Hotel Review : Park City Hotel, Luzhou Taipei 成旅晶贊飯店

Before anything else, I'd like to wish all of you HAPPY 2020!!!

My New Year's resolutions include -- BETTER HEALTH (losing the weight and keeping it off forever, good blood tests and avoiding the flu and other illnesses this year), GOING BACK TO MY PASSION (keeping this blog alive and kicking, writing more often), SPENDING MORE TIME WITH FAMILY (time is flying so fast that I don't want to miss out on any moment with my twins, Paul, my parents/his parents and our siblings). It's all about keeping things simple and going back to the basic. I got to admit that with everyday's busy schedule, we have the tendency to complicate things, to lose sight on the main reason why we're doing it in the first place. I want to pull myself a step back and to see the bigger picture, to take more deep breathes and to just take each day at a time. My kids are at this stage where they're becoming their own individual selves. They're funnier, more talkative, more playful and definitely more expressive. I want to be there for them as much as I can. How about you? What's in your New Year's wish list?

Anyway, here's a major throwback. Two years ago, we took the twins on their first-ever trip abroad. It was right after their 1st birthday party that the entire family flew to Taipei, Taiwan. Boy, was I so excited and at the same time so nervous as we all went without our dependable yayas. For the first time, I just let my sister took care of crafting our trip itinerary with the help of our friend Winner who's an expert tour guide in Taipei. My last Taiwan trip was in 2011 with Paul and my sister and seeing the Instagram photos and Facebook posts of our friends, it seems like a lot has changed since then. In any case, if you wanna see our trip itinerary during that 2011 trip, please click here.

The first step was to book a hotel. Thankfully, my brother-in-law E recommended Park City Hotel in Luzhou, Taipei. It's not located right at the central but given Taipei's very modern train system, you can get to the shopping and eating districts in record time. This was the first time for Paul and I to travel as parents and it really changes your perspective and priorities when making decisions like where to eat, where to stay and so on. We have our twins and my niece A with us so my BIL E made sure that the hotel was truly family-friendly. Indeed, the hotel did not disappoint and it has totally exceeded all our expectations.

Let me tell you why:



Before you enter the building, you'll see a 7-11 at the corner which makes it so convenient for any sudden cravings. It's here where I hoarded on those famous Taiwan milk teas that my good friend and kumare D would bring back to Singapore for me. Also, got a couple of chips and snacks as well. I'll tell you more about my 7-11 haul tomorrow.

The lobby is located at the 6th floor and we love how spacious it was. The interior was beautiful and it has an outdoor garden where the kids can run around. Sadly though it was raining pretty much on most parts of the trip so our little tots had to stay indoors all the time. Checking in was a breeze and the service was top notch.

For our room, we all got the Standard Double which is about Php. 2,700 on Agoda and is inclusive of breakfast for 2. This is a very good deal given that the room is big and good for a family of 4 (2 adults + 2 kids) plus they gave us a baby cot for free so we had J in the cot and L in bed with me. That way all of us got to sleep comfortably. The twins weren't walking that well yet during the trip but we didn't had to worry about any accidents as they crawled all around the room.

Another thing that I love was how they prepared snacks for us as welcome gifts. If you remembered our hotel stay at Caesar Park Hotel back in 2011, they gave us packs of Pineapple Cakes as welcome presents too. It's truly the little things that count.

I also like a well-stocked mini bar whenever I stay in hotels. It doesn't have to be fancy (but I do extra appreciate a Nespresso machine haha) but the coffee and tea sachets are all good and in top quality.

The bathroom also had a shower area and a bath tub so the kids enjoyed bathing in the tub. There's a glass window where you can see the room but they have also installed blinds for you to pull down for your privacy. However, in my case, I had to keep it open else the twins will cry looking for Mama  *sigh* 

I also love that the toilet seat has a bidet installed making it so convenient and hygienic. In fact, most of the hotels in Taipei, I was told, uses this same Japanese-style toilet. Wish all other countries would follow suit.

The hotel caters to businessmen so there's no swimming pool available but they have a well-equipped gym for all guests to use. In addition to that, the hotel is connected to a small shopping mall with Uniqlo, Muji and a food court at the basement. I love how convenient it really was!

For breakfast, the restaurant has an impressive buffet spread with cheeses, cold cuts, cereals, several types of bread, a good selection of local dishes like my favorite Minced Meat Rice and fruits. We stayed in Taipei for 4 days so while Paul and I had to stay in from Day 2-4, we still managed to look forward to breakfast as even the twins enjoyed the congee and pancakes there. The restaurant is also big enough allowing us to have a table quickly without waiting too long.

You can really tell how much I loved and enjoyed our hotel. I got to admit that apart for getting so worried about my twins having high fever, I couldn't help but feel disappointed that our trip got wasted as we're unable to see the sights and to join the rest of the family in the tour. However, staying in a nice hotel that has a nice restaurant, is very accessible to shops and has nice rooms truly made up for it.

By the way, I haven't mentioned that Park City Hotel is located on top of the St Ignatius MRT station so you can travel all over Taipei with ease.

In the coming days, I'll share with you the few food spots that I managed to check out during our short trip. Meanwhile, here are the must-see places when you visit Taipei: At a Glance : Taipei, Taiwan.

Park City Hotel (成旅晶贊飯店) is located at No. 8 Zhongshan 1st road, Luzhou District, Taipei, Taiwan.