The Hotel After staying at Kimpton Maa-Lai Bangkok this year, I was excited to check out Kimpton Da An Hotel for my Taipei trip early this year. A boutique size IHG hotel property centrally located in Taipei on a small street just a minute walk from Zhongxiao Fuxing MRT station, there are only 129 rooms in this IHG property.

The lobby itself feels like a living room, where there are sofas around and a dining table, as well as a small water feature to instill a little tranquility. 

I also like the fact that there is a small outdoor garden area which is a nice spot to enjoy a croissant and coffee in the morning, or some drinks in the evening. The outdoor garden space also overlooks a water feature and is quite a good spot to hang out with pets as well. Yes, this Kimpton property is a pets-friendly hotel, similar to Kimpton Maa-Lai Bangkok. 

The Room I booked the King Essential Room and was duly upgraded to the King Essential Room with Balcony by virtue of my IHG Diamond Elite status. It is a small and cosy room at 32sqm Room, and I like the interior design of the room as it is predominantly white tiles and wooden textures, along with pops of dark green tones. 

There are side tables on each side of the King Bed, where the mattress is relatively hard. Other notable features of the room include a coffee machine and the standard tea bags. 

Some aspects of the room I like are the small bench at the entrance which makes it easy to wear shoes, the walk-in rain shower, a decent-size work desk just to store things and a washlet toilet bowl system. 

Sad to say, I totally underutilise the balcony which opens up to a residential view. 

That said, there are also aspects of the room which could be better designed. For instance, the height of the sink is too low where I need to bend over quite abit to use the tap. The walk-in shower and toilet uses a sliding door system, hence only one side could be closed at any one time. There is also no automated curtain system even though it is double layered. 

The Facilities The Fitness Centre is located on Level 2 and is open 24 hours. That said, it is not huge and there is limited machine for weights training. Treadmills and bike machines are available if you need a cardio workout. 

One highlight of the property is the Morning Kickstarter at the lobby where there are typically light bites (I spotted croissants during my stay) and free flow coffee and soy milk for all guests to enjoy. 

In the evening, there is Social Wine Hour, one of Kimpton’s foundational perks, where all guests get to enjoy free-flow white and red wines, spirits, beer and light bites.  

The Restaurants The main restaurant in the hotel is The Tavernist conceptualized by James Sharman who has held notable positions in restaurants like Noma, Tom Aikens and The Pawn by Tom Aikens. I had my daily breakfast here since IHG Diamond Elite holders get to enjoy complimentary breakfast.

The breakfast spread is a mix of local Taiwanese dishes and international spread, where I get to choose a main course and was served a free flow range of starters like pastries and yogurt.  

My favourite breakfast item is the ‘Shaobing’ with truffle scrambled eggs, as well as the rice milk (‘Mi Jiang’) which is similar to soy milk. 

Rants Other than some aspects of the room which I thought could be better designed, there is also no swimming pool in this property. In terms of service, I do think that it is a little mechanical and lacks a personal touch. 

Overall Experience A decent IHG property to check out in Taipei, Kimpton Da An Hotel is ideal if you need to be close to the MRT Station and would not mind the fact that there is no swimming pool or spa. I like the boutique vibes and interior design of the property, though I also think that the service standards could be better.    

Kimpton Da An Hotel 
No. 25, Lane 27, Section 4, Ren’ai Rd, Da’an District, Taipei City, Taiwan 106 

For more information, check out Kimpton Da An Hotel Website.

Ranted by The Ranter