Maolin (Taiwan)

Advantages: see review
Disadvantages: distance, language

...I was afraid of my stay for one-day stopover without prebooking any hotel in Taiwan to Hanoi. I had been arrived early in the morning at 7.30 a.m. and the flight to Hanoi was departing the next day at 7 a.m. The airport, which should close at night, is 50 km from Taipei city and I was told that people shouldn’t speak hardly English and all is written in Chinese characters. Taipei was waiting with nice weather. I passed a gate, which checked my temperature by a calorimeter camera, a caveat against SARS. At the customs clearance I got a Visa for 1 month for free and near the exit was tourist information. There I was offered a free half-day sight seeing tour and I was supplied with a town map leaflet and information about the airport bus back and the possibility to stay overnight at terminal two. My mood lightened. I was starting... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Sightseeing
Disadvantages: Fun

...I was on a weeks tour of Taiwan and it was a good sight seeing tour. We went from all the major towns, cities, and winding through the mountainous routes. On our tour we had a stop in a herbal center where we had a talk on natural medicine. Most of the trip was based in Taipei the capital city where modern shopping centers and traditional style food stalls. The night was busy with its bars and clubs open, how ever a nice evening in a restaurant was preferred. Taiwan has many historical temples and famous landmarks. I recommend Taiwan as a sightseeing touring holiday as you see most of it by coach.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average not helpful

Advantages: There are more expensive hotels... and you are in sight of the empire state building
Disadvantages: Smokey, smelly... well I didn't enjoy handing my money over.

...The Hotel Stanford is in an area of New York known as little Taiwan. It is located on West 32nd Street, near Broadway and 5th avenue. The nearest landmarks are the Empire State building and Penn Station - each is about 2 blocks away. Despite the fact that the street smells a bit fishy (due to the asian restaurants and generally bad management of rubbish in the city), the area is reasonable enough - it certainly felt safe. The hotel is ok. Sadly it was not possible to get a non-smoking room and the ventilation system provided us with smoke from other rooms during our stay. The room itself was in mediocre repair - obviously not one of the refurbished ones (they're still refurbishing) and the $140 per night price tag would have bought something a hell of a lot nicer in a different city (say Philadelphia or Washington DC). Breakfast... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful