The Hotel A trip to the oldest city in Taiwan has always been on my list and Shangri-La Far Eastern Tainan (台南遠東香格里拉) comes naturally as my choice to stay in Tainan by virtue of its good location. The Shangri-La property is located in the middle of downtown Tainan right beside Tainan Train Station (not to be confused with Taiwan High Speed Railway (THSR) station) which connects to major cities in Taiwan. I arrived in Taiwan from Kaohsiung International Airport and managed to catch the train from Kaohsiung Main Station directly to Tainan Station.  

Located next to the hotel is the FE21′ Department Store, an eight-story complex if you need to do some shopping. It is a fairly huge property with 330 rooms, where the lobby boasts a high ceiling complete with marble finishings. My check-in process is seamless and the staff at the hotel are generally quite polite. 

The Room I checked into the Superior Room which is quite spacious at 39 sqm / 419 sqf. The room design is a little dated, though it is quite well-maintained. 

My room boasts a good city view of Tainan which gets the afternoon sun streaming in. 

For business travellers, the work desk is fairly huge which makes it conducive to catch up on some work. 

The king size bed is relatively hard to my liking, though my gripe is that there is only a charging point on one side of the bed.   

The bathroom is spacious and comes with a bathtub and separate standing shower, complete with L’Occitane toiletries. 

The Facilities The Health Club is great for a workout as the gym is very big and well-equipped. The changing room also comes with jacuzzi, steam room and sauna facilities. There are also spa treatment rooms on the same level. 

There is also an outdoor pool which looks basic where there are a couple of cabanas, though admittedly the pool is not heated when I visited in December. 

For club room guests, there is the Horizon Club to check out, which I did not manage to during my stay. 

The Restaurants In terms of dining options, there are five dining concepts including Shanghai Pavilion on the 38th floor. Other dining concepts include a steakhouse restaurant The Mezz Steak and Lobster, all-ding dining at Café At Far Eastern, Lobby Lounge for drinks and afternoon tea, and The Shop for takeaway pastries and cakes. 

Rants It would be great if the outdoor pool was heated. Otherwise, I also find the room’s interior design dated. 

Overall Experience I would still recommend staying at this property if you plan to visit Tainan as I had a comfortable stay, and it is easy to get around Tainan from the hotel’s excellent location beside the train station. 

Shangri-La Far Eastern 
701, Taiwan, Tainan City, East District, 大學路西段89號 

For more information, check out the Shangri-La Far Eastern Website.

Ranted by The Ranter