Review: Sheraton Taitung – luxury in the South of Taiwan!

The Sheraton Taitung is the only major brand hotel in this Southern city in Taiwan and one of the most upscale ones! You get a central location, beautiful rooms, a stunning lounge, huge breakfast and a nice pool, wellness and gym as well as bicycles to explore town. While prices are high for Taitung, they a great value for Marriott Rewards elite members who get excellent treatment, including in my case a suite upgrade and generous amenities!

Location: The Sheraton Taitung is located in the heart of the city, near the night market. It’s a 15 minute taxi ride from the train Location: The Sheraton Taitung is located in the heart of the city, near the night market. It’s a 15 minute taxi ride from the train station or the airport. The night market, plenty of stores and restaurants are within walking distance. We borrowed the hotel bicycles each day and it’s a short, flat and enjoyable ride to the seashore and beautiful seaside park. The location is central, convenient and should work for most due to the easy traffic around town.

Service: We were welcomed to the hotel by the attentive bell staff and directed to the front desk. It’s an interesting design, where the staff stands on lower ground and is eye level with you as you sit down. They processed our paperwork quickly, explained the facilities of the hotel and our amenities as Marriott Rewards Platinum members and had us on our way in no time. All front desk staff we interacted with spoke English well, which is not a given in the far South of Taiwan!
Housekeeping cleaned our room quickly when requested and thoroughly each day, replacing all towels and amenities appropriately and leaving the room squeaky clean and in good working order. They even replenished the fruit amenity each day, a nice touch!
Staff at the restaurant was very polished and attentive as well, escorting us to the special SPG guest area and recognizing us from day two onwards! Coffee drinks and juices were served at the table. The buffet was kept stocked, tables were cleared and the restaurant area was kept impeccably clean, despite being busy! The staff at the lounge was just as attentive and professional in the evenings.
The staff at the pool took their job very serious, following me to the pool to assist with loungers and towels, and presumably provide life-guard services. I didn’t swim and his safety record remained unblemished!

Room: We had booked a standard room and were upgraded as Marriott Rewards Platinum members to a gorgeous and large suite, consisting of the bedroom and living area, a walk-in closet, large open-concept bathroom and separate guest bathroom. Dark wood for the furniture and cabinets, contrasted with lots of white marble in the bathroom area. The floors were tile in the entrance, beautiful hardwood in the living room and carpets in the bedroom providing some visual separation. Colorful upholstery and pillows provided accents and large-scale artwork around the suite made for luxurious touches!

After entering no the ride side are a walk in closet area with wardrobes and luggage racks offering plenty of space to store all your clothes and things, well out of sight.

You’ll also find a small make-up table with large mirror and the hair dryer in this area.

At the end of the space is a guest bathroom with sink and toilet, all held in white marble.

On the left side is the open-concept bathroom, with a freestanding deep soaking tub at the center – it looks stunning.

Behind the tub are two separate rooms, one for the shower with a rainfall shower head and regular shower head, and one for a toilet with bidet, electronic controls and heated seat – a luxury I could get used to! The doors have frosted glass for privacy. (sorry for the slightly blurry photo).

You’ll have a double vanity with plenty of counter space and shelves for all your stuff. The towels are thick and the full set of toiletries, including shaving kit and dental kit, is of high quality. The bathroom area can be closed off with large, sliding doors for (partial) privacy. As you can see in the photo, light and looks still get through to the bathtub and sink, but not toilet or shower.

The bedroom and living room are separated by a partial, half-height wall which offers some separation, without making the rooms feel small, a good balance.
The king-size bed is very comfortable, with high-end sheets, pillows and comforter for a great night’s sleep! The night stands have outlets to charge your devices and keep them close at hand. I use my smartphone as alarm clock and am always puzzled by older hotels with no outlets anywhere near the bed.

Our top-floor room had a great view over the city and ocean, a nice perk to wake up to!

There is a desk with task chair in front of the room divider with phone and more outlets, so you can get some work done. Mounted in the divider is a large screen TV to watch from the bed.

On the other side of the divider is the sunken living room, with a large, comfortable couch and couch table. The hardwood floors, textil covered wall, large artwork and dark-wood shelves against the marble wall make it feel quite elegant and a bit like a library. This was one of the few suite living rooms I’ve had that I actually enjoyed hanging out in! There is another large TV mounted on this side of the divider.

Next to it is the bar area, with mini-bar, coffee/tea facilities and Nespresso machine (yes!). Coffee and water were replenished each day.

We also received a generous welcome amenity of fruit, cookies and a sparkling wine. The fruits and cookies were replenished each day, a nice touch I have not seen in other hotels.

