This was a rare non-chain hotel choice for the city but it suited my needs this time and it had pre-paid rates which I could book via Citi Prestige for 4NF so here we go!

Address – 8 Section 7 Civic Boulevard Taipei 11562 Taiwan. Website.

Contact – Tel: +886 2 2653 2828 (Hotel) / +886 2 2525 2828 (Reservations). Email: reservations@ambahotels.com.

Location – directly connected to Songshan Metro Station on the green line as well as Songshan TRA, the property is located in the Eastern Taipei area and offered sheltered access to a smattering of food and shops rain or shine in the form of Citylink Mall right opposite. The hotel is also walking distance from the popular Raohe Night Market on the other end of the station.

Price – TWD6,182++ per night for a Corner 101 View Room booked under their Stay Longer Advance Purchase Rate with Breakfast – this was done via Citi Prestige’s concierge for the 4th night free which helped to offset the total price. It was not the cheapest option but booking it 3 weeks prior meant paying a premium so oh wells.

Pre-arrival – I communicated with them via email for some simple stay requests and they were promptly attended to but otherwise nothing extraordinary worth mentioning.

Getting There – we opted for an airport pick up from Klook for SGD39 but also realized thereafter that taking the Airport Express to Taipei Main Station and changing the TRA to Songshan TRA would have gotten us there in similar times. It is also useful to note that there is no official driveway to drop off but rather, a main curbside area for vehicle to drop off / pick up.

Check In – the check in happens on level 17 where a bright colorful (but crowded space awaits – containing plenty of seating which I found thoughtful. Check in was okay, with procedures completed under 15 minutes and off we went to our room. We were also reminded that there is no one-time use items provided and if we wanted slippers as they are no longer placed in the room by default.

I find it cute that the lobby also offers this shelf of local products which you can buy for fun or keepsake.

Room – we were upgraded to a Corner Extra Large 101 View Room (41SqM) which was nice and the extra space definitely appreciated! Room 2049 was ours, and its a little hard to explain how the space is in words but it essentially opens up to a wide walkway with a mini bar countertop area which contains some tea bags and a Nespresso machine. Drinking water is offered in bottled form and can be replenished as requested.

To the side of this is the open concept wardrobe co-mingled with the bathroom area where a single sink is offered with very spacious countertop spaces. Under the sink area lies the towels / hairdryer etc but also the safe and the mini fridge which was unusual but perhaps neater layout.

The toilet and shower were separate spaces, and further in a nook behind is the bathtub which became my laundry area. Toiletries were a local brand Gin Ger which were quite nice!

The bedroom space was cosy with a firm cushy kind bed, a table + 2 chairs (one of them rocking it hur hur), a loungey day bed as well as a swivel TV. Apart from the sense of space, I was super impressed that the entire area came with plenty of countertop spaces to properly lay out stuff – yay to being organized!

I realized I don’t have any pics of all the blinds being up the double panel does offer plenty of options / view, with the “101 view” being theoretically correct – they just didn’t specify how much of a view it is! Spot the tips of the building in the last pic heh.

The amba slippers provided at check in were in different sizes and colors and were super useful when we were too lazy to put on proper shoes for breakfast.

Breakfast – this was served at the only restaurant on site, Que, from 6:30am-10:00am. Nothing extravagant about the space as it seems more cafe than restaurant to me, especially the hard chairs, but at least the tables were spread out enough to not feel crowded in.

Food wise, it sees a modest buffet of selection with a heavy local focus eg local dumplings and carby stuff. However, we went 30mins prior to closing on the first morning and most food trays were empty without being refilled. Service was also haphazard as live stations often had missing staff and those whom we asked seemed reluctant to do even just eggs even though the stations were there. I wonder if the issue was understaffing or bad planning?

Facilities – the property offers an on-site free laundry, microwave, and ice machine on level 18 which we didn’t use but some may find it useful I suppose.

On the same level is the Fitness Centre – but its more like a wall-less rectangular space fitted out just because it has to offer something. A little depressing but if its just basic cardio and weights, it’ll do.

Apparently, the hotel also provides free shuttle service for guests but the info was not provided at check in and we happened to see the signage at the lift lobby once day. I thought this was a lost opportunity to showcase their initiative – a printout at check in for every guest wouldn’t hurt.

Lastly, level 3 of the property is where the ‘Skybridge’ is – this sheltered walkway connects to the Citylink Mall in Songshan Station and the metro / TRA which is convenient for getting around.

Service – not unexpected from a non-international chain to not have great service so I would say it was an okay experience in general. There were some question mark moments which made small blips:

1. I asked for an extra key card as one card out of the two given at check in was needed to be placed in the room slot to activate electricity in the room, so I thought it was reasonable for us to get one more since there were 2 of us now left with only one card. But the front desk was reluctant to issue and made sure we were aware of the fact that we needed to return all 3 cards at check out as there will be a charge for any missing cards.
2. I asked for a straw at one breakfast but was told the restaurant didn’t have any even though I was given them on earlier occasions. So I simply approached another staff for it and was given one.

Check Out – painlessly done at 10am on a Sunday.

In Summary,

I had a decent stay but I probably wouldn’t stay here again as the DoubleTree at Zongshan offers the comfort of an international chain at similar price point. Not discouraging anyone who needs the location though.