gengar

Traffic is lousy during peak times (especially afternoon rush hour) and I definitely wouldn't want to make a lot of east-west trips during that time. But most of the time, traffic is manageable, and I feel that Taipei taxi drivers very rarely attempt to take advantage of their passengers.

Typically, it will take longer to get an Uber than flag down a taxi.

Location is always dependent on personal preference (maybe the MO will be appealing to those who like traveling to foreign countries but have a Gordon Biersch, Ruth's Chris, and IKEA nearby - who knows). But yes, to me the Shangri-La location is better. It's on top of a mall which is good for convenient shopping/restaurants and is also near Tonghua night market, which is my personal favorite of Taipei's night markets. IMO the nearby restaurants are more interesting as well (including an absolute gem in Ephernité, whose exec chef used to work at L'astrance and has a farm-to-table focus). The MRT is also accessible although via the least efficient/convenient Brown Line, so probably still a property that guests will want to take taxis from frequently.

MikeFromTokyo

gengar

The Regent Taipei is disqualified from this category due to poor service. I've stayed there many times over the years, going way back to when the property was branded a Four Seasons (or at least affiliated). To be fair, service was never great even as a Four Seasons, but under the new management team/era I've had service issues with pretty much every department - front desk, housekeeping, laundry, concierge, room service, engineering, etc. etc.- and rarely have I found the management resolution satisfactory. I have continued staying there because it's the only option offered by the coordinator of certain events I attend (most recently last year), but in fact after my last stay I vowed not to stay there again even if I have to pay my own way - it's not that it's so bad, but that I just don't feel right rewarding a subpar product even if it's with OPM. It's quite expensive relative to competitors at the suite level, to boot.

Hard product is better with the style being contemporary Japanese, which I much prefer to the decor of, say, the W. However, there are still many design annoyances (e.g., poor seating/room configurations, poor furniture choice/placement, ridiculous electrical outlet locations, annoying sliding closet doors, shower floors that tilt away from the drain, etc. etc.) that show the room design isn't thought out well. Also, the noise insulation between rooms is very poor.

I will mention that the F&B is excellent. Silks, Lan Ting, and Milan Honke (at least hot pot and robatayaki - I haven't tried the kaiseki) are all fantastic. Even the buffet is great. Also, azie is supposed to have one of Taipei's best beef noodle soups but I haven't tried it. Still, Taipei food is far too good to base a property decision on F&B unless you absolutely cannot leave the hotel.

cruisr

Dave510

W has always been my go to for Taipei. Location is excellent as it connects to the metro indoors, and is in the heart of Xinyi. Upgrade is always generous (currently in a Fantastic Suite upgraded from a base room), great happy hour, and service is good.

This is coming from someone who generally avoids W hotels.

GetSetJetSet

I have mid-tier SPG and Hyatt status as well so I have considered the GH and W. I have had some fantastic GH stays, especially the GH in Tokyo, but the W for some reason seems to be priced significantly higher and I have a hard time believing a W will be worth it.

MikeFromTokyo

Dave510

The W is generally not much more expensive than the GH (if at all) once you take into the pay 3 stay 4 booking through Luxury Privilege.

MikeFromTokyo

GetSetJetSet

how does one book through that?

MikeFromTokyo

clubeurope

I absolutely love the Regent, and found their staff to be very warm... The Regent is my go-to choice in Taipei, having stayed there for the last 4 years.

Personally, I don't like the location of W and MO. The W in particular is located adjacent Taipei 101, along with the Hyatt, and didn't quite feel like the 'real' Taipei. Regent's location in the Zhongshan district on the other hand I felt was much nicer, and more 'alive'. This is the same location with The Okura, which I would recommend as well.

One thing about The Regent is that not all room are created same, and thus, the best rooms are found at their Tai Pan floor, whereas the un-renovated rooms can be well, less desirable in comparison. The Tai Pan is essentially a Hotel within a Hotel, and the service was very personalised and the rooms were brilliantly decorated (think modern Japanese).

Also IHG recently purchased Regent Hotels but I would imagine that they haven't actually integrated the brand into IHG, so I think it is unlikely that status will be taken into account at the moment...

Finally, I might also add Hotel Eclat in Xinyi to be a pretty nice option. It is a small, boutique-esque hotel, with rather small rooms though very well thought-out. It's quite gimmicky as a hotel, but I guess it is a pretty fun option being so . This is the same Eclat as the one in Beijing.

gengar

Odd, as I'd call the staff (even in the Tai Pan lounge) anything but warm. If anything, they're extremely Japanese, but without the service levels that I get in Japanese luxury hotels. I actually have found the attendants in the balcony lounge more friendly than the ones in Tai Pan.

For the record, my stays include the Tai Pan floor (this was the suite in which the shower floor tilted away from the drain, showing the renovations are not well-executed). Also, I believe the newer closet style (with the annoying sliding door configuration) only exists in certain renovated suites, so it's not just a renovated vs old room issue. I'll note also that, due to my event coordinator relationship to the hotel, I have been granted access to the Tai Pan lounge even when not actually staying on the floor (e.g., my most recent stay in a balcony suite). The Tai Pan lounge is nice (with ice cream as others have mentioned, not to mention a load of other sweets and goodies throughout the day), but not worth the hotel's general service issues.

As mentioned, at Regent I've simply had too many service issues with too many (all?) departments with too many unsatisfactory management resolutions that it's impossible for me to believe that management cares at all about guest satisfaction. Given that during all these stays, I was staying on the Tai Pan floor / had access to the Tai Pan lounge / had an event coordinator book me who has a relationship with the hotel, it's scary to think how they must treat guests who don't fall into any of those categories.

gkbiiii

The Grand Hotel anyone?

vbh812

I travel to TPE 3/4 times a year and lately my go to hotel has been the Okura. There is no real 'winner' in TPE yet.