Came morning we were refreshed and ready to explore. At first we had a look at the public spaces of the Sherwood Hotel, see also the review for that. The Henry Moore sculpture at the entrance is inspiring. There are a few restaurants, cafes (Starbucks and Ruth's Chris to name just a few) and loads of banks in the area. Taipei is very dense, much denser than I imagined it. On the other side it's also very lush and busy. Taipei is a twenty four hour city.
The area is good and not boring at all, if you like architecture and garden design. One of the many banks had a Zen like garden and in one of the side streets we found a little gem of an Art Deco building with beautiful stained glass windows. Some of the gates have also intricate designs.
Just across the street of the Sherwood is a bank with two ATMs, accepting all major credit cards. Payment by credit cards at shops, restaurants and hotels is widely accepted, though.
Then we took a taxi from our hotel to the Regent. It was owned and managed by Four Seasons for a time, but is now back with the original founders and owners Robert H. Burns (Alila), Georg Rafael (Rafael Hotels, but sold to Mandarin Oriental) and Adrian Zecha (Aman). The hotel has won numerous accolades and was voted by Conde Nast Traveller Choice awards into the top 20 Hotels in Asia and number one in Taiwan.
We didn't enter the hotel immediately, instead we had a look around at the area. There were two beautiful parks, Kangle and Lin Sen. We saw different plants, flowers and trees. Some had little plaques in Chinese, but also the Latin names were available. Kangle was very quiet and we didn't see many people. Lin Sen was livelier with kids, adults and little dogs. The majority of Taiwanese dog owners have small ones, but we have also seen a few bigger dogs. In the center of the park is a visitor centre, used mostly by school classes to learn about the flora of the park. There are also vending machines for your favorite milk teas (a Taiwanese specialty) or other soft drinks.
Opposite the hotel and the parks is a shopping mall with a supermarket and cinema. It had American, European, Australian and Asian products stocked. A McDonalds is around the corner and the Museum of Modern Art (MOCA) is within walking distance.
The Regent is surrounded with luxury shops, like Coach or Louis Vuitton. A Dunhill boutique is opening later this year. The hotel is massive and takes a whole street block. It has its own shopping arcade with more luxury brands, a spa, and seven restaurants, serving Asian and Western cuisine. When we entered, the hotel didn't seem to have large public spaces, but it changed, as soon as we passed the reception area. There is an atrium, where we saw the first floor of the shopping arcade and azie, a restaurant, downstairs. On our level was a whole floor dedicated to dining. Slightly hungry we went to the Gallery. There was a buffet set up, but we didn't use it. Instead we had The Regent coffee blend, juices and luxurious, satisfying desserts. We had a stroll through the shopping arcade and went with taxi back to the Sherwood.
We were looking forward to return to Taipei for a second time and see more of this beautiful city. Watch out for the next part. Where do you think our travel took us?
©2011
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