Anyone stayed at the Grand Hotel in Taipei? If yes, please critique your experience at the hotel and also ease (or difficulty) of transportation to/from the airport and downtown. Thanks!

I stayed there in the 1980's -- it has always been considered one of the finest hotels in Taiwan and S.E. Asia. We found it very nice indeed! The only drawback was that it is nowhere near the center of town or any of the spots that tourists are interested in. There's public transport, but that's not too easy to use if you don't speak Chinese. My guess is that the Grand has a shuttle into town by now -- give them a call or check their website.

I forgot to mention -- when we were there we would take a taxi into town. They're numerous, cheap, and convenient.

true, that the Grand Hotel is not near the center of Teipei but it is very close to the National Museum which in my opinion is one of the main spots of interest to tourists. The museum owns around 600.000 items of ancient Chinese art which were brought to the island by the army of Chiang-Kai-Shek on their retreat from the mainland. They surpass everything on display in mainland China. Unfortunately you can see only a few thousand pieces at a time. I think they change displays every three months. <BR>I have not stayed at the Grand Hotel but I went to see it. Looks very impressive in- and outside. <BR>I don't know whether they have a shuttle service to downtown Teipei, but taxis are not a problem.

Gary- <BR> <BR>I stayed at the Grand for a week in 1997 and it is truly one of the finest hotels anywhere. <BR> <BR>Service in the hotel is unspeakably superb. Each floor has a number of butlers who service any and all needs on their floor. I called for laundry service, and not exaggerating here, as I hung up the phone, the butler was at the door. <BR> <BR>The restaurants are wonderful, particularly the one right off of the main lobby on the mezzanine level--it serves wonderful dim sum. <BR> <BR>The location is really not a problem, they have taxis that can take you away to the business/commercial districts very quickly. They also have a shuttle, but I never used it. The hotel is a bit isolated, but given the density of Taipei, it's actually very nice to have a chance to get away from it a bit. <BR> <BR>The rooms are very large and either give a view of the mountain or toward the city. Both are nice--the mountain view gives you a chance to watch the early morning exercisers who walk up the mountain. <BR> <BR>The airport (CKS) is in Tao Yuan and is probably 40 minutes ride--I'm not sure about that because I never drove directly from the airport to the Grand. As mentioned in a previous posting, taxis are VERY cheap. I once rode in one for an hour during rush hour and the total cost for 3 people was just over $10 US. <BR> <BR>Good luck!