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Azure Hotel Hualien, Hualien, Taiwan
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Curtains closed because we weren't interested in looking at the deserted building next door.
Address: No.590 Chung Cheng Road
Curtains closed because we weren't interested in looking at the deserted building next door.
Address: No.590 Chung Cheng Road (8 votes)
Ranked #8 out of 21 in Hualien
Reviews
We stayed at the Azure Hotel Hualien from 17 to 19 December 2009.
This was the third stop of our 2-week trip around Taiwan. The hotel is a short 10-minute taxi ride from the main Hualien train station. It is located in the middle of a really bustling area with numerous food outlets and clothing shops selling international brands.
Checking in was a breeze, but because we speak fluent Mandarin, we had no opportunity to test their staff's English capabilities. The room we had was clean but rather small and spartan. There was an LCD TV and refrigerator but no in-room safe. Our window had a view of the next deserted building and a Pizza Hut outlet on its lower floor. The bed was a little bit hard, but we managed.
The main purpose of our Hualien trip was to visit the Taroko National Park. We arranged a tour of the Park through the hotel which cost us TWD988 per person.
We had also requested that the hotel help us book a one-way flight from Hualien to Taipei as we didn't want to suffer the 3-hour slow train back to Taipei again. I inquired about the plane tickets everytime I walked by the reception, and they kept telling me they will handle it. It was only until the night before our scheduled departure that they told me they couldn't get through to the airline on the phone and asked that I book it myself using their internet facility on the second floor. So I did, and received a confirmation from the airline within minutes.
The breakfast spread at the hotel was above average, with both western and Chinese food. The guests present at breakfast were, however, not the most polite people in the world. I was elbowed aside by a middle-aged woman from China (I recognised her accent) who wanted to reach for the bacon and subsequently shouted at the top of her voice to her friend about how bacon was available where she was.
In any case, rude guests aside, the hotel definitely benefits from its location in the bustling centre of food and shopping in the small town of Hualien.
Our family of four booked Azure Hotel through its website and paid using VISA. A few days before our arrrival in Hualien, we sent an email informing them of our day/time of arrival by train. The hotel replied with a confirmation on the pick-up time and sure enough we were picked-up by the hotel transport just as arranged! I understand Azure also has a pick-up service at Hualien Airport.
Azure's facilities and service is excellent. We are very happy with their level of service and attitude. The rooms are well appointed and maintained, beds are comfortable and water pressure in the bathroom is excellent. We had the buffet breakfast ( both Chinese and American) at the restaurant and it is excellent. We simply love the sweet potato porridge. It also has a business centre with internet facilities which we used to confirm our flights.
Azure's location is good with KFC, Macdonald, minimart , 7-11 just across the road. The morning/night markets, dining and shopping areas are just at the side and rear. We shopped and dined to our fullest!
The hotel tour desk can arrange tours to Ocean Park, Taroko Gorge etc at reasonable pirces. We took the Ocean Park tour for less than NT$1000 per person, the bus pick/drop us at the front of the hotel. Very convenient indeed.
Overall, we felt vey happy staying at Azure. It is truly value for money. In fact, it is the most memorable part of our holiday in Taiwan. Give it a try, I don't think you will regret it!
Cheers!
Azure hotel is cheap and great place to stay when in Hualien. We didnt really expected much from it initially but the hotel turns out to be a good one. The service was excellent. If you think you will have a problem finding the place, you can contact the hotel, they will provide a free shuttle service from the train station to the hotel. The breakfast there was great, both western and asian. Good location too. Opposite the hotel is Mac and KFC and a convience store. A short walk will take you to shops and places to eat. At the back of the hotel is a market.
Overall, my family and I enjoyed the stay there and i recommend you to do so too!
MY TRAVEL STYLE: If possible, I try to stay away from business and strongly prefer resorts that resemble the Four Seasons, Aman, and Oberoi but try to find similar properties at lower cost. I seek out the “wow” experiences and I encourage you to view hotels I have stayed at and their respective reviews (by clicking on my name).
LOCATION: Excellent for Hualien. Next to a great pedestrian area with shops, restaurants (Starbucks, McDonalds, KFC, and Pizza hut if you desire western food). About 40 minutes from the start of Taroko Gorge. If you want to see the Gorge, it’s best to stay in the National Park for better scenery and a more memorable experience (except there is no good food there).
BEST WAY TO GET THERE: Rent a car at Hualien Airport that is about 20 minutes away.
TYPE OF ROOM: Standard
BED/SHEETS/PILLOW: Bed is on the hard side and the sheets are better than average. Down pillows are a nice touch but they are a bit too thick (I think the pillow cases are too small for the pillow).
LIGHTING: Lighting is good in bedroom and bathroom.
BATHROOM/SHOWER: This is the worst part of the hotel/room. Bathroom looks old and not remodeled. The shower is in the tub and there is little space. Shower curtain gets in the way. The water pressure is low to medium but there is consistently hot water.
