Swiio Hotel Daan 二十輪旅店 大安館 (Taipei, TAIWAN)

If there’s a city in Asia that I won’t mind exploring its wealth of small boutique hotels, it’s Taipei. Before the top hotel brands like Mandarin Oriental, W Hotel and Marriott landed in Taiwan’s capital, travelers (including me) relied heavily on boutique hotels to fill their needs and it’s been the trend ever since.

So what do I look for from a good boutique hotel in Taipei? For me, location is everything. It doesn’t have to be close to the metro station (since the metro doesn’t cover a lot of ground) but it has to be conveniently located, preferably near Da’an and Xinyi district, which is where all the actions are.

Swiio Hotel Daan (二十輪旅店 大安館) came into my radar screen last year but I didn’t think it was the right choice for a family trip so I went with Madison Taipei instead. This time around, I was going with a couple of friends and it really looked like the perfect fit. After all, it’s one that’s built for solo travelers and couples.



The all-white exterior and bright polygon-shaped windows are so eye-catching that we can see the structure from miles away. I have a feeling it’s going to be a very nice stay for all of us.



The room is modernly designed with an all-white approach (surprise, surprise) and the occasional wood.



The queen bed and pillows turned out to be one of the best ones I had the pleasure of sleeping on. The softness/hardness of the mattress and pillows were just right for me. I could only wish that I have the same level of comfort at my humble home.




Other than a small flooding incident, the bathroom has served me real well during my stay (Too bad no time to try the bath tub).




A complimentary mini-bar!




I have stayed at a lot of hotels in different parts of the world (41 countries and counting...) and rarely would I find a complete set of laundry and home care products available in a 3-star hotel. That really caught me by surprise (pleasant one).



Breakfast is included in the price and it’s served at Le Blanc, the hotel’s ground floor steakhouse from 7am till 10am. I was fortunate enough to have been awake for breakfast once during my stay.



I thought it wasn’t bad at all. Here's the breakfast menu if you're interested in knowing more.



There are quite a number of good restaurants within walking distance of Swiio Daan. The hotel’s own steakhouse, Le Blanc is one of the finest bistro in Da’an and it opens till late (midnight). Other notables include Jiuwu Beef Noodles, Ban Mu Garden (北平五畝園), Danny & Company and MUME (Yes!). Needless to say, you would never run out of dining options around here.



Like any other 3-star hotel, Swiio has some room for improvement. Better sound-proof windows and perhaps another elevator (or faster one!) should be very high on the list but for the most part, I have very little to complain about, especially based on the small price that I was paying.



I'll be back~



Rating: ❤❤❤❤
Price: $$
Address: No. 185, Section 1, Daan Road, Da’an District, 106 Taipei, Taiwan
Closest Metro Station: Xinyi Anhe / Da'an
Tel: +886 2-2703-2220
Website: www.swiio.com/hotels/daan