Hotel: W Taipei
Room Booked: Fabulous Room, City View
Rate: US$427.14/night
Early Check-in: Not requested; arrived around 15:30
Late Checkout: Used & departed at 15:30. Forgot to mention it at check-in but had no key card issues on the final day.
Upgrade: Fabulous Suite (newly renovated!)
$100 Food & Beverage Credit: Food and beverage credit of NT$3,000 (approx US$92) -- used for in-room dining and a few drinks at the lobby "WOOBAR".
Breakfast: Daily buffet breakfast for two at YEN Restaurant on 31F
Prepaid/Paid at Hotel: Paid at hotel
Loyalty Points/Benefits Received?: Lowly Gold but points credited.
Comment: Fantastic property. I've stayed here a couple of times and I think this is the best hotel in Taipei, after having tried about a dozen properties. Despite the loss of Harvey Thompson as GM in 2021, the soft product still excels. This is the first time I used an FHR rate here and was upgraded to a Fantastic Suite the morning of arrival (checked via the Bonvoy app). Loyalty manager came out to welcome us as we were checking in, let us know we were upgraded to a newly renovated suite, and asked us to let her know our feedback. While the new rooms have USB-A and USB-C ports on both sides of the bed, these weren't working in the room. Strong buffet breakfast spread -- but still annoyed that they don't have pancakes available (seems like only waffles and french toast on a daily rotating basis).

Hotel: Mandarin Oriental Taipei
Room Booked: Deluxe Room
Rate: US$389.40/night
Early Check-in: Not requested; arrived around 15:30
Late Checkout: Used & departed at 16:00
Upgrade: None
$100 Food & Beverage Credit: NT$3,200 (approx US$98) food and beverage or spa treatment credit -- used for in-room dining.
Breakfast: Daily buffet breakfast for two at Cafe Un Deux Trois
Prepaid/Paid at Hotel: Pre-paid
Comment: I was disappointed by a lack of any room upgrade at this property, but appreciated the accurate USD to NTD conversion for the $100 credit. Air conditioning in the room was completely silent but not able to reach the set point temperature; I'd prefer to be able to hear an AC fan but actually have a cool room. Noise deadening between rooms and into the hallway is exceptional. The property is beautiful -- but strangely my room was missing its chandelier with just some residual roof damage where it used to hang; I observed the same in my room floor's elevator waiting area. The upper floors of the "arcade" shops at the property is very eerie as most of it is empty. Location is pretty poor -- not much happening in the area and a 10 minute walk to the nearest MRT.