The free WiFi internet was reliable and blazing fast at an average of 46.9Mbps and never under 37Mbps, making it great for streaming video or video calls. Uploads were equally fast, making it also a good place to get work done!
The suite at the Sheraton Taitung was one of the nicest I’ve stayed at, not because it was the most lavish, but because it was beautiful and functional, elegant and homey, modern, but not in your face. That’s a very good balance that hotels rarely manage to achieve!

Restaurant & Amenities: The breakfast, included as a Platinum amenity, was served at the main restaurant. It’s a large space with long buffets for foods and drinks and plenty of bistro style, open seating with white chairs and dark tables.

Interestingly, the Sheraton Taitung has a separate seating area for elite rewards members near the window with dark sofas, creating a more private, upscale setting.

The selection of food was huge, similar to other upscale hotels in Asia, with lots of fresh fruit, yogurt, cereal, pastries and bread, as well as numerous hot, Asian dishes available. There were also made-to-order egg dishes, meats and baked goods. The quality of food was just as good, so there should be plenty for everybody to leave the restaurant well sated. For coffee lovers like me, there is a professional, automated Espresso maker that was, ahem, inspired by Swiss/German machines, but not quite as good.

The Sheraton Taitung has a lounge for guests staying in club rooms and Platinum elite members. While there seemed to be a lounge on the top floor (now closed, photos on the hotel website are no longer accurate), the current lounge utilizes the space in the hotel atrium on the third floor – you can see it riding in the glass elevators.

Despite (or because of?) the open space, it’s an interesting lounge: at the center of the lounge is a grand piano in what looks like an artistic version of a birds-nest. There is a waterfall on the wall behind, quite the conversation piece!

Near the entrance is the bar and a small food buffet.

The remaining walls are covered by bookshelves, giving it the lounge a library feel. There are three large, half round sofas with tables and chairs, each seating up to six people, as well as a small table for two. During our visit, there were never more than two parties, usually of just two people, so plenty of space.

During the evening is a cocktail hour, serving soft drinks, wine and beer as well as a small selection of snacks and hors d’ouevres. It’s a nice way to start your evening in an elegant space before going out to dinner, but if you are planning to make this a light dinner, you are out of luck!

The Sheraton Taitung has a small gym opposite the lounge, which is an odd location and open to the lounge, hallway and nearby conference rooms. There are two rows of cardio and weight equipment. It’s of good quality and enough for a basic workout, but it felt weird with people from the conference rooms walking by…

Past the gym is the wellness area, designed like a Japanese onsen, and separated by gender. Attendants provide keys, towels and assistance as needed. There are large changing rooms with separate lockers for your shoes at the entrance and your clothes further in. The wellness area has a dry sauna, steam room, a cold bath and a hot, jacuzzi bath. There are Japanese sit-down and Western stand-up showers, to each their favorite.
The stone and tiles chosen provide a very upscale feeling and the sauna, steam and baths are immaculately kept. The towels provided are thick and soft and you’ll find high-quality toiletries as well.  Wellness areas are just as popular here as they are in Europe and it was well received, with a number of people each time we were using it.

The Sheraton Taitung also has an outdoor pool at ground level. It’s large enough to swim laps and has some loungers along one side. Despite the greenery and decoration, it didn’t quite manage a resort feeling, but is certainly nice enough for a swim, for kids to play or to relax after a workout or a bike ride around town.
Speaking of which, the Sheraton Taitung provides free bike rentals to guests. They are a little small for my 6ft3 frame, but good enough to bike to the nice seaside park or along the ocean promenade – it was our favorite part of Taitung and I’d recommend to give it a try!

 

Value & Rewards: As Marriott Rewards Platinum members, we were upgraded to a beautiful suite, we received a free buffet breakfast at the restaurant and access to the club lounge. We also received a generous welcome amenity of fruit, cookies and sparkling wine that was replenished daily. The elite treatment at the Sheraton Taitung was excellent and they went well beyond what is required.
The Sheraton Taitung is the only major brand hotel in this Southern Taiwan city and one of the most upscale. We paid $115/night for a standard room, making it one of the most expensive in town. Considering the suite and elite amenities we received, it was great value for us and I wouldn’t hesitate to stay again as a Platinum elite member. The reward rate of 17,500 points/night (worth $140) is not as good value.
If you are a Marriott Elite member or on a business trip, the Sheraton Taitung is an excellent choice and I’d recommend it. Without status or on a tighter budget, the independent hotels in town might provide better value. Here you can find current rates for the Sheraton Taitung and other hotel in Taitung!

Bottomline: The Sheraton Taitung has a central location in the city, is the only major brand hotel and one of the most upscale in town. You get beautiful rooms, a stunning lounge, huge breakfast and a nice pool, wellness and gym as well as bicycles to explore town. Despite the high price for Taitung, I consider it good value, especially for Marriott Rewards elite members, and I’d recommend it!


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