Hotel Review: Tai Urban Resort (Kaohsiung)

 Welcome to my hotel review on Tai Urban Resort Hotel! 

*I stayed at this hotel in September 2023. 

Introduction

In 2023, I decided to have a little getaway from work, a trip to Taiwan was the decision as I get to fly with Starlux (Taiwanese airline) to Taipei. (For the trip report (SIN-TPE), click here) From Taipei, we travelled to Kaohsiung by the High Speed Railway (HSR) which took about 1.5 to 2 hours. While for the hotel in Kaohsiung, it was picked by my partner so all credits to her for allowing me to experience and discover more about this hotel. Before starting our research on our accommodation in Kaohsiung, it was agreed between my partner and myself that we would stay in a more comfortable hotel in this city and when I heard this hotel for the first time, I thought this would be one of the more casual type of hotels. It's only after browsing through te website then we realised that the hotel is a 5-star and at that time, the rate of the room was reasonable so my partner went ahead to do the booking for both of us. Trying out new hotels is good especially if you have no loyalty (rewards program) with any hotels. So without further ado, let's begin this hotel review. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do and more importantly, find this review useful. 

Background of the hotel 

Tai Urban Resort was opened in Autumn 2022, and according to the management (Chan Yee Group),  it is the first 5-star cultural and creative hotel in Taiwan, providing a comfortable stay for travellers as well as a cross-disciplinary hybrid space for arts and culture exhibition, cultural exchange and reading. This hotel is integrated with a full-fledged library and the interior of the public space in the library is designed with a high wall of books and a lot of natural light being allowed into this luxurious building, signifying a warm welcome of the Taiwanese hospitality to the guests. This hotel offers 208 guest rooms, 6 themed restaurants, 2 outdoor bars, infinity pool, gym, premium spa, a bookstore, coffee shop, wine library, banquet hall and a library. 

Location 

The address of the hotel is 189 Linsen 4th Road, Qianzhen District, Kaohsiung City 806023, Taiwan. 

For the location of the hotel on the map, click here

For the hotel's website, click here. 

How to get to the hotel from the airport?

To get to the hotel by metro from the airport, take the red line from the airport to R8 - Sanduo Shopping District station (5th stop on the same line - direction towards R24 - Kaohsiung Medical University Gangshan Hospital station), come out from exit 2 and walk straight along Zhongshan 2nd road until you reach Linsen 4th road then turn right and walk for around 10 minutes before reaching the hotel. The walk from the station to the hotel should take around 15-20 minutes, depending on your walking speed.

You can also take the LRT near the hotel to get you to some of the popular places in the city, do check out this website to find out where are the best places to visit. Click here for Kaohsiung travel list of popular attractions.

One of the light railway's stations. 

The light rail train approach the station. 

This is the metro map (Photo: KRTC Kaohsiung Metro railway's website)

(The airport station to the Sanduo Shopping District station as shown below), do note that the light green lime is the LRT's network. 

If you are travelling from the Zuoying Metro Station (HSR - High Speed Railway) from Taipei or other parts of Taiwan), you can take the metro train from Zhiying station to the hotel. (Below) 

If you are coming in from Taipei using the HSR (High Speed Railway), you can check out my train report over here.

Welcome to Tai Urban Resort！ 

This is the entrance to the hotel. 

There is a little cafe on the ground level where you can enjoy some tea and cakes to do some reading or relax. 

We ordered some coffee during our rest time at the cafe. 

The check-in counters are located on the 25th floor. 

This is the infinity pool located on the 24th floor. The operating hours is 0700-1200 and 1300-2100 (Summer time) and 0700-1200 and 1300-2000 (Winter time).

My partner and I enjoyed the view while sipping on our delicious alcoholic beverages. 

This is the punch-out gym located on the 23rd floor. The size of the gym is massive and also comes with a boxing ring. The operating hours is from 0700-2200 daily and the last entry to the gym is at 2130.

Both of us were impressed with the gym's equipments.

Other facilities of the hotel 

- Yacht Experience (To be available soon) 

- City Wind Books (7th Floor) with a small cafe

- Cheng Yi Spa 

- Business Centre 

Now, let's head over to the hotel room! 

Photos of the Superior room 

This room features a tatami (straw matting used as a flooring normally found in a Japanese home) and comes with a king size bed. For the price you pay per night, you should will get the following facilities. 

- Complimentary mini bar 

- Coffee Machine 

- INNOCI washlet 

- Dyson Supersonic hair dryer 

- Cha Tzu Tang bath and body set 

- Ample power supply in the room 

- Complimentary Wifi 

- Free parking 

Average price per night: US$250-$280 (Depends on period)

This is my favourite part of the room. I was able to enjoy the view while doing my work or having a meal. 

The view of the room from the tatami side. 

A basket of snacks is offered to each guest. 

A welcome note for us and that includes a plate of maracone for the birthday girl (my partner). 

This is a Queen size bed. 

A Smart alarm clock and a bottle of handwash. Behind them are the usb ports available for the guests. 

The only enclosed areas are the shower and towel bowl areas. 

One door for the shower and the other for nature call. 

Amenity kit for the guests 

Towels and Bath robes are available 

Smart toilet bowl 

Good quality shower head

View from the room 

My ratings

Location: 7.5/10

Hotel Staff: 9.5/10

Hotel room ambiance: 9/10

Cleanliness: 10/10

Bed comfort: 10/10

Shower: 10/10

Value for $$: 9/10

Overall rating: 55/60

Percentage: 92% 

Final thoughts 

We enjoyed our stay in this hotel as everything was new (at that time) including the concept that it brings, making it a more unusual hotel compared to the regular ones. Although the location is not near to the central, there is the light railway or the metro train station nearby connecting you to other parts of the city and. As for the hotel, the staff were excellent and were helpful in giving us valuable advise on the places to visit, we used the gym during our free time and find it to be more than adequate. Having a drink or two at the bar was also enjoyable. Lastly, the most important thing about the hotel is the room itself. The 2 nights stay at this room was definitely a comfortable one with the good quality bed allowed us to sleep well for the duration. During the stay in the room, I spent more time at the tatami area and staying at a high level does help with the quiet environment enable me to clear my work and enjoy my netflix movies without the need to using an earphones. 

So would I recommend this hotel? A definite yes! 

Hope you enjoy this hotel review! 

Have a good one. 

Charles