Éclat Hotel Taipei — Restaurant in Da'an District

SUMMARY: I insisted on staying at Hilton for our Taipei vacation since I use Hilton for my business travels and I have Diamond status, but that was a mistake. I chose to splurge on a 5 star hotel for a premium experience and this was not a premium experience or even a good experience. We had better experiences throughout Taiwan in local 2-star and 3-star hotels for less than half the nightly rate. ||This is the review I sent to Hilton on 20 November 2024. We stayed for five nights. I received no response: |Lots of issues with facilities.|1. Day of check in - shower was not hot, I had to call for maintenance to fix it.|2. Day of check in - shower gel bottle was broken and locked onto wall so it was difficult to get any soap out, called housekeeping to fix it. |3. Day of check in - maintenance fixed the shower and housekeeping fixed the shower gel by walking into the bathroom and wet shower with shoes on, then tracking wet shoe prints from the shower outside the door - staff did not clean or dry the floors after, we used a hotel towel to dry the floors ourselves since we were in a hurry to be on time for our dinner plans. |4. First night - constant loud dripping sound from outside that made it difficult to sleep, possibly an issue with the gutters as we were on the top (10th) floor? In the morning when we informed guest services, they moved our room to the 9th floor.|5. New room - one bedside lamp was overly sensitive to touch. For example, setting the phone down on the nightstand or unplugging the phone from the charger activated the bedside lamp. The lamp would turn on/off after contact with nightstand surface, not just touching the lamp directly, which was annoying. Also activated during the night if brushed by my hand/arm which would wake us up.|6. New room - mirror light switch was broken and unable to turn it off at bedtime. Had to call maintenance at night to turn it off so we could go to bed. It worked fine the rest of the stay. |7. New room - shower would flood the floor with large puddles after use, didn't want to bother moving rooms or dealing with wet/dirty floors so we just used our own towels to mop it up. This was not an issue in the first room with the lukewarm water.|8. New room - hot water handle for the bathroom sink would leak when in use. The water from the handle dripped out of the handle onto the mirror.|9. New room - bathroom mirror had visible rust/oxidation on the bottom right corner. This was ugly to look at but did not affect mirror function.|10. New room - our new room had two extra remotes (sheer curtain remote and smart TV remote) compared to the first room. Was the first room missing remotes or were there different amenities in each room? The rooms appeared to be the same otherwise. |11. New room - room fridge had a clear glass door and the fridge was lit up all night. We couldn't figure out how to turn it off but realized only after we were in bed. One night we covered the light using a robe. Housekeeping removed the robe during the day and did not replace the robe so we only had one robe for the remainder of our stay (only one of us used the robe anyway). When we informed guest services of the fridge light issue in the morning, there was no change that night and the light stayed on all night. We used the wet towels (from drying the floors after our showers) to block most of the light so we could sleep for the remaining nights. I took a photo of how bright the light was when all the other lights were turned off. |12. Housekeeping services made the bed nicely every day, but were inconsistent with our pajamas. One day the staff folded up our pajamas neatly for us, one day they made the bed with the pajamas underneath the covers so we had to search for them, one day they plopped them on top of the made bed in a heap. I expect my pajamas to be left in a heap at a 2 or 3 star hotel, not at a 5 star hotel.|13. New room mattress was much less comfortable than the mattress in the first room. Did not want to bother moving rooms but shouldn't they be the same? |14. New room - WiFi signal was too weak to use streaming service on TV, needed to use different WiFi to connect streaming services. |15. Hotel breakfast was underwhelming, especially in a country known for delicious breakfast. It was included with my Diamond status so we just sucked it up. The latte and fruits were good. The hot breakfast items were not tasty but edible.||I did not inform staff of every concern because I was tired of managing facilities issues during our vacation. Also moving rooms is a big pain since we have to pack everything up. No room upgrade was offered and I assume it was because they weren't available. ||Two star rating as the hotel was nice to look at, location was as described, and every staff member I spoke with personally was...

