Spend a Weekend in Taiwan
We were talking with the new Overlords at the SCMP recently about how it takes just as long to travel to Taiwan as it does to get to Tai Po. It’s also a heckuva lot more fun. Which got us thinking about taking another quick break to our favorite renegade province.
Where to stay
The next time you make the one-hour flight over for delicious guava- and beef noodle-filled goodness, consider staying in these delightful, diverse and charming hotel options:
Hotel Quote. Urban quirkiness done right. Hotel Quote is a small homegrown boutique hotel in downtown Taipei that oozes style and charm. In lesser hands, the small windowless rooms could easily be claustrophobic and dreary—but staying in one of the charming rooms (sorted by Q, U, O, T, and E suites) is like slipping away from the street bustle into a secret chamber behind the looking glass. A sleek, gorgeous resto-bar called “333” downstairs is a great place to unwind and pretend you’re one of the cool kids in the “in-crowd.”
333 Nan-Jing E. Rd., Sec. 3, Taipei, Taiwan, (+886) 2-2175-5588,www.hotel-quote.com.
Hotel Okura. Urban luxury. If you’ve already made it in life and you just want to relax and unwind like a boss, then book a room with the resplendent Hotel Okura. For that pure-cut top-shelf Japanese luxury experience, this is your best bet in Taiwan: huge beds, spacious rooms, robotic toilets, top-shelf amenities, a high-rise spa/gym/pool straight from “Lost in Translation”—all in the middle of Taipei’s trendy “Japan Town” area.
9 Nanjing E. Rd., Sec. 1, Taipei, Taiwan, (+886) 2-2181-5111, www.okura.com.
Silks Palace. An oldie but a goodie. Take a weekend break out of Taipei and head for the hills—well, the dramatic towering marble cliffs of Taroko Gorge, to be precise. Two hours (and a hair-raising taxi ride) out of Taipei, you’ll find yourself in the middle of one of the most gorgeous secret locations in all of Asia. Smack in the middle of this dramatic landscape sits the one and only resort—the Silks Palace. And though it may be a bit old, it is still a top-tier five-star experience and the ideal place to hole up for the weekend and explore the gorge by boot or bicycle. There’s tons to do in the area, from amazing hiking to leisurely walks and bike rides, but the can’t-miss experience is the hot springs. Natural hot springs burble up in the gorge itself, or you can go for the luxurious private amenities at the top of the Silks Palace.
18 Tian Hsyang Rd., Shiou Lin Village, Hualien County, Taiwan, (+886) 3-869-1155, www.silksplace-taroko.com.tw.