my second hotel in Taipei was a quaint 3 star designer hotel located at the heart of Taipei City. I was originally captivated by the bathroom which has a beautiful view. but Ambience Hotel is also Taipei’s top rated hotel on TripAdvisor! most people praised the hotel for its simple yet stylish designs and their 5 star customer service, which I cannot deny.
the exterior of the hotel is simple and clean cut. it’s located at the end of a T-junction and it is easily accessible by cab or subway. although it will take around 10 minutes to walk to the subway, you can barely feel it because there are just a lot to see along the way!
little did we know that we came during the dragon boat festival and it is a long holiday for Taiwan!
we left our baggage at around 1pm and came back to find that they had already carefully placed our luggage in our room! the first impression of the room was that it was very clean. I would say the style is quite girlish so girls will love it!
the staff welcomed us with a pair of adorable elephants and a card! there’s even a weather forecast card prepared on the table to tell guests about the next day’s weather! what service!
the staff of the hotel as you can see on the hand written card is absolutely thoughtful and caring of their customers! I also received a box of flower soaps which I used not long later.
the washroom is quite basic and spacious.
and they have bidet too!!! absolutely love hotels with many Japanesey buttons in their toilets!
and the view of the breath taking bath tub which I had been anticipating! and no doubt it was gorgeous. but because the walls of the toilet were all glass, it can get really stuffy and hot in the day. but fear not! because there’s an individual air conditioner inside the bathroom!
the work table is a simple one with a quaint light stand which I adore. with plug points all locating at the same spot. I brought Taiwanese adapters (the same with Japan) just in case and I got to use it here. there plug points are not universal so remember to bring your own adapter! if not I am sure the helpful lobby can provide you with one.
the mini bar is kind of in the cupboard. there’s tea, coffee and beautifully bottled water with their own logo.
the fridge on the other hand has one tea and one coke.
there’s also a pack of doritos and vegetable snack! everything in the minibar are all free to be consumed.
there are laundry bags and a plastic bag if you need. the great thing about this hotel is that there is a LAUNDRY ROOM which guests can use FREE OF CHARGE! (of course detergent is provided) so it is great for those who packed light!
my boyfriend quickly dived into the bed and melted on it.
they also provide floor slippers in two colours so you do not get mixed up on which is whos!
to be really honest, I kept walking into the bathroom because the view is just too beautiful.
the bathroom amenities are boxed quaintly in boxes that form the hotel’s logo. there are toothbrushes of different colours, shaver, shower cap, comb and a clean kit equipped with cotton, cotton buds, and floss. the bath stuff are all aroma therapy and they smell great too!
the hair dryer and toilet roll is carefully placed inside pouches and the towels are located conveniently beside the bath.
as you can see, I am really obsessed with the bathroom. haha.
the pathway is also adequately bright and well decorated. although the doors are not very sound proof as you can hear the people talking in the hallway from inside the room.
near the lobby there’s a stand filled with information useful for tourists!
and the best part is that you can purchase all your souvenirs in the hotel!
including Sunny Hills’ pineapple cake! for those who doesn’t know. Sunny Hills is deemed to have the best pineapple cake/tart in whole of Taiwan. I’ve tried it before and it was really dense and yummy. I didn’t buy it this time around because well.. pineapple tarts are super fattening. as we all Malaysians would know. haha.
but you should definitely try it if you haven’t! the tarts as I know is only sold in their main shop somewhere near nowhere haha. so having them here at our hotel was very convenient.
the Peony-designed lobby. there are always 3 staffs standing by the lobby to help you. the lobbyists are always very helpful and warm. it almost felt like they were my friends because they were so chatty and fun. plus, they are all multi lingual too! they speak English, Korean and Japanese!
winner on the traveller’s choice category for 3 years in a row is definitely something. there is no wonder because they are indeed a 3 star hotel providing 5 star service hence it is kind of a bargain for hotel guests.
