring resorts in Taiwan to Japan - I can immediately tell you that the Japanese hot spring resorts win. No doubt. I've stayed at Hakone (near Fuji) and Noboribetsu Hell Valley (in Hokkaido) and the level of the hot springs and service is almost miles apart. But, still, compared to Singapore with non-existent hot spring facilities, it's still great fun to just enjoy what's on offer.
Yes, you have to be nude when using the hotel hot springs. If that's a problem, just book a private room or use the hot spring facilities in your bathroom. So, be very sure, to pick a hotel with a hot spring tub in the bathroom.
The hot spring tub in the bathroom is really large! I was satisfied. All hotel guests also get one complimentary use of the hotel hot springs per day - this would include sauna, jacuzzi, cold hot springs, etc.
I picked the Japanese Family Room at Spring Sweetme Resort ($295 per night) because it's only 5 minutes from XinBeitou metro station - knowing my family, we would be travelling a lot. It's in the middle of everything really, so the location is great. The buffet breakfast is also great. If you are travelling with guests who are older and may have back problems, I suggest picking the Western Rooms instead because the futons given were not as luxurious as the ones provided in Japan.
Have fun! They provide lots of tea and tea snacks in the room as well. I also recommend the apple cider which you can buy in the supermarket next door.
Just imagine - you just finished soaking in the hot springs, wearing the yukata they provided, and settled down to watch television on the futon with your hot tea/biscuits/apple cider. Heaven.
No comments:
Post a Comment