In 1952, the Kuomintang government built the hotel to help first lady Chiang Soong May-ling entertain guests of honor from abroad, since there were no five-star hotels in Taiwan. The hotel was the only option for foreign dignitaries. Distinguished guests have included Shah Reza Palavi of Iran in 1959 to the current Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in 2004, according to the hotel.
After being built for more than 50 years, the Grand Hotel preserves its tradition and hospitality. With more luxury hotels competing for travelers, the hotel attempts to attract guests with its illustrious past, traditional architecture and professional staff. "Every little thing is history here," Christine Tsung, chairwoman of the Grand Hotel, said May 3.
Visitors go to the hotel to see the huge vermilion pillars, stately archways and Chinese palace lanterns, all topped by a classical Chinese-style double-eaved roof, one of the largest in the world. It is estimated that there are about 220,000 dragons painted or molded on the ceiling, furniture and beams throughout the hotel, thus gaining the name "Dragon Palace," according to Frank Feng, a public-relations representative. In 1968, the Grand Hotel was named as one of the top-ten hotels in world by Fortune magazine.
Just about every piece in the hotel looks antique, said Tsung, pointing at the chairs in her reception room. The benefit of operating an old hotel was that the employees already built up a trust with the guests, she said. The hotel's attentive staff is one of the hotel's most valuable assets, leading satisfied guests to become repeat customers. Tsung mentioned that one time, former Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew requested that the butler at his suite to continue serving him when he stayed at another luxury hotel in Taoyuan.
"Unlike other five-star hotels in Taipei that send their butlers to be trained in Western countries, we have our own apprenticeship system," William Wang, director of sales and marketing, said May 3. "This way, every single detail will be observed closely and executed with precision."
Wang is one of many employees who have spent years at the hotel. "I started working when I was only a sophomore student at Provincial Taipei Vocational School of Industry," he said. "Aside from two years of military service, I spent most of my adult life at the hotel," suggesting that its atmosphere was as attractive to employees as to its guests. "Anyone who has stayed at the Grand Hotel for more than five years will stay on for good," he claimed. This works out well for the staff, since experience determines promotion at the Grand Hotel. "Before you become a head waiter, you have to work at least a couple of years as a waiter. After a few more years, perhaps you could be promoted to supervisor, and so on. This business requires a lot of devotion," Wang explained.
This attitude could be seen in newcomers as well as veterans. Wu Jia-rong works as a waitress at the hotel's Golden Dragon Restaurant, which specializes in Cantonese cuisine. "I enjoy the working environment here very much," Wu, who has a bachelor's degree in hotel management, said May 3. "The only complaint I have is that business is too good, so I'm always busy." She was one of more than 4,000 trainees participating in the Grand Hotel's work program with schools of hotel management, which started five years ago when Tsung took over the hotel's leadership.
"The Grand Hotel is an old tree, we can't just chop it," said Tsung, speaking of the difficulty in balancing change with preserving the hotel's spirit. The Golden Dragon Restaurant, located on the second floor, continues to showcase a relic from the past. The dragon statue in front of the restaurant is believed to be more than a hundred years old, said Feng. "Nobody knows why or how it was built," he added. "All we know is that it has been here for at least a century, when the hotel was still a Shinto shrine." Before the renovation, the restaurant showed its age in its dark interior. Large windows were installed to brighten up the restaurant with sunlight.
The Grand Hotel is no stranger to renovations. First built in 1952 on the ruins of the Shinto shrine, the hotel was expanded several times before it became the icon it is today. The swimming pool, tennis court and membership lounge were added in 1953, according to the hotel. The Golden Dragon Pavilion and Golden Dragon Restaurant welcomed the public in 1956. Guests could appreciate the Jade Phoenix Pavilion and Chi-Lin Pavilion when they opened in 1958 and 1963. The 14-story main building was finally completed on the Double-Tenth Day of 1973.
Disaster struck in 1995, however, when a fire broke out on the roof, the Grand Hotel Web site stated. Neither ladders nor high-pressure water pumps were able to reach the fire, so the roof and the upper floors were lost to the flames. Showing its resilience, the Grand Hotel recovered and reopened its doors in 1998.
Going beyond structural changes, Tsung used food as one of the hotel's main marketing tools. She forged an alliance with Taiwan's China Airlines to provide in-flight meals to business and first-class passengers. The hotel prepared dishes that it had served at President Chen Shui-bian's May 2004 inauguration dinner, Tsung said. Passengers could also enjoy food that had long been available to the hotel's guests, such as prawn balls and radish rice-cakes.
Catering to state banquets had always been one of the hotel's specialties, so Tsung is building on the hotel's lead in that area. The hotel keeps pursuing new iniatives. Tsung and her staff expanded the Grand Hotel brand in 2006 by establishing a restaurant at the YM Oceanic Culture and Art Museum in Keelung. Tsung said she wanted everyone to enjoy a state banquet with food prepared by the Grand Hotel, even if they did not live in Taipei.
Although it is a piece of Taiwan's past, the Grand Hotel encounters difficulty thriving in the current market. Countless hotels have been established since the hotel opened, all aiming to attract the same business travelers. "Our location is not exactly downtown," Tsung admitted. "It's more of a scenic spot." She is trying to turn this into an advantage, since the Grand Hotel's distance from the city's main areas offers VIPs and visiting business people a more secluded environment than hotels in central locations do. This selling point is strengthened by what Tsung called "the best security in Taipei."
While responsible for running a business, Tsung also sees herself as the caretaker of a part of Taiwan's history. She commented on how times had changed and Taiwan had changed, yet the hotel retained its elegance, which was what Tsung looked to preserve. To her, it was a symbol of the country. "When you see the Grand Hotel, you see Taiwan," Tsung said.
Write to Alexander Chou at alexchou@mail.gio.gov.tw