Yangming Shanshui Hot Spring — Hotel in New Taipei

When I booked this resort through Asia Rooms, I had no idea how far out it was....I was looking for a hot spring resort with communal pool facilities close to Taipei and assumed that all Xinbei resorts were on the Beitou side....wrong!||||We had an awesome long weekend here - the weather was perfect for soaking in hot pools; it was freezing weather and light misty rain...and the backdrop at Calla Young is perfect...high mountains, covered in mysterious cloud....the atmosphere was electrifying!||||The room was huge and the private mineral bath on the deck overlooking the mountains gorgeous...bed very comfortable etc....||||The outdoor pools are great and include spa pools of all varieties, differing temperatures and locations - some covered, some completely open...also separate pools for men and women where you must go nude.||||Restaurant is ok; nothing brilliant but reasonable.||||Staff - and patrons - aren't really used to seeing too many Westerners so expect to be stared at and definitely don't expect to be easily understood....to enjoy the experience here you need to appreciate YOU are the outsider if you speak only English....don't expect them to bow down to your demands just because you're used to having it your way as a Westerner....that's not how they roll here; Chinese first, Japanese second....English a distant third....which we didn't mind one bit. Just warning those of you for whom this will be a problem.....||||And finding the place WILL be challenging if you're trying to catch the bus - if you catch the MRT to Jiantan, you need to make your way to the bus stop heading towards Yingmingshan where Royal Bus Route 1717 stops....trust me, it's NOT easy to find on your own if you can't speak Chinese.....so best find a friendly local, like we did, to help you out....||||Otherwise, you're advised to pre-book a Taxi to take you there - but this option will cost you a lot; it's between 1 hour - 1.5 hours in a bus from Jiantan to Calla Young depending on traffic and weather conditions (very narrow winding mountain roads).||||We've stayed in Beitou before and this experience was quite different - more relaxed, less "touristy" and will definitely deliver a more authentic local experience for Westerners if you can handle not having things the way you are used to or...

This location of this hotel is quite remote from the city among the hills, the surroundings are just beautiful and serene, green every where and there is also a creek near by. From the color scheme and detailing of the hotel seem to indicate that the architect put a lot of thoughts into it. ||It is just too bad that the building wasn't maintained, fallen air condition unit was left lying there, walls all leaking from the rain, bath tubs falling apart, cabinets doors not replaced, ||There is no room cleaning unless upon request (told after first day). To shave, you need to wait more than one hour for hot water to arrive at the faucet.||Some of the staffs at the front desk and restaurant were quite unfriendly, surely I never felt I was welcome.||Food was good and bad, in other words, inconsistent, there is no choice for the next closest food supply (a 7-11) was a $600 taxi ride. Bring food from outside will cost US$3 per person. Breakfast was all vegetables except for some preserved minced pork. There is no butter for toasts and coffee tasted like diluted soy source. ||There are two levels of guest rooms, you climb one flight of stairs to the upper level but three flights of stairs down to the lower level, no elevators, I suppose handicaps are not welcome.||Wi-Fi did connect in my room but effective only in the lobby.||I used the in-room soak tub, it felt slimy. It is better to use the public one.||I do enjoy staring...

Sometime I write comments here only to help those "foreigners" to get to know those localised hotels. There are many Chinese comments about this hotel in various website. I found there is only one here and so would wanted to contribute another.||||This is a fairely new hotel in this area (Yangmingshan) - about 2 years old. In addition to stay overnight, the hotel also offer daytrip onsen. So you may find lots of people in the onsen areas during peak seasons.||||I have booked into the second highest price of room with a private onsen facing the mountains on the highest floor. The room is huge. Private onsen can accommodate 3-4 persons at the same time. Full length of glass facing the mountain, rivers are flowing underneath your room. Toilet is separated. Slippers, water, soft drinks (2) and snacks (2) are provided for free.||||Like many Taiwanese onsens, they have the common public onsen areas where you should wear swimsuits and you can soak with your friends and relatives. They have two large and one small onsen pools and one swimming pool on the open area. There is also an inside onsen area where male and females are separated, you have to soak nude.||||For the price of the room, breakfast and dinner is inlcuded. The breakfast is poor, not attractive food and not much choices. For dinner, the number of courses are many, about 7, but the quality...