Fly Me To The Moon

This is the second Aloft Taipei property to open, this time in the Beitou area. Opened on 01 Jan 2017 (not sure whether it was a soft opening or not).

I had to go to Taipei to sign some documents, and since location was not of a major concern to me this time, I decided to head out to Beitou to try this hotel. Landed in Taipei this evening, and got into a taxi at 6:00pm sharp. It took 40 minutes to get to the hotel, without traffic. Taxi fare was TWD 1,195.-

This hotel has a much larger footprint than the Aloft property in Zhongshan area. The lobby was quite big and roomy. In fact, the small check-in counter on the right-hand side seemed out of place in the big area. On the left-hand side is the WXYZ Bar, which had a live band there from 9:00pm this evening. It is a local band with a young girl as the lead.

Rooms are small size, as expected. Obviously, the furnishings are new and the color scheme quite comfortable. I think the rooms in the Zhongshan property are a bit bigger, though. Just seemed not as roomy here in this Beitou property. Photos will be posted here in a few days.

I booked on the Opening Rate of TWD 3,600.- (incl. special cocktail at the bar, double StarPoints, and 2pm late checkout). At check-in, the attendant explained that they do not upgrade Platinums to bigger rooms here; only upgrade to the same kind of room but on a higher floor. 4pm late checkout was granted, but I didn't need it due to heading back out to the airport for a 1:00pm flight tomorrow. I looked around on the street, and not many taxis passing by, but the attendant assured me that they could call one for me if I needed. Taxi to Taoyuan Airport will be TWD 1,300.- I might try Uber instead tomorrow; let's see if the wait will be very long...

Not much else to report about this hotel. Nice and new, but I doubt I would go out of my way to stay here again. I prefer the location of the Zhongshan property (if I had to choose between the two Alofts). Otherwise, back to the W or the Meridien for my usual stays.