and finally it’s breakfast time! I heard a lot about this hotel’s excellent breakfast hence I was really excited!
to be honest, the menu is quite narrow but the thing is, they are all DELICIOUS. my boyfriend really liked the breakfast here because he felt like he isn’t too spoiled with choices and can make his decisions swiftly.
the main menu’s change everyday, so there is no problem for people who’s planning on staying for a longer period. those scramble eggs were super yummy though.
then to the cold bar, they have various veges and fruits famous in Taiwan. there were Guava and Papaya too in addition to the Pineapple and Grapefruit in the picture.
toasts? anyone? you can have it with butter cream, chocolate or peanutbutter! but my favourite is still butter with strawberry which my boyfriend makes every morning =3.
there’s also a salad bar for your daily intake of fiber.
and my favourite morning breakfast, porridge. it’s also accompanied with soy milk (first day) and pumpkin soup (second day).
for drinks, there are coffee, several juices, milk and soymilk for the lactose intolerant and a choice of cereal! I told you they are considerate. vegan? lactose intolerant? no problem!
if you forgot to bring your laptop and is in need of a computer? you can always head to the lobby to use the public computers provided! on the right is a dining table too that is super well designed with all that pretty flowers.
itadakimasu! just the first round. my favourite thing on this plate is surprisingly the yoghurt. I know a yummy yoghurt when I taste one! and this place serves incredible yoghurt.
I also love the porridge here. I was never a fan of porridge until I came to Taiwan. because they have their porridge with toppings and that makes it SO MUCH BETTER.
the oddest yet most special part of Ambience Hotel will definitely be this.. you get to see a live performance while you have your breakfast. never heard of in any other hotels! Ambience Hotel sure knows how to impress their guests!
so after lunch we went back to our room. and the weather was just BEAUTIFUL. mind you, I went on a rainy season so it was raining almost every single day and when it is not, it’s just dull and cloudy. so finally one day where the weather looks great!
hence, that calls for a bathroom photoshoot! as weird as it sounds, it’s ridiculously appropriate to do so when you have such a stunning bathroom.
my boyfriend has zero photography sense so I was worried but here are some of his produce! it’s not bad actually!
if you are wondering, the dress is from KKXX.
I never found why TVs are in hotel rooms when all they play are local TV shows where foreign guests do not understand. but lucky for us, they have a whole list of pretty new movies and some even in bluray! if you travel with your kids, they can enjoy the cartoon shows too! but beware not to let your kids handle the remote control because.. there are some adult films too. D=.
the night view is as stunning too!
this time, I tried intergalactic from Lush which smells soooooooooooooo gooooood. and it’s also incredibly glittery. it was literally like as if I was swimming in glitter.
time for bath time!
I actually left the bath bomb in for too long and went to pack my stuff so I totally missed it when it was colourful and all T_T. NEVER leave your bath bomb!!!
hope you enjoyed the review!
there will be more travel posts related to Taiwan so stay tuned!
Ambience Hotel
10491, Taiwan, Taipei City, Zhongshan District
+886 2 2541 0077
Jamie’s Rating:
location ☆☆☆☆
atmosphere ☆☆☆☆
luxury ☆☆☆
service ☆☆☆☆☆
cleanliness ☆☆☆☆☆
value ☆☆☆☆.5
VERDICT: the location is central and a short cab ride can get you to just about anywhere. although it is located 10 minutes walk away from many different stations, it wasn’t much of a problem for us. Ambience Hotel’s design is very simple, clean cut yet stylish. although this hotel is not the most luxurious hotel there is in terms of quality of furniture, bedding etc., it was very comfortable and their 5 star customer service definitely will satisfy all their guests. in comparison to the price of their rooms which starts at 3,000TWD, I would say that it is definitely not on the cheaper side. but with their great customer service and wholesome breakfast, they definitely made it worth it at its given price point. especially for a beautiful bathroom, I think it is absolutely worth it to pay more for!