We were driving along Taiwan’s east coast to Hualien where we were due to stay for one night at the Parkview Hotel. Our driver/guide, Gordon, took a call from the hotel who confirmed our booking and room number and told him that dinner would be included (although we hadn’t expected it).
We arrived relatively late at 6pm and after a speedy check-in, were shown to an upgraded room. Our suite was huge. The first large bedroom had a king size bed, TV and two desks. Whilst a second bedroom had two single beds, another TV, cane, three piece suite and masses of space. The bathroom was adequate but not in keeping with the suite in terms of size, and there was a rather leaky shower over the bath. However the room was well equipped with tea and coffee making facilities and a jar of exceedingly good pineapple cookies.
We decided to celebrate our good fortune with a drink in the ground-floor bar. We sat on cane sofas and waited to be served but to no avail. So we decided to go straight into the adjoining, relatively casual, Garden Court Western restaurant. Here we found an extensive buffet with lots to choose from and as we’d eaten very little, we grazed on lots of bits and pieces: pizza and salad, minced pork stew and steamed rice, a chicken shawarma kebab in a roll, mango mousse, cheesecake and ice cream. It was a veritable feast and as a bottle of Argentinean Sauvignon Blanc was NT$900 (£19) bottle – very cheap for Taiwan – we were more than happy.
We retreated to our room to decide which TV to watch and which bed to sleep in. Despite our high expectations for breakfast, it was not as good as we’d anticipated with a particularly un-enticing fruit selection. Whilst waiting to be picked up we explored the extensive grounds, pool and large shop. Isn’t it always the way that when you get an upgrade, you’re only booked in for one night?
“Parkview Hotel website”:https://www.parkview-hotel.com/en/
