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Nazdoom

That Courtyard (not to be confused with the new Courtyard downtown) is connected to MRT stations so it is quite easy to go anywhere you need. But personally, I prefer using Uber when in Taipei anyway. Ximending (Ximen Station area) is a lively area for young people in the evening (similar to Shinjuku in Tokyo) on the other side of Taipei, but it's just a 15 minute Uber ride costing $8 USD, compared to perhaps 45 minutes by MRT for 1 USD. I find Uber in Taiwan quite affordable so it is worth the premium to me, especially to be able to sight see during the drive. Also Taiwan requires all Uber cars to be rentals in great condition, so it is noticeably better than in some other countries.

nexusCFX

I appreciate both of your advice. I will not worry so much about the location then since it's located close to transit anyway. I just figured the Grand Hyatt and W being more into the city core could cut down on transit time, but it may not be a large difference.

Absolute

I did honestly find the metro travel to be very slow - around 30 minutes from Nangang to Taipei Main Station, but Nangang (right below the Courtyard) is also a high-speed station. Around $4 for a 6-minute trip on the high speed train, instead of a 30-minute trip. I just wish I knew the hours better, as I missed the last high-speed train when I was out at Shillin Night Market, turning a 30 minute trip into 1h13.

Also, the 1843 bus from TPE to Nangang is a great bus, for around $5 and a 60 minute ride, versus Uber which was $50 for UberX and around 50 minutes - all depending on if you're on a business or personal trip!

Absolute

Hopefully you had a good stay - I was worried as well, as it was the lowest redemption rate, and I was worried until I saw the reviews for it here and elsewhere. I found that it didn't show any age - as in, it was very well taken care of in the rooms and public spaces, and had nice touches such as local custom art displays near the elevator on every floor. The proximity not just to rail, but also the shopping centre and food options as another bonus.

I think it's very under-valued in it's pricing, but I'd never complain, given what's happened since the merger!

username

As others posted, they no longer allow any elites to eat breakfast at the restaurant for free. While this still follows the Marriott policy, it is kind of disappointing since most of the hotels in Asia I have visited allow that.

Obviously it is a cost-cutting measure. I think if they should at least allow Ambassador and offer some kind of discounted rates for others.

username

Well, you are comparing the Metro (10 stations to Taipei Main - about 20 minutes) with the High Speed Rail (1 Station). Then you have to figure in the wait time and schedule for the HSR. There is also the Taiwan Rail trains (2 stations to Taipei Main).

The airport bus' published time between NanGang and TPE Airport is 90 minutes.

Another alternative is take the HSR to Taoyuan (30 minutes) and then take the Taoyuan Metro backwards (20 minutes) to the airport.

There is a decent amount of walk between the Airport MRT and the Taipei MRT at Taipei Main.

lallied

Unless it’s raining or you’re travelling at peak congestion times I find the bus is actually the easiest and quickest at 60-65m. Unfortunately I’ve also sat on it for three hours once when travelling at peak times. I usually Take the metro / taoyuan HSR when land at around 5pm and the bus heading out to airport midday. Metro/ metro takes a long time and long walk. However sometimes you arrive at the HSR and is a long queue for the ticket machines and you just miss the connection so you end up with a 30 minute wait.

lingua101

Just curious how is the location of the hotel. Nangang is quite far east, isn't it?

I have booked 3 nights on this hotel with points as it is very cheap. Now I am seeing Courtyard Taipei Downtown is selling around TWD 4,000 on the Saturday .

Should I book CY Tapiei Downtown on the first night and move to Nangang on the remaining 2 nights?

I am going for leisure and have been to Taipei many time, but I never been to Nangang as it is quite out of the way.

Any though?

username

NanGang is really not that far - it is BL22 on the MRT while City Hall is BL18 and Taipei Main is BL12 (the stations are numbered in sequence). https://english.metro.taipei/cp.aspx?n=46A82F0C116392CB and select BL22 will give you the transit times to all the stations in the Metro. Because of the Metro/HSR/Taiwan Rail/Bus, I would argue the Courtyard NanGang is actually more convenient.

I would take advantage of the low redemption while it lasts.

myperks

username

The problems with the bus are:

1 - infrequent - compared with other bus routes (e.g. to TSA Airport)
2 - poor service - drivers and baggage helpers are not very polite (i.e. compared with Narita / Hanede but it is a lot cheaper)
3 - subject to traffic problems - it makes a few stops in the city before it gets on the freeway

I do agree if you go during non-rush hour and the schedule works out, it is the easiest. It is steps away from the hotel's exit on the first floor and the station is not very crowded.

username

If you are into cycling, NanGang CY has a Youbike station right outside and it is a few blocks from the KeeLung River Bike Path.

However, do bike carefully on the local streets/sidewalks!

lallied

I have always found the drivers to be very friendly and helpful and the buses are fine albeit not as perfect as in Japan. However, the three hours is 90min on motorway and 90min in city centre in gridlock. I wouldn’t take if raining or peak travel times. It’s also pretty frequent esp when heading to airport and can pick a time, sometimes every 30m. Schedule below

https://web.taiwanbus.tw/eBUS/subsys...28&Language=en

It also takes some time to figure out metro and HSR given you need seperate tickets / passes / cards, and it can be hard to find the connections when you are tired. And if have a lot of luggage......

Ergo, if not experienced then bus is potentially longer but stress free. If an experienced traveller and have a loaded card, or cash for the HSR machines (not all accept cc) then agree metro +/- HSR most reliably fastest.

lingua101

But I also tempted with the TWD 4,xxx rate on the CY Downtown