bocastephen

As a frequent visitor to Taipei (I'll be there all of November), let me offer my assessment as I've stayed at every SW property except the 4P.

1) W Taipei - easily one of the top SW hotels in the world across all brands. Beautiful rooms, generous upgrades, superb and attentive service and the best Platinum breakfast you'll find anywhere - alas, this gem now comes at a very high price - both for room rates and award redemptions. Location wise, it doesn't get any better than this.

2) Le Meridien - very chic, minimalist-stylish and lacking any 'Asian' flair - this could be a LM branded hotel in any city in the world. Some minor artwork adorns the elevator lobbies, but I found it too sterile for my taste, and I'm pretty conservative (ie I won't stay at any W except the W Taipei). The hotel is pretty expensive and prices at or slightly above the W without offering any of the W's best attributes.

3a) Sheraton - the hotel was updated and the rooms are quite nice, although this is a solid 4* business class hotel. The location is not bad and fairly close to the MRT, although taxi rates in TPE are very low too - keep that in mind. There is a nice lounge for breakfast or nearby "local" breakfast options that should not be missed.

3b) Westin - everything I wrote about the Sheraton applies here - they are even in similar neighborhoods not far from each other - I give the Westin a slight edge on room updates and the club lounge, although IIRC, the Sheraton permits Plat breakfast in their main dining room for the buffet as an option.

So it boils down to rate, then location - if rate is an issue, take the cheapest of the hotels I listed - if quality is an issue (or location overrides price, which it should not in Taipei), take the W.

mjcewl1284

I recommend the Sheraton Grande as well. It's not old (it was prior to its update early 2000s), and like previously mentioned, it has a terrific lounge with essentially breakfast and dinner served each night. The staff at this SW property are top rate and very friendly. I have stayed here upwards of 50+ nights in the past 2 yrs (~>500 nights overall give or take), never have had one bad experience that I can recall.

lcpteck

Nothing yet further in the south near Kaohsiung county though.

Ma Gong
Four Points by Sheraton Penghu - Opening January 1, 2015

Taoyuan
The Westin Tashee Resort, Taoyuan - Opening July 1, 2015

Yilan
Le Méridien Yilan Beach Resort & Spa - Opening July 1, 2017

Taichung
Le Méridien Taichung - Opening January 1, 2018

Hsinchu County
Le Méridien Hsinchu - Opening January 1, 2020

teeceedee

Very helpful information in this thread. For the night's I plan to be there Sheraton is 12k points vs. LM and the W at 25k, so it looks like I'm staying at the Sheraton! Can't justify the double price

Cathay Boy

No need to justify. Sheraton is as comfortable as W and LM. I really think the W and LM in Taipei are not that much special. Sheraton has a metro station right outside so commute will be super easy as well.

lcpteck

Westin is also a nice option at Cat 5.

lcpteck

Hsinchu County
Le Méridien Hsinchu - Opening January 1, 2020

Hualien City
Le Méridien Hualien Resort - Opening July 1, 2020

Ma Gong
Four Points by Sheraton Penghu - Opening April 1, 2015

Taichung
Le Méridien Taichung - Opening January 1, 2018

Taipei
Aloft Taipei Beitou - Opening July 1, 2018

Taoyuan
The Westin Tashee Resort, Taoyuan - Opening July 1, 2015

Yilan
Le Méridien Yilan Beach Resort & Spa - Opening July 1, 2019

buylowsellhigh

Wow that's nuts! That's literally 6 years to build a hotel!

Cathay Boy

Why there isn't one planned in Kaoshiung? Horrible.

lcpteck

Actually it's not horrible, they're slowly expanding so that's good news.

For such a big country like Japan, there isn't much SPG coverage. Hope they plan one for Sapporo.

Cathay Boy

I though it's up to the private businessman buying Sheraton brand? Are you telling me some businessman in Taiwan wants one in Kaoshiung but was denied application by SPG because SPG wants "slow expanding"?

lcpteck

Yeah it's up to the property owner, maybe no takeup in Kaoshiung area?

lcpteck

I'll be in Taipei landing on sunday morning with 24 hours layover to connect to my next flight to the US (personal trip).

Any recommended properties to stay on points? I have stayed at Four Points (as a Gold), Westin (as a Gold), and the W before.

Currently looking at Westin (12K) and Four Points (4K). W (20K), Le Méridien (25K), and Sheraton (16K) unfortunately are expensive on points. Aloft (10K) is out since I rather spend 2K more points at the Westin for the Club Lounge benefits.

Wonder if there are any laundry benefits if staying at the Westin. Leaning towards Westin for the Club Lounge/upgrade benefit (if any) and central location as opposed to the Four Points. Though I'm alright staying at the Four Points as well.

IluvSQ

Westin and Sheraton are equal properties in my view; I always stay in whichever
is cheaper. So go with the Westin; it has decent lounge offerings both morning and
evenings. No laundry benefits, though.

skywalkerLAX

Go for W or Le Meridien. I wanted to try the Sheraton 2 weeks ago but walked because the rooms smelled horrible (I had a look at 3 different ones).

The aloft was nice but... well it's still an aloft.