TOILETRIES: Basic and cheap, best to bring your own.
CLEANLINESS: Room is very clean. Bathroom is clean but doesn’t appear to be that clean since it’s very old.
A/C: Quickly and quietly got our room cool.
CLOSET SPACE: Better than average. Perhaps enough space for 2 people to unpack most items.
STYLE OF ROOM: Nothing special. Typical hotel room layout and average size.
QUIET/MORNING LIGHT: Room was very quiet and the curtains could block all of the morning sunlight. The next day there was too much construction that lasted at least until 730PM. There is a building next door that is being built and it is just in the beginning stages. We left the hotel since our hotel was shaking as if there was an earthquake and checked in at the Quality Inn across the street.
FOOD: Only had breakfast here. Choice of 3 sugar cereals, premade eggs and French toast (without syrup). 2 juices that didn’t appear to be fresh. The rest is mainly Asian cuisine.
TV/INTERNET: TV fairly old but I think the better rooms there may have flat screens. There are at least 7 English stations including 3 movie channels in English as well. Internet is provided at no cost and is wired only and very fast.
SERVICE: Staff is very friendly and speak enough English to help with most travel requests.
COMMON AREA: Lobby is a good 4 star but not really much of a place to hang out beyond checking in and out.
SUMMARY & CITY TIPS: Higher rooms will have better views. Be sure to get a room that is away from the construction. We stayed at the Promised Land resort and the Quality Inn as well. The best rooms in Hualien have got to be the Quality Inn, it’s really excellent. The Promised Lands rooms are the most comfortable and it’s more of a resort but it’s 20 minutes from Hualien city in the opposite direction of Taroko. We really enjoyed hot pot at Korea restaurant in Hualien, one of the best hot pot places we have been to in Taiwan. I think the Azure is an good place to stay but the Quality Inn at the same price and the Promised Land at more than double the price would both be a better option.
We stayed at this hotel as part of a tour. It was a very nice hotel - the rooms were perfectly sized, and the decor was elegant.
We only had breakfast at the restaurant. They offered both American and Asian style fare (and french fries for breakfast!).
The location was okay, but we did have a hard time finding someplace that looked appetizing to eat in the immediate area. We ended up getting Pizza Hut and Bubble Milk Tea every evening.
The room offered lot of Western TV Channels, which was nice for my American husband, and the hotel staff were very helpful. I'm not sure about the english capabilities of the staff, because I spoke Chinese, but my brother and my husband seemed to get around okay without me in the hotel.
Our only problem was that the shower stall leaked over the bathroom, but we didn't bring that to the attention of the staff until we left.
Overall, it was a wonderfully relaxing place to come back to after a long day of exploring Hualien.
We stayed at this hotel for 2 nights in September 2007. We were a party of 3 couples and 1 baby. When booking the hotel, we explained that we would be travelling down from Taipei by train and the hotel kindly arranged to pick us up at the station. They also took us back to the station on our departure. Nice touch. The hotel itself is spotless and the staff are very welcoming and kind. The location is also spot on as there is a Pizza hut next door and a Mc Donalds opposite. Go left out of the hotel and in approx 50 mtrs, the night market starts. Try and haggle if you want to. Most of them will come down in price. The hotel arranged for us to have a private mini bus & driver for the day to take us to the National Park. This is a must and we will definately be back as we only saw a small fraction of the park. This worked out approx £75.00 all in. We were fortunate as our daughers in law are taiwanese and therefore were able to communicate on our behalf. Be warned, very little english is spoken once you are out of the hotel.
We were impressed with our short stay in the Azure hotel in Hualien. It was easy to book, finding their e-mail address ([--]) via their website ([--]). The hotel is a short taxi ride from the main train station and is well located for looking around the local shops and attractions. The rooms, and all areas of the hotel, were modern, well decorated and comfortable. The price we thought was extremely good for the quality of hotel and service. The breakfast was great - serving a particularly large range of good, local and western cuisine (compared with other hotels we stayed at in Taiwan). The service was great - the staff were very helpful. As is the custom in Taiwan, people provide help whenever they can. They booked a trip on our behalf to Toroko Gorge, and helped 'translate' between us and the car hire company which I don't think we could have managed any other way. (Car hire seemed the only option for getting across from Hualien to Sun Moon Lake (or anywhere west of the mountains)).
Overall a great hotel - can't think of any negatives!
We had a hectic around the island
in 2 weeks trip right before Christmas. We spent 2 very pleasant
nights at Azure hotel in Hualian
which is close to the city center.
The room is not very big (bathroom is of good size) but very
clean and bright and the in house
breakfast buffet is pretty good.
Front desk staff were very helpful
in trip planning and giving directions and
the location is great to all kinds of
local eats that city of Hualian is known for. The weather is alittle
unstable this time of year but did
not really get rained on. We were
told the best time to visit would be
April-May time frame.