With the opening of the Ambassador Hotel last month, the Republic of China's principal city of Taipei has passed the 2,500 mark in available guest rooms of first-class international standard to serve the needs of the fast-growing tourist industry.
Uniquely, the Ambassador is a hotel literally "made in Taiwan" and brought to completion through cooperation of Taiwan entrepreneurs. Huang Chao-chin, a banker, provided the site. Chen Shan-wen supplied glass and glasswares from his Hsinchu Glass Works. Lin Fan-pen and his Lin Shan Hao Plywood Corporation was the source of lumber and plywood. Cement came from the Taiwan Cement Corporation and Asia Cement Company, both of them shareholders in the hostelry.
The 300-room Ambassador has decoration stressing Chinese art. In the lobby a painting 15 feet by 7 calls dramatic attention to modern Chinese art trends. The painting, "Evening Party," is the work of Tseng Houhsi, a noted Chinese painter. A bronze relief symbolizes the hotel's friendship and hospitality. Other paintings are hung in the public halls. Each guest room has an original watercolor or oil. The marble floor of the main lobby reflects a feeling of quiet and serenity, although the Ambassador is in the heart of downtown Taipei.
Fine food will be one of the hotel's special attractions. The Ming Garden dining room on the first floor serves a Western menu. Seating more than 100, the room is decorated in the blue and white typical of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644 A.D.). Waitresses wear Ming costumes.
At one side of the lobby is the Ami Coffee Shop, where decor and furnishings are inspired by the Ami tribe of aborigines. The service costume is that of the Ami people.
The International Hall on the second floor seats 1,000. It has a four-language sound system and projection room. The hall may be partitioned off for smaller groups. Four special rooms on the second floor and four on the third provide spacious accommodations for dinner parties.
On the fourth floor is an outdoor swimming pool set in an orchid garden. A fountain cascades its waters through rays of colored lights.
The five restaurants also include the Sky Lounge and Star Light Club on the 12th floor, serving Western food, Canton and Szechwan cuisines, and Mongolian barbecue. Some of the chefs are from the Daiichi and Imperial hotels in Japan. Many of the hotel's 430 workers received training in Japan.
Jade Symbol
Each of the 300 rooms is distinctive for Chinese, Japanese or Western decor and is appropriately furnished.
In the basement is a shopping arcade with florist, tailor, photo shop, beauty and barber salons, drug store, jewelers, and curio and gift shops.
Five lifts are provided, two for the exclusive use of guests. An express provides service from 1st to 12th floor in 16 seconds. Other special equipment includes telex, pneumatic conveyers, NCR accounting machines, and private limousine service. Banking, postal, and travel facilities are available.
The symbol of the hotel is a carved jade scepter, called ru-i in Chinese. In ancient times, Chinese ambassadors often carried it to demonstrate their friendship and good wishes toward the host country. The Ambassador management is intent on the best of service in the most friendly manner.
The President Hotel opened two months before the Ambassador. It has 330 rooms to rank as Taiwan's largest. Overseas Chinese of the Philippines are the investors.
Construction is international. Lumber came from Thailand and the Philippines, marble from Italy, brick and tile from Japan. Sofas and chairs were imported from Denmark, Simmons' beds from the United States, laundry equipment from Sweden, the telephone system from Japan, and wool carpets from Hongkong.
The spacious column-free Mandarin Palace on the first floor accommodates 500 guests. Hunnan-style Chinese food is served.
The Rendezvous Bar off the lobby serves foreign drinks as well as local wines. An ornate staircase leads to the Orchid Room on the second floor. Four other dining rooms on the second floor are for private parties.
Ample Parking
A night club, the Champagne Room, is on the 10th floor. Soft lights and music add romance to a Taiwan stay.
Guest rooms offer American plumbing and beds, drapes from Thailand, and furnishings from several countries. Lights and air-conditioning are controlled from the bedside.
Two parking lots have a capacity of 250 cars. In Taiwan, where downtown parking is at a premium, this is unique.
Nursery service is provided for guests with children. Steno-secretarial services also are available.
First-floor arcade shops offer jewelry, handicrafts, souvenirs, drugs and sundries, photographic services, and flowers.
The President has an American general manager and a thoroughly experienced Chinese staff. As at the Ambassador, NCR machines speed billing.
Rates and other charges at Ambassador and President are among the world's lowest for de luxe accommodations. Room charges start at US$7.50 single and $10 double. Dinners average around US$2. A 10-course Chinese banquet for 12 can be served for only $25.
Many Others
Taipei has one older but equivalent hotel—the famous Grand on the city's near northside. With its new Chilin Pavilion, it has 160 rooms. Decoration is Chinese palace style and furnishings are modern Chinese. The Grand has been host to President Eisenhower and a succession of kings and queens. It has outstanding Western and Chinese cuisine, night club with Filipino band, swimming pool, tennis courts, and many other amenities. Only the Grand, Ambassador, and President are classified by the government as hotels of international standard.
The 56-room Hotel China is famous for its spicy Hunan food. The chef is Peng Chang-kuei, who has been called one of the best cooks in the world by Time magazine.
Among other hotels, the First—with more than 200 rooms—is Taipei's third largest. It serves Shanghai food in the Han Palace on the 10th floor and has a Cantonese restaurant on the second floor.
The Hotel Orient and the Prince Hotel are expanding and soon will have more than 100 rooms each.
Some 20 other tourist hotels in Taipei include the Oasis, Nanking, Taiwan, New Taipei, Queen, Astar, Park, Washington, and Friends of China Club. All have air conditioning, private baths, and dining facilities, and are conveniently located.
About 60 hotels and Japanese style inns are located in Peitou, a hot springs resort 10 miles from Taipei. Sulfur baths, massage, Japanese food, and lovely scenery are among are among the attractions.
Hotels down-island are clean and comfortable. Chinese food is excellent, even in the smallest. At scenic Sun Moon Lake in central Taiwan are the Evergreen Hotel and the Teachers' Hostel. The latter combines Chinese architecture and Western facilities. A new hostelry and air service are planned for the lovely mountain lake.
The Long Beach Hotel accommodates those who want to see ancient Fort Providentia, a relic from the Dutch occupation of the mid-1600s, in Tainan. The Grand and Garden hotels serve the southern port and naval base of Kaohsiung, the island's second largest city. On the east coast, which leads to the grandeur of Toroko Gorge, the quiet city of Hualien soon will have a hostelry of first-class tourist standard.
One large Taipei hotel is still under construction. Situated near the airport, the 320-room Mandarin will become the city's third biggest upon completion this year.
Taiwan has built 43 hotels with 2,500 rooms in less than a decade. There is still a way to go. Tourism authorities say the requirement will be 3,500 rooms to accommodate the 200,000 foreign visitors expected in 1968.