United Hotel 國聯大飯店 — Hotel in Taipei

Pros||- Good location|- Convenient|- Plentiful of food around, convenient stores & 1 supermarket|- Water pressure is good|- Carpet looks clean|- Housekeeping aunty is consistent except for last 2 days of my 7 nights stay|- WiFi is strong and stable|- Hotel has own car park facilities|||Cons||- Dated and lobby has a musky smell|- Room has faint smell of renovation|- Weird shape & furnishings, not user friendly|- Suite is misleading, just a slightly bigger double room rather than a proper suite|- No towel rack, only one clothes hook in bathroom|- Face main road and construction of Big Arena |- Blackout curtains is too short, light penetrate through the sides early in morning.|- Odd placement and lack of power points, only available in local plug type, no international plug type.|- Bring your own power extension block|- Small basin|- Initially hot water took some time to come on|- Midway of my stay, hotel has no hot water till my room mate fell ill bathing in cold water|- Aircon is extremely cold even when turned off, the cold air continue to flow into the room.|- Can smell cigarette smell along corridor|- Poker face Friendliness |- Toilet seat is not heated unlike other similar rated hotel in Taipei|- The room safe is not secured to the wall, the entire safe can be carried away easily.|||||This review's star rating is for the hotel's location and staff effort, else I'm inclined to a 1 star rating instead.||Clearly this hotel cannot handle high occupancy , the hot water supply was not available for 3 of my 7 nights stay where the hotel is 100% booked.||Hotel management claims that it just broke down, reading the previous guests' reviews, the water heater seems to "break down" not too long ago too.||The front desk did not bother to inform guest of the water heater breakdown upon check-in, I had verify this with a friend who check-in during the disruption period. Personally I found this practice to be very disturbing of the hotel to continue accepting the reservation when clearly it cannot even provide the most basic function.||Night shift duty manager Eric has to boil a huge pot of hot water for the shower in the interim while the hotel "rush to repair" the heater for many days. The hot water supply resume after the weekend when occupancy drops.||Hotel Assistant General Manager - Calvin , was cheeky in trying to brush off the lack hot water as non issue. I had to remind him that the hot water issue was a recurrence documented by previous guests' review.||This hotel's 4 star rating is an overhype by international standards, maintaining a 3 star rating would be challenging to begin with.||It's a pity that this property is in such a low functionality and service level, the property is in need of a major refurbishment to bring back the glamorous past.||Lastly, in processing the refund to my credit card, the finance department actually emailed another guest's charge slip to me instead. I wrote back requesting to make good (with a copy of the email to the Assistant General Manager), the hotel till date has not replied.||

Pros

• Good location
• Convenient
• Plentiful of food around, convenient stores & 1 supermarket
• Water pressure is good
• Carpet looks clean
• Housekeeping aunty is consistent except for last 2 days of my 7 nights stay
• WiFi is strong and stable
• Hotel has own car park facilities

Cons

• Dated and lobby has a musky smell
• Room has faint smell of renovation
• Weird shape & furnishings, not user friendly
• Suite is misleading, just a slightly bigger double room rather than a proper suite
• No towel rack, only one clothes hook in bathroom
• Face main road and construction of Big Arena
• Blackout curtains is too short, light penetrate through the sides early in morning.
• Odd placement and lack of power points, only available in local plug type, no international plug type.
• Bring your own power extension block
• Small basin
• Initially hot water took some time to come on
• Midway of my stay, hotel has no hot water till my room mate fell ill bathing in cold water
• Aircon is extremely cold even when turned off, the cold air continue to flow into the room.
• Can smell cigarette smell along corridor
• Poker face Friendliness
• Toilet seat is not heated unlike other similar rated hotel in Taipei
• The room safe is not secured to the wall, the entire safe can be carried away easily.

This review's star rating is for the hotel's location and staff effort, else I'm inclined to a 1 star rating instead.

Clearly this hotel cannot handle high occupancy , the hot water supply was not available for 3 of my 7 nights stay where the hotel is 100% booked.

Hotel management claims that it just broke down, reading the previous guests' reviews, the water heater seems to "break down" not too long ago too.

The front desk did not bother to inform guest of the water heater breakdown upon check-in, I had verify this with a friend who check-in during the disruption period. Personally I found this practice to be very disturbing of the hotel to continue accepting the reservation when clearly it cannot even provide the most basic function.

Night shift duty manager Eric has to boil a huge pot of hot water for the shower in the interim while the hotel "rush to repair" the heater for many days. The hot water supply resume after the weekend when occupancy drops.

Hotel Assistant General Manager - Calvin , was cheeky in trying to brush off the lack hot water as non issue. I had to remind him that the hot water issue was a recurrence documented by previous guests' review.

This hotel's 4 star rating is an overhype by international standards, maintaining a 3 star rating would be challenging to begin with.

It's a pity that this property is in such a low functionality and service level, the property is in need of a major refurbishment to bring back the glamorous past.

Lastly, in processing the refund to my credit card, the finance department actually emailed another guest's charge slip to me instead. I wrote back requesting to make good (with a copy of the email to the Assistant General Manager), the hotel till date has not replied.

I do not recommend this hotel for women traveling alone or in groups. As a first-time solo traveler to Taiwan, I booked a superior double room. Initially, I was assigned room 1209, which was extremely narrow—around 12 square meters excluding the bathroom. The layout was unsettling, with a large mirror facing the bed, outdated facilities, and an unclean bathtub. Since the room didn’t match the Agoda photos showing a red sofa, I called the front desk and was moved to room 307 on the third floor. I appreciated the staff’s help, as this room was over twice the size. However, it was confusing why the same booking resulted in two completely different room types.

Soon after settling in, I noticed a second door in the room. Having seen similar setups online, I immediately asked the staff about it. He assured me it was locked, but when I checked, it wasn’t. He then locked it himself and claimed the door on the other side was also secured.

By late evening around 11:15 PM, someone started banging violently on that second door. After almost a minute, I began recording and asked what was happening, but the knocking continued. Terrified, I called the front desk. When staff arrived, I showed the recording and explained my fear. Their response was dismissive—no reassurance, just a blunt question: “Do you want to change rooms, or should we lock the neighboring door?”

I asked whether the person next door was male or female, thinking I might understand if it was another frightened woman. The staff contacted the front desk but was told guest privacy prevented disclosing that information. I then asked if the neighbor had been informed that someone was staying here and told not to knock again. The staff replied vaguely, “We will inform the guest.” That empty promise shattered my trust, so I requested another room change.

Within minutes, another staff member showed me two more rooms—one cramped, the other the same 1209 I started with. Back at the front desk, before I could fully explain, I was told I had been “upgraded.”

The whole experience was baffling and distressing. Within just six hours, I changed rooms twice, faced harassment, and lost confidence in the hotel’s ability to ensure guest safety. This stay hasn’t changed my positive view of Taiwan—I still highly recommend visiting—but I strongly advise against choosing this hotel unless you have no other option.

Lastly, please always prioritize your safety while traveling, especially as a woman. Speak up if something feels wrong, and trust your instincts.