Volando Urai Spring Spa & Resort 馥蘭朵烏來渡假酒店 (Wulai, TAIWAN)

For years, Jelloman has been asking for a weekend getaway from the hustle and bustle of city life. I decided to grant her her wish this weekend. After all, it's her birthday!



We picked Taipei since it's just a short flight from Hong Kong. It didn't take long for us to find ourselves touching down in Taoyuan International Airport. 

But here's the tricky part - we need to find a way to get to our first destination - Wulai (烏來), a small town in New Taipei famous for its hot springs and aboriginal culture. Our taxi seemed to take forever to get there but we finally made it there in nearly an hour.

We picked Volando Urai Spring Spa & Resort (馥蘭朵烏來渡假酒店) out of the many choices from Wulai's "hot spring street" because it's a 5-star hot spring resort surrounded by the lake and forests of Wulai Township. Most importantly, it's the only Relais & Chateaux hotel around here. 

We can see the peaceful Nanshi River (南勢溪) right from the hotel lobby.

This is exactly what we expect from a luxury hot spring hotel!

Too bad we're only staying for one night.

The room is a little smaller than we've expected and there's the occasional noise from the street (more on that later).

All the rooms including ours come with a small balcony overlooking Nanshi River.

They weren't joking when they said peace and calm could be felt throughout the resort. This river view pretty much said it all.

The first thing we did after dropping off our luggage was to check out our private hot spring bath inside the bathroom.

This of course came with a heavy price tag but what would our getaway trip be without one?

When I talked about the noise from the street, this was what I was referring to - right from the doorsteps. See the cars racing up the hilly road? They just keep coming at night so there's a considerable amount of noise well after midnight. Not what we were expecting from a quiet getaway.

We went on to check out the rest of the hotel's facilities and there weren't many to be honest.

At the back side of the hotel was their fine dining restaurant and a small "concert" area where events would be held.

Again, this is directly facing the same river view as our balcony.

I could appreciate the peace and comfort but I wasn't sure if I can stand the peace and quiet for more than a day.

The hotel is just a short 10-minute walk to Wulai Old Street (烏來老街). We decided to start our exploration early so we could get back to the hotel for dinner before sunset.

After the complimentary dinner at ABU Authentic Cuisine, the hotel's fine dining restaurant, we went back to the outdoor patio area. The night view was even more peaceful than what we've experienced in the afternoon.

Looking back at my journey, I have been living a city life for way too long. Did I enjoy this comfortable and peaceful environment? Absolutely. It's always nice to break from our norms and get in touch with the nature. I am a firm believer that a break from the hustle and bustle of the city can really help our rejuvenation but I guess my "engine" has been running fast for so long that it was hard for me to truly settle in this mindset of peacefulness for more than 24 hours. Especially when the resort only offers hot spring baths but nothing else, it made the adjustment even harder.

Conclusion: No more hot spring resort for us in Taiwan!? 😏

Rating: ❤❤❤

Price: $$$$$

Address: No. 176, Section 5, Xinwu Road, Wulai District, New Taipei City, Taiwan

Tel: +886 2-2661-6555

Website: www.volandospringpark.com