Hoshino Resorts, a leading Japan-based hospitality brand with a contemporary take on the traditional Japanese ryokan (inn), opens HOSHINOYA Guguan in Taichung, Taiwan, in June 2019, the company’s first luxury hot spring resort in Taiwan.
Located on the outskirts of the Taichung hot spring valley in the Guguan area of the city of Taichung, the resort rises up from a plateau in a peaceful valley surrounded by quiet forests and majestic mountains. Each of its 50 bedrooms features an outdoor hot spring bath, fed by the area’s abundant natural waters which rush down Xueshan (Snow Mountain) into the Dajia River, heated by nature to become hot springs.
Read our guide to the best luxury hotels in Taipet
Guests to this luxurious bolthole can also enjoy a spa boasting healing treatments, complete with views of the hotel’s picturesque water garden, plus shared hot spring baths, a swimming pool, a restaurant serving traditional Japanese cuisine and an outdoor terrace where idyllic evenings watching the sun set over the vast valley and mountain range, perhaps with a cocktail (or a herbal tea) in hand, await.
Taichung, on the western side of central Taiwan, is a two-hour drive from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. The hotel is also accessible from Taipei via train and a 90-minute transfer from Taichung’s rail terminus. The city is a fascinating blend of traditional and modern, and boasts many historic and cultural attractions – from ornate ancient temples and cutting-edge architecture, to a world-class fine art museum and a bustling night market with all manner of delectable street food to sample. In the surrounding countryside, forest bathing, mountain climbing, trekking, bird-watching and picnicking are the order of the day.
The opening of HOSHINOYA Guguan follows the success of HOSHINOYA Bali, which opened in Ubud, Bali, in 2017. HOSHINOYA is Hoshino Resorts’ luxury flagship brand, with seven properties (five in Japan, one in Bali, and the newest in Taiwan). Each hotel provides an authentic Japanese experience for guests, with modern comfort and contemporary Japanese design combined with exemplary Japanese hospitality and a special location, be it a mountain, river, or coastal setting.
Hoshino Resorts’ properties remain deeply rooted in Japanese culture, their natural surroundings and the changing seasons. Key to all the hotels is Omotenashi (Japanese hospitality), with an emphasis on local culture and traditions.
hoshinoya.com/guguan/en/.