We stayed here for 2 nights and enjoyed the surreal Grand Hotel stay. The building is vast, and the lobby and communal areas look like a Chinese palace, it's a rare opportunity to stay in a place like this. We knew the rooms would not be modern, but that was part of the charm, it was like stepping back in time. The room was huge, and was clean and comfortable enough for our stay, but wasn't luxurious. Its a 5 minute taxi ride to Shilin night market, and not far from the centre when using the MRT. It's worth booking the limousine from the hotel in advance to pick you up from the airport, costs 15000 dollars for hotel car, 12000 for taxi so it's worth the extra to have the convenience of having the car ready and waiting. I would recommend this hotel if you want to stay in an iconic building and experience the culture and charm of this wonderful building.

I've stayed at this hotel twice now and while the view is really fantastic, and the common rooms of the hotel are also very beautiful, many of the rooms are very dated. The hotel is really stunning when you arrive and enter the lobby. I recommend sitting and just staring at the ceiling for a while. It is really amazing. When you check in, you get a very cool old-style heavy metal key to open your room, which I think is just a neat feature. The problem is that the rooms are a little old fashioned. The carpet looks kind of old and dirty and the bathrooms are VERY dated. One of my friends had a room with an updated bathroom, so I think they might be slowly updating them. The beds are pretty hard and a little uncomfortable. I think the best part of the rooms is the balcony. Rooms facing the front of the hotel have a balcony that overlooks Taipei, and it is one of the best views around. We stayed last year and I remember the breakfast being quite good, but when we stayed this year, it was significantly less appealing. There were fewer options and much of what they did have looked like it had been prepared days before. I usually really enjoy Asian hotel breakfasts, but this one unfortunately was not good. The last thing I'll mention is the location is a little inconvenient. It is pretty far from the city center. I would recommend staying there for 1-2 nights and then switching to a more modern hotel in the city center. It is a cool hotel and is worth trying once, especially if you've never been to Taipei before.