Amba Hotel in Ximending (Taipei)

After too many years ignoring the culinary wonders of Taipei, my wife and I finally booked a trip to Taiwan.  We chose the Amba Hotel in Ximending after a lot of back and forth over where to go and what to do.  We knew quite a few people who had visited Taipei, but almost all had gone for school sporting events.  As a result, most had stayed near Taipei American School and had not really had a chance to explore the city.

Ximending turned out to be an incredible neighbourhood for us.  It's quiet in the morning, perhaps until about 11:00, and then gets progressively busier.  By 10:00 p.m., it's packed with people eating, shopping, hanging out, and going to movies.  Being Taiwan, there are not too many Western visitors, but, judging by our hotel, there are a lot of Mandarin speaking tourists.  On top of that, the area is just packed with young people, couples, and families coming to have fun.  Based on food alone, Ximending is a destination in and of itself.

Amba Hotel is on top of the Eslite department store.  Eslite is full of great clothes and accessories by Taiwanese designers.  I don't even like shopping and I had a good 30 minutes walking through the store.  Amba's rooms are stylish, clean, and super comfortable.

The restaurant offers an incredible buffet (included in the room rate) and a cool bar in the evening.  Throughout the hotel there are clever touches.  They are simple but very smart.  For example, instead of that dumb 'do not disturb' sign that you hang on the door handle (which always falls off), Amba gives a two-sided magnet that you just throw at the door.  One side requests cleaning and the other 'quiet'.  It's just one example of some people really thinking about how to do hotels better.

The staff is also incredibly friendly.  The hotel offers free laundry machines with soap (unheard of), and, though the washing process turned into something of a debacle for me, the staff proved how helpful they were in the process.

Thinking of going to Taipei?  Go.  And eat for days.

Trying to decide where to stay?  Amba Ximending.