Taipei received a special Valentine's present in the form of its first W hotel, the second Starwood brand for the city after Le Meridien, which opened last November. Both are part of a wave of new international properties entering Taiwan's capital after a decade.
W Taipei's debut also coincided with that of the UK's first W Hotel in London (see story here).
The 405-room property, within the Xinyi CBD, showcases a collection of design installations, including "The Chain", a large stainless steel structure that symbolically "anchors" the hotel’s energy.
For the business traveller, there are 2,833sqm of meeting space with the largest, called Mega Room measuring over 1,039sqm, a business centre and mobile phone rentals. Other facilities include a fitness centre, three restaurants with Yen, providing private dining options, a gym and W's signature Bliss Spa and Whatever/Whenever 24-hour concierge service.
General manager Cary Gray said: “There hasn't been a new hotel in this market for more than a decade until our sister, Le Meridien, opened last year, and with the booming commercial and business activities, growing numbers of travelers to Taipei, the hotel rooms in this city are simply not enough!”
The W Hotel intends to set trends, declares Gray. He said: "Our ability to create fun luxury comes from a focus on very special events we call W Happenings. W Happenings will provide a reason on a continuous basis for the local community to come back again and again to our hotel for exclusive experiences around our passion points – fashion, design and music.
"Furthermore, you will see the transformation of the traditional lobby into our W Living Room. We will change the functional and transactional hotel environment to become a hip, cozy and social happening space via great music, candle light, a signature scent, great programming and more.”
The inaugural "Spectacular" package consists of accommodation in a Spectacular room or Fantastic suite, breakfast and VIP access to nightclubs around Xinyi. Rates start from US$250 for a Spectacular room for stays between now and August 31, 2011.
The brand will enter mainland China via Guangzhou later this year (see story here), and will expand in the region with another property in Bali.
For more information, visit www.wtaipei.com
Alisha Haridasani