Regent Taipei — Hotel in Taipei

Regrettably, Regent Taipei has been the worst five-star hotel I have ever stayed at.

Upon check-in, we were invited to pay a small fee for an upgrade to “their largest suite” with an “unblocked, amazing view.” Enticed by the front desk staff’s pitch, we accepted. However, upon arrival at the suite, we discovered it was located on the 6th floor with a view of Zhongshan North Road, which was far from the promised “unblocked, amazing view.” Overlooking the disappointing view, we were then struck by the room’s condition: it was worn, smelled of dampness throughout, and even worse, the bathroom had a strong, unpleasant odor. Dust and bread crumbs covered the floor. Most surprising, the bathtub was unusable because the plug was faulty, allowing water to drain constantly. It felt as if this suite had not been occupied in ages. It truly seemed as though we had been pushed into an old, neglected room, likely so the front desk staff could earn commission, or to use us as “test guests” to identify the room’s obvious issues.

In addition, turndown service was not provided automatically; we had to request it, and even then, it was poorly executed. Slippers were not placed correctly, the bathroom was not refreshed, the inner trash bin was left out, and rubbish remained on the coffee table. It felt as though the housekeeper had rushed through or lacked proper training.

Months before our arrival, I informed Regent Taipei of our special occasion across two separate bookings. The front desk acknowledged that a “cake voucher” would be available for us at check-in, but it was not ready. The staff assured us it would be delivered later that day. When it wasn’t, I called, only to be told that we needed to personally pick up the voucher at the front desk. After some confusion, I was informed that we’d need to collect the voucher, go to their cake shop, and exchange it for a cake that was “prepared and would not be fresh the next day.” We went to the front desk and waited 15 minutes, only to be told the cake was already prepared and would be delivered to our room at any time. Stunned, I asked why it hadn’t been delivered with turndown service, but instead of answering, the staff asked if I would like it brought up now. If Regent Taipei genuinely valued customer experience, they would simply have placed the cake in the room upon check-in or with turndown service, rather than turning this into a pointless “cake voucher” runaround.

Generally, the staff at Regent Taipei were discourteous and unprofessional. During one interaction, I inquired about trying the hotel’s famous beef noodle soup at the lobby restaurant, only to be met with a frosty response that “no one gets a table without a reservation,” without so much as checking availability—even though we could see empty tables.

Breakfast at the Brasserie was equally disappointing, with staff who were aloof and unfriendly. They served coffee and cleared plates without so much as acknowledging guests. One staff member, Kerry, feigned an inability to speak either English or Mandarin, refusing to communicate, yet we saw him happily conversing with colleagues.

During check-out, I shared my experience with Nita, the Assistant Director of Rooms, who was apologetic and refunded our upgrade fee. While she kindly offered to enhance our upcoming junior suite stay (including Tai Pan Lounge access) as compensation, I couldn’t shake the unpleasant experience. In less than 10 days, I doubted she could reform the staff’s attitudes or the hotel culture. It was disheartening, as my previous stay at Regent Taipei 15 years ago had been outstanding.

As we left, the front desk staff stared at us as if we had done something wrong—a reflection of the disappointing service we encountered. We ultimately canceled our upcoming reservation and booked another five-star hotel instead. I don’t believe I will return to Regent Taipei. Shame on...

I stayed at the Regent Taipei near the end of April for a few days with my mom. From the first look outside, this hotel looks extremely grand and it just screams luxurious.

Btw fun fact we learned on a tour, Tom cruise, lady gaga, micheal jackson and other big celebs also stayed here before lol.

When you pull up at the entrance, the staff is already there to help you with your luggages and check-in, and theres even a staff member specifically there to press the elevator for you.

I also noticed a small detail: I left my makeup stuff and skincare all over the bathroom table and after housekeeping came, they put a small towel and placed all of my makeup/skincare stuff one by one in an orderly manner - such a small detail that shows how much they pay attention to cleaning and making sure your stay is perfect.

The only downside is how difficult it was to access the gym ; you have to switch an elevator and go down and I found the directions still unclear even when I asked 2 different staff members. It would be nice to have a sign or smt to know where the gym is at and where to find the elevator to take to get to the gym since its at a tiny corner.

The gym is the best hotel gym Ive ever been to: it has most of the machines you need as a gym bro or gym girl lol. Not a lot of dumbbells options, but still pretty good.

The pool was also pretty nice although we didnt swim in it, there was a lifeguard there and another staff member to help you if you needed anything.

Another pro if you like luxury shopping, this hotel is connected to a luxury mall, you have to take another elevator (the same one to access the gym) and go down and it has almost all the luxury stores you can think of, and even fancy restaurants too.

Also, the thing i loved the most about this hotel is the bathroom, it is so pretty and grandiose and the design is beautiful and the shower has the perfect water pressure.

We also had to change rooms the first night bc the person living next to us was having a meeting at like 11pm very loudly and we could hear it from our room, and they handled it very well.

When we were leaving after checking out, I think it was the manager (?), she came and told us how sorry she was again about the disruption that made us change rooms and that really made us feel like we're important lol.

It shows how much they keep tabs and details on you to really make sure your stay is perfect.

Really appreciated it, loved the hotel and staff, we will most definitely book this hotel again if we're back in Taipei.

Definitely recommend this hotel over other five star hotels if you're hesitating and reading...

We booked this hotel for a quick family getaway to spend time with our elderly grandparents. With 12 people, 4 elderly individuals, travel from Tainan to Taipei is quite the feat. We had planned accordingly to ensure that we could arrive exactly at 3:00 PM.

Around 2:45 PM, the hotel called a member of our party several times, asking if we would be arriving soon. We confirmed, that we were less than 15 minutes away.

Upon arriving at the hotel, the staff were terse, and informed us that we had given “too short of notice”, thus our hotel rooms were “being prepared”. Out of four rooms booked, only one room was ready. (Of note, these were booked two nights prior to arrival due to the unpredictability of elderly individuals and travel).

For such an expensive and hotel of high regard, there was little value here. Not only did they badger a member of our party to ensure we arrived on time, they did not even have the rooms ready!

Upon further inquiry, they refused compensation or reimbursement and apologized for the late rooms with a bag of dried mangos. I understand the hotel staff is likely overworked, however a bag of dried fruit cannot be an appropriate for the amount of time it took. It was nearly 30 minutes after 3 PM that our rooms were ready.

Do not call incessantly if the rooms are not ready. Please do not provide gestures such as dried mangoes in this setting. This is truly not appreciated and not appropriate in this context. We ultimately left these in the room. Please find a way to ensure the staff has a more appropriate outlook on this situation. 4 elderly people, two in wheelchairs should not be forced to wait for such a long period of time, when we reserved to check in a certain time. It is incredibly unprofessional to charge more to check out late, when you cannot provide the basic service of timely check in that you say you will provide.

Overall, the staff was not appropriate. They were terse, impersonal, and not the professionals we know them to be. Having had members of our party previously stay at the Regent in the past, this is not the same hotel. The former was of far superior quality and what is currently left is quite an inferior version of its former self. We will never be returning again and highly recommend against this hotel to others. You can get much more for your money at other...