The hotel is at a central point of the city, clean and more or less okay. If you look for a silent hotel you better stay somewhere else. Many, many package tourists are dropped by their agencies here and they behave okay, but you can see they are normally in cheaper hotels.
Recommendation: ask for quiet rooms! At the breakfast, defend your table, tourist can be hard to business travellers...
I stayed at the Grand Hi-Lai Hotel for a night in early November. There is a free shuttle that travels between the Central Park MTR station and the department store at the hotel. Our room was on the 36th floor, facing the city. The decor was a bit dark and the room was smaller than the one at the 85 Sky Tower Hotel. It was comfortable though. The bathroom looked a little bit dated but clean. My room included breakfast and free drinks either at the coffee shop or at the poolside lounge (we didn't use the drink vouchers). There is a department store right at the hotel. Breakfast was good - lots of vegetarian options. There was a wireless router in our room but no free Wi-fi.
The hotel was overall very nice, though the style is more reminiscent of the "Chinese Baroque" of the 1980s/90s. The rooms are large and the bed is ok, only the bathroom could be renovated. Also do not switch off the AC, it seems to be connected to the bathroom's exhaust and soon a horrible stench will develope.
Breakfast buffet is very large - though I never understand in Taiwan why even good hotels are unable to provide real orange juice instead of some orange colored sugary drink.
When I checked in my room was not ready and despite promises it took quite long - I do not know how long because I had to leave for a meeting after staying for an hour in the coffee shop.
Service was otherwise quite good. The hotel is very much in the city center and convenient for almost everything. I can recommend this hotel.
I stayed in this hotel for 5 days with husband and my son, the view of the harbour was fantastic. However the rooms are not up to 5 star hotel standard, their toilet are very old and in need of upgrading. The size of the room is adequate.
There is a shopping mall right at the hotel.
I stayed several times over the last 10 years, sometimes on my own for business, sometimes R&R with my family.
The standard size rooms are roomy enough to fit in the extra bed for an adult. Good WIFI and extensive cable TV channels.
Absolutely adore the attached big shopping departmental store complete with food court, bookshop and Jason's supermarket at the basement.
On the same floor as the lobby is a delightful confectionary/bakery.
I can't rave enough on the reliable wine selections in Jason's and the bakery, it is so handy to pick up a few items to bring as gifts when invited to meet the families of my friends and associates in the city. People in Kaohsiung are a lot more friendly and hospitable than their northern brethens.
A huge plus point is the roof top dining area which serves a great value and quality buffet for breakfast and dinner offers a fantastic view of the city lights.
The swimming pool is a hit, big, clean and safe like those in good 5* establishments.
Just outside the hotel is a street with many tiny shops, cafes and bars; interesting to explore for a different sort of retail therapy.
This is a good business hotel on the 2nd floor of a shopping mall. It does gets a little confusing to navigate at first coming in from the mall side (hotel/shopping mall elevator is different) but is very convenient to get food/shop for clothes and other necessities all under one roof.
The high level hotel rooms either have views of the harbor/city. A good choice if you opt for convenience of location. Cabs are easily available in front of the hotel too.
