PanAmWT

Yes, starting last month they opened a few nights to C&P on Mondays and Tuesdays in February, and early April and late May. This was after a very long period of no C&P. I think the reason is due their high traffic of tourist groups from minland China.

Westin, on the other hand, now has C&P every day from April-December, with perhaps the exception of a couple days in April.

araknis

any recent updates to this topic? LM is Cat 5 and Sheraton is Cat 4 (moving to Cat 5). Is LM worth the additional 2k points per night over Sheraton?

SirJman

Anyone have any updates on this since the refurbs on both are complete?

I'm seeing rates 500NTD cheaper per night at the Westin, but still cant decide which. We are going to TPE purely for tourism, and don't have any status at SPG. Any suggestions?

PanAmWT

I think there were more recent dicsussions of the two properties in the thread of Westin Taipei.

azj

Planning a visit for a few days in Taipei this summer. As SPG Gold, is there any updated advice for staying in this city? I'm leaning Le Meridien and because W is my favorite chain, the W. My goals are to see the sights, experience the culture and indulge in the food scene.

lcpteck

W is very centrally located and so is Le Meridien (they are a few blocks away of each other). W is on top of the Taipei Main Station subway so it is very convenient as well.

Ashburton

I have stayed at all of the SPG property's in Taipei and frequently visit.


Le meridien
has the best rooms and location but slowest service and worst proactivity by staff i ordered coffee many times in the morning and no sugar packets or forgot milk.
Recently on 2 different stays in april and may. i had a reservation deleted as a no show even though i called in advance to say my flight was delayed. I had to spend some time with the reservation department of the hotel to get my room back even then it was a cold experience they just never admit when their wrong they asked me what time i called and what number i used. Even asking me if i had a local number because my international number is expensive I was speechless they accuse me of lying basically and i am spg100. Afterwards i called back they confirmed that i did call and was sorry (cold) waived one night charge like they did me a favor.
I asked for a incidence report and apology letter. Still havent received it yet

I haven't even started to ask about my missing nights from my second room for the previous stay.

The business lounge is great but in my opinion not nearly as good as the westins small and no real food or drinks selection but nice view.

The W
(their whatever when ever service is great but for elite members sometimes you have to queue with the touists line as their spg desk is often unmanned. Service attitude and speed is much much better but still a little chilly sometimes. Room service is a little funky trys too much on presentation not on the food itself. Eat at the buffet restaurant kitchen its the best buffet in town all you can eat and the outdoor pool and bar is awesome.
Keep away from the chinese noodle restaurant though its more about the view then the food.

The Westin
is very central rooms are large and nice. Singapore airlines have their recruiting event here never seen so many beautiful girls in taipei under one roof.
The business lounge has a lounge dragon that said my wife would be charged since she wasn't registered in my room and that this time she will let it slide again speechless i showed her my spg plat card she said it was useless. but the lounge is really great fresh sandwichs made as you order and great snacks.Why do they make me feel like They did me a favour?

The Sheraton grande
(Best Hotel Quality and price and service)
Best business lounge by far great breakfast and food selection
Staff most multilingual and polite. Always goes above and beyond. Their sheraton burger in room service is the best. I can't really fault this place except a little old but it runs well and just got renovated.
Location is right next to NTU hospital and the close to the Tourists sites. Service much better and with a smile its shocking to believe the owner of the sheraton is the same as le meridien.

Four Points Sheraton
Great service and once i had a business trip that was supposedly a day trip but got extended. the hotel called my phone to make sure i was ok and if i wanted to keep the room yes it was an international call. Great price but far from everywhere chung ho is more of an industrial area most guests are there for business just hailing a cab can take a while. Clean rooms and good service just too far from center.

Hope this helps

azj

Thanks for the comprehensive reply! It will help in making my reservations.

Cathay Boy

This is very blatantly wrong. W is on top of Taipei City Hall Station, which is all the way to the eastern end of Taipei City, not in the central location as Taipei Main Station is. Granted, it is probably the hottest shopping area in Taipei City right now, that caters to higher-scale income. With a huge movie cinemax close by and tons of shopping centers as well as tons of food/restaurants.

However, as someone that grew up in Taipei and visits regularly, in my opinion, it doesn't have the best food in town, and if buying overpriced merchandises are your thing, then go for it. But when you visit Taipei, stick with Night Markets to get real authentic Taiwanese local crusine.

mayodave

I have to disagree with the comment stick to the night markets, these are frankly awful. Its a one off experience for visitors where you are hearded into packed areas and everyone shuffles along. This is far from a dining experience. Taipei has literally thousands of great restaurants and ask anyone who lives there can they reccomend one for what ever you desire they will send you to a good one.

Out of the hotels reccomended I always feel very well treated at Westin. Location is superb and like I said really so many places to eat,shop or relax. The food in Westin is pretty good as well all be it way more expensive than you will find outside the hotel.

lcpteck

Got confused with the Tapei Main station, thanks for the correction.

azj

I decided on the Westin. As much as I love W's, the Westin had more reasonable C&P for 2nd and 3rd nights and a better rate for the first night. Given its central location, I'm sure I'll be happy. As an SPG Gold I don't expect much in terms of upgrades or butt kissing. I do hope being Gold will help me get into my room by 8am, a result of my 615am arrival at TPE. Any suggestions on the best way from TPE to this property?

buylowsellhigh

TPE Taxi line is the cheapest and most reliable.... ~1200 NTD should get you to the Westin.

Cathay Boy

If you are unfamiliar with Taipei, then Taxi is the way to go. To Westin it will probably be around $1100-$1300 TWD, depending on which route the driver takes.

If you want to be adventurous, go to the Bus terminal, and take one of the buses to Taipei. The window selling ticket will ask you "where in Taipei?" Simply say "somewhere close to Nanjing East Road Station". However, the most likely case is going to be that they don't speak any good English, and will just slap you a ticket to Taipei Main Station. The good thing about this option is that it's only $140-$160 TWD to Taipei, and from there you take a taxi and that will be another $150-$200, so if you are money-conscious, this is another option.

jpdx

I will admit that I enjoy taking the airport buses in Taipei every now and then, although it can be a somewhat surreal experience (on a recent stay, I checked out of the W and the girl at the front desk asked me if I needed a taxi, and I replied, "I'll take the bus," and she stared at me in disbelief). Some of the buses are dreadfully old and lack horsepower, take obscure routings, and the most maddening part is when you get off the freeway, and the bus meanders through Taipei traffic for an hour going from one hotel to the next. That said, if you have time and are there for tourism, you get to see a lot of the city. Air Bus 1960 (to Taipei City Hall/Hyatt/W) stops at Nanjing East, as does one of the Evergreen lines (I forget the number, but it's the one that goes past Evergreen Marine Corp). IME, the people at TPE bus counters speak decent English and are familiar with the hotel names, and will give detailed instructions. And Cathay Boy, I think your advice is great to take a bus (any bus) downtown, get off at the first stop, and take a cab to the hotel, thus avoiding the maddening meandering through town.