Review: Kimpton Da An Hotel (Taiwan)

When researching on which hotels to stay at using points in Taipei, I compared Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, and IHG options. For Marriott, cash prices are strangely hiked compared to other programs, which made them unappealing. Hilton generally only gives great value for points redemption on luxury hotels, which are non-existent in Taiwan under Hilton portfolio. Hyatt, at the time of my trip, only have the Grand Hyatt Taipei. In my opinion, it did not look appealing and did not provide amazing redemption value for Hyatt.

Then, I turn to IHG, and surprisingly, it became the most appealing hotel program in Taipei due to it giving the relatively best value, so I chose the Kimpton Da An.

Kimpton Da An- Booking

I booked the Kimpton Da An for 4 nights at 98,000 IHG points total thanks to the 4th night free benefit I received from my Chase IHG Premier Business Card. It’s similarly priced with the Regent Taipei, but ended up choosing the Kimpton as it looks more modern of the two. Cash rate tends to float around ~$200 for the Kimpton.

Kimpton Da An- Location

As the name suggests, the Kimpton is located in Taipei’s Da An district on a low-key street adjacent to the busy commercial street of Zhonxiao Road. It’s very close to Zhongxiao Fuxing station which is a stop for the Blue & Brown Line of Taipei’s MRT (metro).

If you’re coming from Songshan Airport (TSA), the Brown Line will take you directly to Zhongxiao Fuxing station. And, if you’re coming from Taoyuan Airport (TPE), then you’d need to take the Taoyuan MRT to Taipei Main Station and make a transfer to the Blue Line for Zhongxiao Fuxing.

Kimpton Da An- Check-in

I arrived to the hotel at around 8pm, and getting to the hotel from TPE can all be done with Taipei’s MRT with just one transfer. The tiles on the lobby walls and water reflections on the ceiling sort of make me feel like I’m going to a spa.

As an IHG Diamond member, I chose free breakfast as the welcome gift. I was told to make a reservation for breakfast at The Tavernist upstairs, but I found that they were not necessary as I arrived earlier than my reserved time. Though, this could be because I was staying on weekdays rather than weekends.

I was upgraded from Standard to Premium Room one week in advance at the Kimpton Da An, so props to them on their upgrade process. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a suite upgrade as they’re very limited.

Premium Room

My Premium Room was assigned to the 5th floor. All Premium Rooms are in fact, corner rooms which are bigger in size. The monochromatic hallway feels a bit eerie, exuding an atmosphere where you’re trapped in a secret facility.

Entering the room was shocking as it’s probably the first time where I have to navigate through the bathroom first before I see the bedroom. Such odd setup with the bathroom placement lead me to think that this is not the type of hotel you’d want to stay with a co-worker or acquaintances as there’s no partition between the bathoom and the bedroom for privacy. Naturally, I’d cover the bathroom first.

A shoe bench is positioned right next to the entrance, along with shoe cleaning supplies.

The sink area is standard, but stylized. Unfortunately, it lacks amenities like dental kits, shaving kits, and etc which is what I’d expect from a hotel of this caliber to at least provide in Asia. The window behind the hanging mirrors have a view outside, but there’s blinders for privacy.

Behind the sink is the toilet room with bidet. There’s no lock for the door for both the toilet and shower rooms, which is a bizarre design decision.

Shower pressure is decent, and Premium Room upgrade comes with a separate Japanese-style bathtub. Bath amenity is Atelier Bloem which is a Kimpton standard.

After going through the weird bathroom design philosophy, there’s finally the bedroom. The flooring is covered by rubber mats as the Kimpton is a pet-friendly hotel. It’d make it easier to clean up a pet’s mess that way. The room design itself, however looks clean and welcoming.

Just after the bathroom are the storage space where bathrobe and hangers are located, room mirror, and shelves. Pajamas are not included.

Minibar is located under the glassware shelves.

There’s also snacks like chips and instant noodles that you could charge to your room. But, there’s a Familymart right next to the hotel which would be cheaper to get snacks from. There’s a Nespresso machine, but oddly enough, no Nespresso pods were provided.

You can brew tea at least.

The king bed is balanced between firm and soft. The hotel has evening turndown service where they’d neatly put your slippers by the bed and turn down the blanket to get you ready for bed. They also refilled my welcome chocolate mints and provided face mist daily.

The room comes with an abundant set of universal power outlets, which are greatly appreciated. I didn’t have to bring out my adapter at all during my stay.

Water bottles are complimentary.

Breakfast

The hotel breakfast is in The Tavernist, Kimpton Da An’s signature restaurant. Free breakfast from IHG Diamond benefit allows you to order one of the items from the menu. On top of the main dish comes with fruit bowl, pastry, and yogurt.

I was only present for 2 out of 4 breakfast times during my stay. Overall, I enjoyed it but there are competitive places within Taipei where you can enjoy some nice breakfast for real cheap in Taipei. So I wouldn’t say IHG Platinum or below would miss out much for not having free breakfast benefit. Though, it’s appreciated that there are no extra cost on any of the items in the menu, unlike in Kimpton Shinjuku.

Kimpton Da An- Morning Coffee (Kick Start)

Kimpton Da An with Morning Coffee where you can get complimentary coffee from 7-10am in the lobby. Morning coffee is complete with pastries, fruits, snacks, hot soy milk, syrup, and fruit-flavored water. Unlike other Kimptons I’ve stayed at, they’d only give you a cup of coffee. For people without free breakfast benefits, the offerings here may as well function as “free breakfast”, albeit not as official as the one from the restaurant.

Kimpton Da An- Social Hour

Everyday, the hotel hosts a social hour where there’s free-flow drinks and canapes, and guests could mingle with others. There’s a beautiful garden space just outside the lobby with landscaped waterfalls. You can see koi fish in the pond as well.

Kimpton Da An- Fitness Center

The hotel has a small gym on the third floor. Kimpton Da An does not have a pool or spa facility.

Conclusion

Kimpton Da An is a solid hotel with a great location that provides convenient access to Taipei’s metro, along with both of the city’s airports (TPE & TSA). Its morning coffee offering is the most generous one out of the Kimptons’ I’ve stayed at, though the missing in-room Nespresso pods is puzzling.

However, amenities are quite lacking, considering that it’s priced similarly to Regent Taipei. I’m also not a fan of the bathroom design philosophy, but fortunately I was just a solo traveler where the lack of privacy wouldn’t be a concern. Still, I find it to be a good redemption for IHG points, espcially if you can get 4th night free from Chase IHG credit cards.