Shangri-La Far Eastern, Taipei — Hotel in Taipei

As someone who typically stays at luxury hotel chains like the St. Regis, Ritz-Carlton, Conrad, or Grand Hyatt, this was my first visit to a Shangri-La property. I arrived at the Shangri-La Taipei with high hopes, anticipating a luxurious stay that might pleasantly surprise me and perhaps even win me over to a new brand. Unfortunately, while there were definite highlights, the overall experience didn't quite meet those lofty expectations.

One of the main drawbacks was the condition of the facilities. The hotel, while grand, felt somewhat dated. My room's bathroom, in particular, looked quite worn out. The in-bathroom TV was an older model, and disappointingly, several channels suffered from static and a poor signal, likely due to old coaxial connections. However, not everything was outdated; the shower's water pressure and flow were absolutely fantastic – a definite plus! Additionally, the bidet toilet seat was a modern unit featuring a convenient wireless remote.

Down in the lobby, the service seemed efficient and ran like a well-oiled machine. Check-in and other interactions were handled promptly. However, I couldn't help but notice a distinct lack of smiles from the staff. It left me wondering if the atmosphere was perhaps overly pressured, contributing to a less warm welcome than I'd anticipated.

On a much brighter note, the breakfast buffet was truly top-notch and a highlight of the stay. The variety was impressive, spanning multiple cuisines to cater to diverse palates. There was an extensive selection of juices, high-quality fresh fruit, and an excellent salad bar. A fun, novel touch was the automatic soft-serve ice cream dispenser – a neat feature!

Regarding the location, while convenient in many ways, the mall situated right next door was rather underwhelming and didn't add much value to the stay.

A significant point of friction during my visit was the elevator system. Despite having a bank of six elevators, the wait times were often frustratingly long. When a car did arrive, it frequently filled up quickly, leading to multiple stops on the way up or down. A particularly inefficient aspect was the call system; you couldn't call for another elevator until the doors of the car currently loading had completely closed. It seemed illogical that multiple cars couldn't be descending or waiting at the ground floor simultaneously in such a large hotel.

Ultimately, I really wanted to love this hotel and give the Shangri-La brand a full 5 stars based on its reputation. However, due to the dated facilities and the inefficient elevators, it fell short. It leaves me questioning whether this particular property is representative of the brand, or if my expectations, calibrated by experiences at competitors like St. Regis or Four Seasons, were simply too high.

For these reasons, while the breakfast was outstanding and some elements were excellent, I'm offering the Shangri-La Taipei 4 stars. I'm now hesitant about trying another Shangri-La in a different city after...

Overall experience was really very good. We had asked for rooms on a high floor, and we got the 29th floor with clear views of Taipei 101. The rooms were excellent - clean, spacious, and everything you would expect from Shangri La. Staff were cordial and very friendly and accommodating. The concierge staff organized excellent sightseeing trips for us. Since we did not speak the local language, the concierge staff took care to explain how to get taxis, wrote down some basic things for us - like how to ask for a fork, how to direct a taxi driver - so that we could get around. The shuttle around town was a big bonus. The breakfast spread was great, and my kids loved it. The Horizon Club privileges were a big bonus, and my children liked the hot chocolate they served.

Among the restaurants, Marco Polo was amazing, the best Italian I have ever had. It was my first time at a Shangri La Marco Polo. I hope the Shangri La hotels in my city of residence have Marco Polo restaurants as well, since I want to go back! I really loved the dessert I had - I think called Ananas - and I need to have it again! It was quite unique. The Japanese restaurant was pretty great too. And the Cake Room had very nice goodies! Service in all three was attentive and caring, and Marco Polo was top notch.

Management is urged to do something about the service in Shang Palace and Shanghai Pavilion, though. Both restaurants seemed understaffed when we visited, and servers looked harried and stressed, and were not able to pay adequate attention to guests. Food was good, but service was delayed. In Shang Palace, there were two ladies rushing around trying to serve 5-6 full tables. At 8:40 pm, when we were still eating, some staff started closing down areas and preparing for the next day - which was a bit weird since we were still 20 minutes from closing time, but we did not say anything. We just left without ordering dessert since they seemed to want us to leave! A couple of days later at Shanghai Pavilion - very similar experience. Our food order came in fits and starts - and when we had waited 45 minutes between the appetizer and the main course, we started asking where our food was! We actually had to flag down our serving staff - since they were all rushing around and not even making eye contact with us - and ask for food. Our server looked a bit surprised that we wanted our food! Again, minutes passed - still nothing. Then we asked the manager, who was very apologetic and brought out our food within minutes - which just gave the impression that our food had been ready but no one was bringing out till we asked twice! Anyway - no harm done, and the manager was very apologetic. She then gave us a 10% discount on our bill. While the thought is appreciated, I would have preferred good service...

Unparalleled service that goes above and beyond before, during, and after the stay! My family and I just spent a week at the Shangri-La Taipei while visiting relatives and were so impressed by the extremely high quality of service and amenities available to guests here. It truly felt like a home away from home--amazing given that it is located right in the middle of the bustling city of Taipei! The breakfast chef and his team outdid themselves with a fabulous buffet every breakfast. My girls loved the extraordinary rooftop pool and hot tub on the 43rd floor. Even the room service food was delicious, and served with pineapple cakes from the hotel's Cake Room bakery (I never got to try one since my girls would devour them as soon as they arrived).

The service was more accommodating than what we have experienced at hotels such as the Four Seasons, Intercontinental, and Grand Hyatt, and given the complexity of my family's needs (two young children and a variety of ages including my 70+ year old mother), that is saying a lot. They truly go above and beyond, and serve graciously and with a smile and a willingness to help no matter what the guest's need is (for example, I needed to use a computer in the business center at 4 AM and the overnight duty manager, Maximilien, came down himself to open the facilities, show me how to change the language on the computer to English, and offer helpful solutions for an issue I was experiencing that was unrelated to the hotel).

To cap it all off, at the last minute my extended family and I needed a special banquet arranged for 15 adults and 3 children and one of the front desk concierges, Oliver, worked tirelessly into the night to research the best location and food for our event the next day. In the end, information from outside of the hotel pointed to the hotel's own Shanghai Pavilion as offering the best food and location, with a private room with a lovely view of the city available. Their staff was kind enough to create a custom menu including special Shanghainese dishes cooked by a distinguished visiting chef from the region as well as vegetarian entrees for my family and dishes the children would happily eat--this was all arranged within an hour of the banquet start time since my family and I had a busy schedule of activities during the day. The staff decorated the room flawlessly including toys and balloons that kept the children entertained. The food was beautifully presented and truly delicious, and the service accommodating and attentive no matter the request (again, we are a very particular family and they really exceeded our expectations).

Thanks so much to the entire staff at the Shangri-La Hotel for creating an exceptional and memorable visit for me and my family, we hope to...