Originally Posted by
helvetic
Re: the W Taipei; service is pretty lousy. Bar drinks are alright at best. Nobody told me about the Happy Hour and so I went on and paid for drinks like an idiot; was not happy about that. Impressively large breakfast; but not super high quality food. I'd consider skipping it and going for some Beef Noodle Soup breakfast instead. No time to waste on mediocre food in Taipei. As an SPG Plat, they did not upgrade me to a suite; I got a slightly higher category regular room on a 2 night stay. I'd say it's a very middle-of-the-pack W. Not worth the amount of money they charge for it. The next trip to Taipei, I elected to stay at the Aloft for way less money and was happy with the savings.
FWIW, I stayed here a lot when the hotel was Cat 5 and went for a C&P rate of 4.8k points plus US$90. At the time, it was my favorite W, with great management and staff, and very good benefits. I stay here just once or twice a year now, but still have a 90%+ record of suite upgrades -- these suites are huge and well-appointed, and the staff really try hard to find you a suite (including assigning a temporary holding room while waiting for a suite to open up later in the day, or offering the option to move for part of the stay -- none of this is required per the terms). The bar benefit is generous, and once you get to know the bartenders, they will mix you off-menu drinks that are excellent and creative. IMO, it's amazing that they include Golds in this; what other Starwood hotels offer Golds a free-flowing happy hour? I always liked the breakfast here, in terms of quality and selection (although admittedly not the occasional waits), but I enjoy trying a variety of non-traditional breakfast foods, and the hotel certainly delivers on that end. Clearly, with rates in the NT$10k range, you're paying dearly, and thus I've found myself staying at the Hyatt and Westin more often; I can't say that I don't miss the W, though.