Taichung Hotels | The Lin Hotel | A Five-Star Design Hotel with a Golden, Glamorous Facade | Near the National Taichung Theater and Maple Garden

The Lin Hotel is a five-star hotel in Taichung launched by the Lin Garden Wedding Group, a banquet-hall group that expanded into the hotel market. Since opening in 2015 it has consistently been regarded as one of Taichung's better-known luxury hotels, and I'd heard plenty about its reputation.

The Lin Hotel sits near Maple Garden (Qiuhong Valley) and is also very close to the National Taichung Theater — a great location. This time I was lucky enough to stay and experience this upscale five-star property for myself.

📜  Information 

• Stay date: 2021-12-10
• Room type: Executive Le Lin Suite
• Payment: Credit cards accepted; company tax ID invoices available
• Address: No. 99, Chaofu Rd., Xitun District, Taichung 407024
• Phone: +886422555555
• Booking site: https://www.booking.com/hotel/tw/the-lin-hotel.en.html?aid=8003516

📍 Location

Located in Taichung's upscale 7th Redevelopment Zone, The Lin Hotel sits behind the Tiger City shopping mall. Not only is it surrounded by luxury residences, but Maple Garden, the National Taichung Theater and Ichiran Ramen Taichung are all just a few minutes' walk away.

A golden, glamorous and beautifully designed exterior

Getting There

Public transport:

• Take the HSR to Taichung Station, then transfer to a bus going directly to Taichung Chaoma Station
• Take a Kuo-Kuang intercity bus to Chaoma Station

Driving:

• Exit at the Taichung Interchange — less than a five-minute drive

For guests arriving by car, the parking entrance is to the left as you face the main entrance

🏢 Public Areas

The spacious lobby

On one side of the entrance is the lobby leading to the LV Forest Buffet and Qixian Japanese Cuisine; the other side is the lobby with the hotel check-in counter. If you come in through the main entrance, you'll end up in the lobby right in front of the LV Forest Buffet — a bright, airy design that's quite different from the check-in lobby, which you reach by pushing through a glass door.

At first I couldn't find it, and only later realized you can simply use the other door to reach the check-in lobby directly. The check-in lobby is done in a stylish red palette, and there's a faint, pleasant fragrance in the air when you step into the area.

The check-in lobby

Qixian Japanese Cuisine

On the other side is "Qixian Japanese Cuisine," located inside The Lin Hotel and specializing in high-end Japanese food. We didn't dine there this time — I only snapped a photo from outside.

For more info: Qixian Japanese Cuisine menu

Qixian Japanese Cuisine

The Lin Lounge

The Lin Lounge is the hotel's in-house bar, with a luxurious design that's become one of the popular photo spots online. Unfortunately our schedule was packed this time and we couldn't find time to go in for a drink.

Fitness Club

The fitness club is on the sixth floor and includes a gym, an outdoor heated pool and a sauna. Six red vases decorate the poolside, another spot people often check in at for photos. There are lounge chairs on both sides of the pool, though on the day we visited they looked a little grubby.

The large banquet hall on the third floor

The Lin Hotel has many banquet halls of various sizes, so plenty of companies hold staff events here, and couples often hold their wedding banquets here too.

The elevator lobbies are full of design flair too

Besides elevator lobbies that match the design of the hotel lobby, the elevator on the right is a scenic glass elevator, and the floor indicator on the first floor uses a retro dial-and-needle display. Each floor's elevator lobby also has slightly different design touches.

🛏  The Room

The Lin Hotel's executive floors are on levels 17–23. Neither I nor my travel companions had actually booked an executive room, but perhaps because of room allocation issues we got our key cards fairly late (around 4-something) and were upgraded to an executive floor room on the 22nd floor — without the executive privileges, though 😂  (aside from access to the lounge food, it doesn't sound all that appealing anyway)

• Deluxe floors: floors 16 and below
• Executive floors: floors 17–23
• King's Palace: the top-tier floor on level 25

The room has an oversized Simmons mattress — just the right firmness and very comfortable to sleep on — with power outlets on both sides of the headboard for easy charging. Soundproofing is also good; the hotel was close to fully booked that night, yet I basically heard nothing from the corridor or the room next door.

A roomy entryway with a large full-length mirror

A living area separated from the bedroom

A very comfortable L-shaped sofa

The desk and reading area

As soon as you open the door and insert the key card, the curtains open automatically. It's nothing major, but I found it rather impressive at the time (maybe because I don't stay at luxury hotels often). You can also operate the electric curtains right from beside the bed, so in the morning you don't have to walk over to the window — you can just lie in bed and welcome the sunshine.

We happened to check in in the late afternoon, when the light slants in beautifully. Reading a book by the floor-to-ceiling window in this little in-room living area would surely be a wonderfully relaxing experience.

As for amenities, there's the capsule coffee machine you'd expect at a high-end hotel, plus plenty of bottled water. There are also wine glasses and an ice bucket — something I hadn't come across at other hotels before.

The bathroom is also very spacious. Besides two sinks, there's even a TV you can watch while soaking in the tub — although I felt the placement was a bit odd, at an angle that's not really comfortable for tub-side viewing anyway.

The thing you fear most at a hotel is weak water pressure and water that keeps swinging between hot and cold. But The Lin Hotel is five-star after all, so in theory it shouldn't — and doesn't — have that problem: the shower's pressure and temperature were both fine.

A tub big enough for one, plus a separate shower

The toilet is in a separate space, with a cozy little lamp

Penhaligon's toiletries, with a lovely fragrance

Our travel companions happened to have a different room type, so I took a photo of that too for the record.

A quad room on a standard floor

The corner Le Lin Grand Suite, a hot photo spot

🍽  Breakfast at LV Forest Buffet

The entrance to LV Forest Buffet

Breakfast is served at LV Forest Buffet on the first floor. Because of the pandemic, you could also pick up a takeaway box from the front desk. There's a good variety on offer, including items you don't often see at breakfast such as sushi, and the flavors live up to hotel standards.

The dining area

A breakfast spread with plenty of variety

Although The Lin Hotel was involved in some food-hygiene controversy a while back, judging purely by the stay experience there was nothing to fault in terms of overall comfort. Just the fragrance that greets you in the lobby makes the experience feel different and puts guests in a relaxed, holiday mood. The location, environment, spaciousness and in-room cleanliness were all quite good, and the soundproofing I personally care about was solid too. The only downside is that room rates aren't exactly low, so it does sting the wallet a bit.

If you're visiting Taichung and want a great stay experience with the budget to splurge a little, The Lin Hotel is worth putting on your shortlist.

More Taiwan hotels and attractions

• Taiwan Travel | Taiwan Attractions List
• Taiwan Travel | Taiwan Accommodation List

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