Luxury Hotel Review: Mandarin Oriental Taipei

Background & Booking

I was visiting Taipei to see family, and we had four nights in the city. The last time I was in Taipei was in December 2018, when I spent New Year’s at the Grand Hyatt Taipei and had a great stay. But, I wanted to try something new this time, and the Mandarin Oriental Taipei has always been on my bucket list as it is arguably the most prestigious hotel in Taipei currently.

Takeoff Points

Date of Stay: March 2024
Room Type: Deluxe Room King
Pros: Great service, breakfast, luxurious rooms, and a beautiful pool. A truly 5-star experience.
Cons: The standard pillow was too soft for my liking.

Fora Travel Benefits

I work with a travel agency, Fora Travel, and can assist in booking hotel stays. Fora is a Mandarin Oriental Fan Club and Virtuoso Travel Agency. Fora’s partnership gives you special perks when booking with me. The Mandarin Oriental Taipei features:

• Upgrade on arrival, subject to availability
• Daily Breakfast for up to two guests per bedroom
• $100 USD equivalent Food & Beverage or Spa credit utilized during stay
• Early Check-In / Late Check-Out, subject to availability

Additionally, at the time of posting, there is a 4th night free offer. For my stay, I utilized this promotion and I got a great average rate of under $350 a night with taxes and fees included.

If you are interested in getting these perks and want to stay at the Mandarin Oriental Taipei, feel free to email me at takeofftotravel@fora.travel and I would be happy to help you plan your trip.

Hotel and Location

The Mandarin Oriental Taipei opened in May of 2014 and features 303 guest rooms. There are also Mandarin Oriental Residences across the street. The exterior of the property is unique and stunning, influenced by a blend of classic European and Asian styles.

The hotel is located on Dunhua North Road, in a prime location inside the city’s business district. It’s a bit quiet in the immediate area, but still easy to walk to shops and restaurants. It’s near the domestic Songshan Airport and within a 5-10 minute walk to both the Taipei Area and Nanjing Fuxing MRT (Subway) Stations. Taxis/Uber’s are quite affordable in Taipei, and the 15-minute drive to the Xinyi shopping district and Taipei 101 is about $7 USD. The hotel is also about a 40-minute drive from Taoyuan International Airport depending on traffic.

Arrival & Check-In

We arrived at the hotel at around 5 PM and were quickly checked in by a friendly associate. The entrance is absolutely stunning, and the chandelier is quite beautiful. The reception is to the left once you enter via the main entrance from the porte cochere.

A refreshing towel and a sample of tea were provided.

They were fully booked, which I also noticed checking online before we arrived, so no upgrade was available. We were assigned to our Deluxe Room located on the 15th floor, which was pretty high. Guest room floors are from 7-17.

Deluxe Room- King Bed

Upon heading to our room, I found the hallway to be quite peaceful and relaxing. Our Deluxe Room features 592 square feet of space, and can either have a King Bed or Two Twin Beds. Overall, I loved the room and found it to be spacious and luxurious.

Entering the room, we had a small foyer, and then once you turned left, there was a valet closet which was nice for deliveries and if you were to do laundry.

Then, there was a half bath with a sink and a bidet-style toilet, which was quite fancy as it was the Toto Neorest NX.

I liked the bidet-style toilet as it was modern and had many functionalities. It even opened the lid when you walked in front of it. The nicest toilet I’ve ever used!

Then, continuing through the room, you’ll pass by a walk-in closet to the left.

The walk-in closet had space to hang clothes on both sides and a large bench that could serve as a luggage rack. Shoe brushes, robes, and slippers were provided. Also, there was a safe and an iron and ironing board.

Bathroom

Across from the walk-in closet is more of the bathroom with a large sink area, a shower, and a tub. I liked the functionality of having the tub and shower completely separate from the toilet area. It makes it much easier to share a room with others.

There was a scale in the bathroom, and cotton balls and swabs were individually wrapped. Also, they have individually wrapped shaving kits, loofahs, combs, nail filers dental kits, bath salts, and sewing kits. Toiletries are provided by Diptyque, and I liked the scent.

The shower was quite large, with a spacious bench.

It was super comfortable, and the water pressure was great. Depending on your preference, you could use the rainfall, traditional showerhead, or the wand.

The Room

After passing the closet and bathroom, it opens up to the room. The Deluxe Room is quite tastefully decorated and felt very luxurious. To the left is a large desk and chair.

Across the desk, is the bed area. Our room had a king-sized bed, and they had a rollaway bed in between the bed and window for the 3rd guest.

The bedding was comfortable and the linens were nice and crisp. However, the standard pillow is quite soft, and so I had to stack a few pillows to be comfortable. There is also a pillow menu you can order from, which I probably should have tried out.

Towards the window, is a nice chaise lounge, and we had nice views of the courtyard and pool below, as well as the city. I was impressed that they provided a fruit bowl each day with housekeeping service.

There was also a hot water machine and a Nespresso machine. Mandarin Oriental Tea bags were provided, as well as Nespresso pods.

Glass bottles of water were waiting in the room and replenished during housekeeping and turndown service. There was also a mini-bar with items for purchase.

Service

I was very impressed with the turndown service, and they gave different cute gifts each night. Each night, a bookmark was placed on the side of the bed. And on the second night, there was a cute notebook, the third night had lavender balm, and the last night had a lantern. So cute!

Housekeeping would also tie loose charging wires with Mandarin Oriental Taipei cord ties, which are super helpful!

Additionally, the hotel helped notify us of any packages we received during our stay. We also left a pair of glasses behind, and the housekeeping manager held on to them and shipped them to a nearby relative for us, which was much appreciated.

Spa, Fitness Center & Pool

The Spa at the Mandarin Oriental Taipei offers 12 treatment rooms and a variety of services ranging from massages to skin care treatments. During my stay, hours for the spa were from 10 am to 8 pm.

The Fitness Center is located inside the Spa and is open 24 hours. I found it to be a good size, and it was empty when I visited in the afternoon.

I visited the pool one afternoon, and it was quite nice and aesthetically pleasing. The hours of the pool are from 7 am to 8 pm, and you enter via the Spa entrance. There are pool staff that help set up your seating area, and also bring out water and a soothing ginger tea.

Other Amenities

Oriental Lounge

Guests who book an Oriental Club room can enjoy access to the Oriental Lounge located on the sixth floor. Benefits of Club access include daily breakfast, afternoon tea, evening cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, all-day refreshments, dedicated check-in and check-out, garment pressing, and use of the meeting room, subject to availability.

Business Center and Meeting Space

There is a small business center for hotel guests that features two workstations/computers, with photocopying and printing access.

The property also has a lot of facilities for events and meetings. One of the spaces, The Grand Ballroom, can seat up to 780 guests for banquet-style dining and features an exclusive driveway entrance.

The Arcade

Connected directly to the Mandarin Oriental Taipei, the Arcade is a small shopping mall featuring some upscale shopping boutiques, an art gallery, and dining options such as Thai and Shabu Shabu.

Dining

The Mandarin Oriental Taipei has a variety of dining options on-site, as well as directly connected to the shopping mall, The Arcade.

For the on-site dining options, there are a total of six. The Mandarin Oriental Taipei also has room service from the hours of 7 am to 2 am.

Jade Lounge

On the first floor to the right of the lobby is the Jade Lounge, where they host afternoon tea and light bites. During my stay, the hours were from 11 am to 7 pm, with light meals served from 11 am to 6 pm, and afternoon tea from 1 pm to 5 pm. On our last day, we used our $100 USD credit on a light lunch here and had a nice elegant meal.

Ya Ge

Located on the 3rd floor, Ya Ge is a renowned Chinese restaurant and has been awarded one Michelin star by the MICHELIN Guide Taipei. It’s open daily for lunch and dinner.

Bencotto

On the 6th floor is Bencotto, which serves contemporary Italian cuisine. It’s open for lunch and dinner daily.

M.O. Bar

If you’d like a drink, the M.O. Bar is located on the 5th floor and opens at 5 pm nightly.

Mandarin Cake Shop

On the ground floor, there is a pastry and cake shop called the Mandarin Cake Shop for a sweet bite. It’s right in front of the courtyard, so you can sit outside as well.

Breakfast at Café Un Deux Trois

Cafe Un Deux Trois currently serves a breakfast buffet and a semi-buffet for lunch daily. During my stay, we had our breakfast here daily, and the hours were from 7 am to 10:30 am. I found the quality and taste of the food offerings to be quite good. At the time of my stay, the price for breakfast if not included with your booking was 1298 TWD per person ($40 USD) including the service charge.

There was a variety of food buffet options, from a pastry section, fruit & salad, hot section, cereals & yogurt, and cured meats. There was also a Noodle Soup Bar with rotating selections daily which was nice and included the famous Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup, and Minced Pork Noodle Soup.

The hot selections were very expansive and featured a variety of dishes including traditional American breakfast staples like sausages, hash browns, pancakes, eggs benedict & bacon, and Asian specialties such as dim sum, stir fry dishes, and congee. Everything was quite tasty, and definitely a great way to start the day. One would never expect to see such a large buffet offering at a hotel in the US!

Also included with breakfast, was that you could order breakfast egg dishes from an a la carte menu which I liked.

Drinks can be ordered from the restaurant staff, and they did have a couple of juices in the buffet area. One wish I did have, was for more juice variety. Additionally, when the restaurant was at capacity, seating felt a bit cramped in the middle and back closest to the buffet, and I wish they spaced out the seating a bit better.

Overall, I loved breakfast at Cafe Un Deux Trois to start my day and was impressed by the variety and quality of the food.

The Verdict

In all, I had a fantastic stay at the Mandarin Oriental Taipei and will be adding the property to the list of my favorites. The luxurious rooms, and solid service made for a relaxing and pleasant city stay. When my travels bring me back to Taipei, I will definitely try to stay at the property again.

Have you stayed at the Mandarin Oriental Taipei? How was your experience? Comment below!

Cheers,

Ty

Have any questions? Comment below or email me at takeofftotravel@gmail.com. I’ve also started working with a travel agency, Fora Travel, and can assist in booking hotel stays or planning trips. You can also view all my other posts here! Thanks for stopping by!