名廬假期大飯店 — Hotel in Renai Township

I have mixed feelings about Ming Lu Hot Spring Hotel.

I visited many years ago, and back then, this place was truly the pride of the area—the best hotel in the best location. But after the incident, most stores moved out, and now the hotel stands quietly, like a dignified grandfather: proud, strong, but a little lonely without the crowds it once had.

The hot spring remains natural and authentic—still the best, as the old Japanese saying goes. For those who genuinely appreciate a traditional hot spring experience, it holds its charm.

To my surprise, one of the staff members remembered me, even though it’s been over so many years since my last visit, greeted me and asked if my family was with me this time also. That personal touch meant a lot.

The rooms are well-maintained, with a nostalgic 70s/80s aesthetic and impressively large bathtubs. They clearly put effort into curating a quality experience—the tea and coffee provided are from well-known local brands, and manufacturing date was only a month ago. I was especially touched that they still offered a buffet breakfast, even though there were only eight guests. During our breakfast, some staff bring in small amount of fresh food, clearly proven that they only store up with the food for amount of customers they have. Thank you for offering the fresh and the best.

Sadly, the surrounding old street no longer has the liveliness it once did. Across the river, the area feels almost like a ghost town. A few kind-hearted locals continue to clean and maintain their shops, still holding on—but it’s clear that visitor numbers have dwindled.

I wanted to visit the tribe’s sculpture, but the road was blocked. The place feels frozen in time, waiting for support or revival. I sincerely hope the government considers helping—whether to rebuild or help them relocate.

To the dedicated staff still giving their all: thank you. Please stay strong. Your hospitality...

After a rather uninteresting trip at Small Swiss Garden and having some time to spare before it gets dark, we drove downhill and turn left to Lushan. We were looking for a place to do a hot spring trip ('pao tang') and found this hotel on the fly where they offer us a 2-hour room usage with a built-in hot spring tub at NT1,200 (Tip for non-locals: key word to get a an hourly-rated private room with hot spring facility is 'xiu xi')||||You know the part about 'visual is for illustration purpose' only? This refers to the room that was given to us. To get to the lift, we walked past a weary-looking restaurant along a dimly-lit hallway, which gave us the feeling that the hotel management was being rather skimpy on the electricity. Our room is located at the lower level. The room is pretty standard, the bathroom was indeed spacious with a sizeable hot spring tub that can fit more than 2 person, but the interior looks so old that it makes you feel like you've been transported to the 70s! There's an unmistaken creepiness about the building that we decided to leave immediately after we had enough of soaking. The hot spring in Lushan is lightly sulphuric, but with many other types of hot spring (carbonated, mud) available around Taiwan, your hot spring experience could be better elsewhere.||||We did wonder if anyone would really choose to stay here if it wasn't for the hot spring. Turns out that they do have quite a number of guests staying in, mostly catering to tour groups and senior folks. Not that we would...

There were 6 of us and we stayed for 1 night. We booked 2 rooms. This hotel was recommended by our Taiwan taxi driver who told us that this was the biggest hotel in Lushan and there were very few hotels there. The rooms were pretty old and each room had a big Jacuzzi tub where we can do indoor hotspring. However, the messaging jets were not working as they were too old. ||||What I really like was the outdoor spa at level 2. Initially we were hesitant about going there as its really cold and its not connected to the hotel. Hence, we needed to come out of the hotel and walked for a short distance to the spa. Nevertheless, we decided to take the plunge, hence my 2 children (7yrs and 4yrs old), hubby and I wore our swimming costumes and towels and headed for the spa. ||||The spa was about 40 degree and has a variety of massaging stations, with jets of water spraying in many different directions. We had a wonderful time exploring the many different stations. Its like a...