First Trip to Taipei
May 27th, 2009 | PersonalI never understood why so many of my friends love visiting Taiwan until I spent 2 days there this week. It was largely a business trip so I didn’t have time to do much. I spent most of the time recovering from an exhausting weekend that saw me speaking 3 times in 2 days–including a full day workshop!!!
I was arranged to stay at Les Suites Taipei…and I recognized the Japanese influence right away. There is so much attention to details. Apart from free WIFI, I just wanna highlight some amazing services I received:
1. Each room came with a free cellular phone! All unanswered calls to my room are diverted to the cell phone so I won’t miss a single call. It comes with free local calls and thus it saves travelers plenty of roaming charges. WOW!
2. The other thing I enjoyed was the steam presser which made sure I walked into yesterday’s meeting with my suit in immaculate condition.
3. Personal attention & service. As I was about the walked out to a light drizzle, the front desk staff passed me an umbrella.
4. When I informed the hotel that I would be checking out at 5:30am, they asked if they could pack breakfast for me since the breakfast line wasn’t open till 7am. UNBELIEVABLE!
5. Great designs and use of space. While I’ve stayed in larger and more luxurious rooms, I’ve not stayed in a room that have better use of space & intelligent design. Then there is a set of iPod speakers. As if everything that I ever wanted/needed were presented to me before I asked for it! Amazing!
Excellent service didn’t happen accidentally. It was well planned and executed with genuine care. Wow, I’ve learned so much from a brief stay at the Les Suites Taipei.
The meeting was fruitful. I am excited about the new things that is being planned out. I’ll share more when they are finalized. It is good to venture out of my comfort zone. Hopefully I will come back to Taipei again…this time for a longer visit 
The famous Raohe Street Night Market
Free cellular phone usage for hotel guests. It’s free to receive and call local fixed lines. Overseas and out of town calls are billed. This is a great convenience for business travelers.
The desk
Speakers set for iPods
A cylinder-shaped cabinet (on left) turns out the be a space saving cabinet for glasses, hot water, coffee and tea.
Facial treatment at Raohe Street Night Market
Love the ironing board and steam presser, strategically placed in a wall cabinet.
A cultural revelation to me…an example of Japanese influence in Taiwan.
May 27th, 2009 at 8:51 pm
yes, indeed taipei is a very nice place! i miss every detail of the great city.
May 27th, 2009 at 10:12 pm
Wow! Really IMPRESSIVE! I wish I have the chance to be their guest too. Malaysia should learn and improve.
May 27th, 2009 at 10:35 pm
Wow….indeed all-in-one hotel! I will pay to this hotel a visit soon. How’s the rate per night there?
May 28th, 2009 at 1:19 am
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/david_griffin_on_how_photography_connects.html
David Griffin on how photography connects us.
May 28th, 2009 at 10:52 am
Wonder if we could get that cool device here in Malaysia. Did you have a good time using it? Please don’t tell me it comes with a build in heater. LOL
May 28th, 2009 at 4:11 pm
The rooms gives me an idea how to renovate my condo.. great! Maximise some space usage.
May 28th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
Now that’s what they call service
The thing that surprises me most is the breakfast thing, I never thought of a hotel to pack breakfast if we were to check out before breakfast serving time :amazing:
May 29th, 2009 at 12:56 am
Great trip louis pang. Love the ironboard shot.
Well 1st time saw you at the Penang bripax event, you was pointing at me “YA that guy there example flash directly 90degree” make shock of me because i was turning other direction.HAHA!!
Well great website you have, interesting. Hope to see you soon.
May 31st, 2009 at 8:00 am
Dang, your hotel room had more gadgets then my aging one in New York. How was the food in Taipei? Awesome i bet
June 11th, 2009 at 4:09 pm
Taiwanese hospitality is 1 of the best, if not the best, to my knowledge & experience. Yes, and most of the higher-end hotels in Taiwan does pack your breakfast, should u check out < 7am. Also, there are more hotels in Taiwan nowadays which provides cellular phones for their guests. On your next trip to Taiwan, do check out this hotel. (http://taichung.hotelone.com.tw) Trust me, you’ll LOVE it there.
Did you managed to walk around the hotel’s surrounding?
Man, I do miss Taipei to a certain extend… been a while….
oh btw, how was ur food adventure over there?