Recently I had 2 business trips to Taiwan. On both occasions I first stayed a night in Taipei before heading to Hsinchu. The first time I stayed at the Grand Hyatt Taipei and the second time I stayed at the W Hotel. Two hotels relatively close to each other, but each very different. Please read my review below of the Grand Hyatt Taipei.
Location
The Grand Hyatt Taipei is located next to the 101 Tower and the associated shopping mall, in the Xinyi district. In fact, you can walk straight from the hotel to the 101 Tower using a covered walkway. A subway station (Taipei 101/World Trade Center Station) is only a 5 minutes walk. If the timing works out, you can take the airport limousine bus 1960 from the Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) to the Grand Hyatt. The limousine bus stops right in front of the hotel. Very convenient!
The hotel opened in 1990 and underwent a massive renovation from 2012 to 2015. However, the renovation cannot hide the fact that the hotel does looks a bit outdated in my opinion. Nevertheless, the lobby does look very impressive and ‘grand’.
As a Hyatt Elite member, you don’t need to check in at the ground level. Instead, you can check in at the lounge which is located at the 22nd floor. This is a great benefit since when I was checking in, there was a big queue for the regular check-in/check-out.
There is an urban legend that the Grand Hyatt Taipei is haunted. There is no evidence for this claim but some of my Asian colleagues refuse to stay in the Grand Hyatt! They point to the large Chinese, ghost-repelling talismans. However, hotel management stated long time ago, these are simply art pieces intended to bring good fortune and positive energy. Whatever power these art pieces hold, I didn’t experience any ghosts, nor boost of positive energy during my stay!
Room
My room was a regular king bedroom. I didn’t have a direct view of the 101 tower, but I could see the tower from my room on the left side. The room was a typical cookie cutter Hyatt/Marriott room. If you didn’t look outside, you could have been in any random place in the world. Nothing exceptional, but also nothing to complain about.
Bathroom was nice and definitely had a more modern look; separate bath and shower is always good.
Other notable mentions
The Grand Hyatt has an impressive collection of 8 different restaurants and bars! Cafe is probably the biggest restaurant and breakfast is also served at this restaurant. You cannot fault the buffet because there is a big selection of food. Quality is also good. I stayed at the Grand Hyatt during the weekend and it was packed with people! Seems the Grand Hyatt is also a popular place for non-guests to go for breakfast so take into account that the place might be crowded. I had to wait for 15 minutes to get a table.
For lunch I went to Cheers, which is located next to the Cafe. I saw Banh Mi on the menu and that was probably not the best dish I could choose for lunch. That wasn’t very good… I didn’t try another restaurant during my stay.
I did visit the lounge during the evening for a quick bite and drink. There was a small selection of food. Nothing special but for a quick bite, it was OK.
Conclusion
I recently stayed at the Grand Hyatt Taipei. A hotel featured on past lists of “haunted hotels”. During my stay I didn’t notice any ghosts but my Asian colleagues explained to me that that’s logical since I cannot speak, nor understand Chinese. So the ghosts don’t bother with me! Well, that was certainly appreciated!
This ghosts story could make the hotel a bit special though. Unfortunately, I didn’t find the Grand Hyatt special, nor memorable. For me, it was a typical Hyatt or Marriott hotel from the 90’s. That doesn’t mean it was bad. The lobby was impressive, the lounge was OK and rooms had everything you would expect. Breakfast was good with a big buffet, and the hotel has a lot of different restaurants on site.
But if you can find a room at the W hotel for a comparable rate, I would choose the W hotel any time of day!
Also have a look at my reviews of the Sheraton in Hsinchu and the Episode Hsinchu hotel and don’t forget to check out my Youtube Channel!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0yVFai0XBvtwLRw-JnHDFQ
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