The Grand Hotel

Immerse yourself in history!

Stayed here during the christmas holidays and the hotel was bustling! It's a gorgeous hotel steeped in such rich history, and you feel it as you walk through the lobby and hallways. Rooms are modern. We were in a superior room in the main building with amazing 180degree views of the city. It was magical to watch in the morning and night. Behind the hotel is a trail up Jiantan mountain where you can see the planes Songshan airport and gorgeous sunrise/sunset - lots of stairs, but only takes about 15 min. And my favorite part of the stay has to be the EXTENSIVE chinese breakfast buffet. Soo much better than other 5 star hotels we stayed at while in Taiwan. A few cons: It's not as convenient of a location given that it's up a hill (shuttle or taxi to MRT), and pool/tennis court complex is a 10 min walk/shuttle ride away. We also took the West tunnel tour -- in all honestly, it's probably best for chinese speakers only. We got the audio guide for english, which was pretty lame. Most of the interesting stuff that was shared was by the tour guide who only spoke chinese. Our group returned our headsets after about 15 min (after we walked through the tunnel).

Bonkers but great fun

We stayed for five nights over Christmas in a superior side view room looking west over the mountains on the 8th floor of the main building. (Take care what you book because the second building behind is low rise and a long way back). The balcony was amazing although don’t expect to sit out on it. Our room had high quality and comfortable bed and linen, and a large and well equipped bathroom with bath and shower and a line for drying your smalls. Daily bottled water plus oolong tea and coffee. Tv with international channels and a safe. We also bought a day rate internal room with no windows because we arrived at 05.00 from our flight. Small and with hard beds but otherwise just as well equipped. For us this was a good deal after a night flight because it included the enormous buffet breakfast and then we could shower and rest until check in. The lobby is always a hive of activity because people come just to visit the hotel on daily sightseeing tours. It’s a great place to people watch. The steakhouse is good if you’re not a hardcore Chinese food fan, and the lobby cafe also. There’s also a mini market hidden among the shopping area which has snacks, milk and even yogurt if you’re doing your own breakfast. Make good use of the regular free shuttle bus to town and Shilin to get to the night market and MRT for easy access all over the city. Finally, do visit the exhibition of the history of the hotel and take a tour of the tunnels. We did west which has the escape chute. It was hilarious!

Big name but not worth for staying here

I've been to Taipei more than 20 times, and I suddenly want to take a short vacation with my family at the Grand Hotel. I know the hotel is special for many Taiwanese people, because of its history as a state house. My experience perhaps was an exception ( I hope so...), but I just reflected the true experience. I was in the "Horizontal Room" located on the 6th floor in the main building. I must say the view is fantastic. You have a 180-degree panoramic view of Taipei City, and this is most of what you paid for. The room was spacious and aged as expected. The bathroom was probably renovated 10ish years ago. The first problem was that the shower was filthy, and you could see dirt surrounding the edge of the shower, which was pretty disgusting tbh. The wooden floor in the room was quite dirty. After walking for some time with my bare feet, the soles turned completely black. Maybe this is the reason they prepared slippers in the room. Unfortunately, the telephones are not working, so I have to go down to the lobby around 11pm to get an extra towel. One more thing that made me so frustrated was that the welcome message on the TV was another guy's name. Actually, I feel sorry for people who paid lots of money to come here to celebrate an anniversary or a birthday. Can you imagine how bad it is to receive this kind of arrangement? I mean, it's nice to come over for dinner or just to visit the hotel, but staying here definitely doesn't make any sense.

One is blown away by the elaborate decor and accessories in the Grand Hotel.

The Taipei Grand Hotel is a 14-story palace-like building, facing Keelung River. It is a towering building with red columns, gilded tiles and a magnificent classic presence. It is a must-visit great gem of Chinese culture. The Grand Hotel in Taipei was used by the Japanese during their control of China in WWII to house officers and other governmental officials on the island. It was established as a five-star hotel by Madame Chaing in 1952 and was listed among the top 10 hotels in the world by Fortune magazine in 1967. It houses four Western and Chinese gourmet restaurants. The offerings at the Chinese buffet are beyond one’s imagination with over fifty different stations with a half dozen or more offerings at each post. Their Asian fusion offerings span from Japanese Sushi, Sashimi, Ramen and Tempura to Vietnamese Pho and Banh Mi and everything in between. The quality, variety and quantity are unfathomable. This is a “foodie’s heaven.” One must see to believe. It is a thrill just to walk into the great lobby for a view. This hotel has hosted the Shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, King Hussein of Jordan, King Faisal of Saudi Arabia, the King of Thailand, Nelson Mandela, Margaret Thatcher, and Presidents Eisenhower, Nixon, Reagan and Clinton. I highly recommend a visit to the Grand Hotel even if one cannot afford to stay there. Try one of their restaurants as the food is phenomenal.

Best view and friendly staffing

The Grand Hotel is one of the best hotels in Taiwan! The staff are incredibly friendly and helpful, especially the front door team — they always assist with taxis and umbrellas with a warm smile. The hotel offers a convenient shuttle service to the train station several times a day, and to the night markets on weekends, which makes getting around super easy. I quickly learned how to take the train, and it was so convenient! Our rooms had amazing views, and the shower water pressure was perfect — we all loved it. Overall, we had a wonderful stay and will definitely come back again!

Great Grand Stay!

Truly an impressive property. A Classical Chinese building with huge rooms and equally huge balconies and everything is well maintained. Music played in the extremely large lobby in the evenings. Seems to have a lot of business convention people. The pool you take a shuttle too and it’s Olympic size and 16 feet deep. Incredible. Restaurants give you a variety of choices mainly cater to Chinese tastes as you expect. Easy shuttle to the two local MRT stations. I’d go again.

There were some parts in the room need repair work.

Super nice!

Good

Shuttle bus to the MRT station is too crowded during lunchtime.