Taiwan Today

The Shangri-La’s Far Eastern Plaza Hotel in Taipei is the second best among the world’s top 20 business hotels, according to the “Travel + Leisure Magazine” Travel Poll 2009. Christine Yen, director of communications at the hotel, attributed the high ranking to the hotel’s warm services and commitment to meeting the needs of its customers. The FEPH has received many distinguished guests in the past, Yen said, including former U.S. President Bill Clinton, Hollywood movie stars Tom Cruise and Pierce Brosnan, action hero Jackie Chan as well as directors Ang Lee and John Woo. The executive recalled that one of the hotel’s butlers set up a treadmill at the presidential suite where Tom Cruise stayed during his visit to Taiwan. Another butler, assigned to serve John Woo, offered herbal remedies to soothe the director’s sore throat when he came to the island to promote his film. Woo has been sending Christmas cards to the butler as a token of his appreciation ever since. Yen said that the hotel recently arranged an emergency room visit for a guest who suffered excruciating back pains. The guest was later hospitalized, and hotel staff took turns taking care of him until he was discharged from the hospital. In another incident, a foreign guest, whose luggage was delayed, could not find a pair of shoes of his size for an important meeting scheduled for the next day. Hotel staff came to the rescue by borrowing a pair from the hotel’s general manager. Yen said a hotel manager has lent several dozen helmets to guests who wanted to experience a motorcycle ride on the island, as well as numerous belts to guests on business trips. Other than the honor, the hotel was also selected as one of the top 100 hotels in the world and the top 50 hotels in Asia by the “Travel + Leisure Magazine.” It was also rated the best hotel in Taipei in the “Asiamoney” Travel Poll 2009, and the best business hotel in Taipei in the 2009 “Business Traveler in Asia-Pacific” travel awards. (SFC-HZW) (This article first appeared in the “United Daily News” Nov. 28, 2009.)