We recently had a stay at Hotel Éclat Taipei, and unfortunately, our experience was far from satisfactory. Below is a detailed account of the various issues we encountered:

Parking and Direction Issues: The lack of clear directions from the receptionist upon our arrival created a hazardous situation, with instructions to reverse into heavy traffic on the main street to access the garage. When inquiring about retrieving the car, the check-in lady's response was dismissive, stating, "Of course, you should drive it yourself; nobody here can help the guest with this." Condescending Attitude Toward Guests: The check-in lady displayed a condescending attitude, making inappropriate remarks about our status as Asian guests. She mentioned that Western guests always have chauffeurs and that we were lucky to find a parking spot. When questioned about the availability of parking, she insisted that if the 10 spots were occupied, we had to find paid parking on our own, stating condescendingly, "Just so you know, in our Taipei, everybody pays for parking." Unpleasant Room Conditions (Room 708): The initially assigned room (708) had a pungent moldy smell, accompanied by a loud dehumidifier, causing discomfort and sneezing. Injury Due to Room Defect: After switching to room 808, my wife sustained an injury scratching her hand on the thorn of the very old door of room 708. Neglected Room Maintenance (Room 808): Room 808 exhibited numerous issues, including peeling wallpaper, rust in the restroom, a curtain with cigarette burns, and a faucet almost falling out. The Dyson hair dryer box had white mold stains, and the handle was sticky. Hotel staff claimed these were unavoidable due to the hotel's age. Fake Branding of Amenities: Shampoo, lotion, and conditioner were falsely labeled as Penhaligon's brand. Stationery items claimed to be Montblanc, and the wall speaker labeled as B&O were all counterfeit. Misleading Information About Minibar: The check-in lady proudly informed us that the minibar was entirely free, but it only contained a few sugary sodas and water. A sign indicated a charge for refilling the Nespresso pods. Pathetic Breakfast Quality: The breakfast offered was of low quality, with stale pastries and dishes that led to gastroenteritis-like symptoms after consumption. We refrained from trying it again for the remainder of our stay. Discrepancy in Booking Rates: Despite booking through Hyatt at a rate of 8000-8700 NTD per night, we discovered significantly lower rates on other websites, ranging from 5000-6000 NTD per night. Misinformation About Hyatt Collaboration: The hotel receptionist admitted a misconception about the hotel's affiliation with Hyatt, stating they collaborate with Small Luxury Hotels and do not offer benefits associated with Hyatt status. The exact words were, "Many people have mistaken that we belong to Hyatt; we actually collaborate with [Small Luxury Hotel], which is just a partnership with Hyatt. Hence, unfortunately, you won't get any benefit from your Hyatt status."

Our overall experience was marred by these issues, and we feel it is essential to share our disappointment with fellow travelers. We hope that the hotel management takes these concerns seriously and works towards improving the quality of service and facilities...

I love the size of this small property as it’s cozy intimate and the rooms are extremely comfortable. Even though my room faced the main road, I was not disturbed by the constant sounds coming from it.||Location-wise, it is not very near to any subway stations but because I understand the local language and Google maps work amazingly in this city, you can get around with buses easily through the bus stops just in front of this hotel. The buses will get you to many places, including Taipei 101 or few stops away to grab the subway. ||My room was entry level, and it does not come with a bathtub, but rather the shower stall had a lot of space with very good water pressure. The trees were in individual small packaging from a very luxurious British perfumery house, and the hairdryer was Dyson branded. There was also a bidet. The bedding was very comfortable with a plus mattress and comfortable pillows. The TV was a bit tricky with different remote controls but after you figure it out it’s quite easy, however, I was never able to connect anything to the Boss speakers. The working desk was actually very spacious for you to get some work done, but the chair was a Philip Starck plastic one which doesn’t necessarily make it comfortable for prolonged working. ||The hotel also provides complementary minibar items, excluding alcohol, and TWG tea and Nespresso were also provided - with many bottles water.||Housekeeping did an amazing job every day, and they keep stuff well stocked up.||I always find Taipei to be quite badly laid out as it’s very scattered. There are some good food places near this hotel including the famous chicken soup place just next block and others in the alleyway behind the hotel, but this is not a pedestrian-friendly city and the drivers here are rather arrogant in giving way to pedestrians, so just be alert or use Uber to get around. ||I really like this hotel a lot and would definitely consider coming back to stay at this property for...