Found this on Small Luxury Hotels of the world website. It's in a great location - one of the nicest - on a tree lined street. Not far from a host of bars and restaurants and shopping. It's a good 10 min walk to the subway (about two blocks).

The service is EXCELLENT. Upon arrival we were escorted to room and given a tour of all its amenities.

The rooms are not spacious, but well laid out and well detailed design. The rooms are quiet relative to the major road outside. But we did hear a very loud sneeze from someone next door or in the hallway.

They are fitted with VERY comfortable beds, high quality sheets and 3 different pillow options: down, wheat, and hypoallergic.

The bathroom is well designed (great toto toilet, two showerheads) and nice good quality products (toothbrush, comb, razor, loofah, pumice, etc)

Some of the perks:

* complimentary nespresso coffee maker and tea kettle with organic teas

* complimentary internet

* complimentary fruit & bottled water (seems typical in taiwan)

* designer furniture (eileen gray side table, philip starck chair & table lamps)

* flat screen tv, dvd player, bang olufsen cd player/radio, iframe (you can borrow movies and cd's from the hotel)

The complimentary BREAKFAST was good. After having eaten taiwanese food for days, it was nice to have eggs benedict which were a bit different than those in NY, but still yum.

The Hotel Eclat is a chic hotel with trendy art work glamming the walls of the lobby, and lavish chandeliers hanging from the ceilings in a pseudo phillippe starck designed way. It can border on gaudy, but once you retire to your room, the design is a bit more tasteful.

Upon arrival in TPE, we took a taxi from the airport to the hotel. Taxi drivers will probably know the hotel from its old name, the Le Petit Sherwood. Check in was swift and the service was excellent. Upon being escorted to our room, guest services gave us an introduction to the features of the room. She did not, however, mention that we were entitled to the drinks (excluding the alcohol and chocolate) in the fridge, but I discovered this later when reviewing the benefits included in our room rate. I love it when hotels have the "free" minibar -- its such a great perk to enjoy-- so ask if this is included in your room rate.

The pictures on the hotel website are quite accurate in displaying the room's amenities. I especially liked the bang and olufsen stereo system and mont blanc stationary set. While the ghost chair looks cool, it is not comfortable to sit on for more than an hour. The Deluxe room is efficiently designed with ample closet space in proportion to the size of the room. With its high ceilings and windows (mini french doors), the room was bright and airy, which was very pleasant. A Polyvision glass allows you to see the bathroom from the bed, which becomes opaque upon a turn of switch. The bathroom features a standing shower with three powerful shower heads, which I enjoyed a lot! There is even a chair for you to sit on in the shower stall. My only complaint for the bathroom is that there was no door to the shower and the water tended to leak a bit onto the bathroom floor. I thought the bathroom was still spacious even though the room was on the small side. I enjoyed playing with the features of the Toto toilet.

Bedding was extremely comfortable as I appreciate e a firm mattress and supple sheets. An added touch is that you have your choice of pillows, whether it be a buckwheat, down, foam, etc. I slept extremely well, the rooms were quiet even though they faced the street below.

For the maid service, the maids will not touch any of your clothing if it is left on the bed or on the floor. They take the turn down service literally-- as in they will turn down the bed, but leave everything else untouched. On one day this meant that the bathroom was not cleaned again and towels were left on the floor. I guess they are trying to avoid liability by touching people's clothing, but I found it strange that for a hotel that would regularly charge 12000 NT a night, the turn down service did not at least include replenishing the towels in the bathroom. I did not bother to call about this since our stay was so short.

We booked an opening special rate of around 5500NT on the hotel website. The location is very convenient, only 10 minutes walk to Ren Ai road and the MRT. There is also a 7-11 one minute walking distance to the hotel in case you need anything from there. Our rate included breakfast, free internet and the mini bar items excluding the alcohol and chocolate. There is no fitness center on site, but you have the use of the California fitness gym near the hotel. While I thought the service, room and location were excellent, I'm not sure I would have paid more than 6000NT a night since the rooms are quite small.

I love this hotel! I was supposed to book Les Suites Ching Cheng at first and then I decided to go to the Small Luxury Hotels of The World website (www.slh.com) to see what other hotels in Taipei were also part of this group - and stumbled upon Hotel Eclat. I immediately booked it after seeing that they had a Nespresso machine in-room and, most of all, offered a 3 nights for the price of 2 - meaning I only paid about USD150 a night! With free breakfast daily!

The room is on the small side but it fit everything just perfectly. As everyone has mentioned, no expense has been spared in the decor of the room. Nespresso machine, Bang & Olufsen speakers, huge LCD screen, Montblanc stationery, rainforest shower - and this is just the starter room! You even have a pillow menu to choose from - memory foan, wheat pillow, goose down, jap style. The minibar (except for liquor and snacks) is free and refilled everyday; your room is turned down at night and a snack is left for you (which honestly, didn't like as I hate fruitcakes) and they leave thoughful bookmarks of the music they are playing in your room.

Downsides are: No room service, not that near to the train station though you can walk there ad there are plenty of taxis. No gym but they have an arrangement with California Fitness gym - 5 mins walk away.

Upsides are: Everything else! Great staff. Did I mention that they also have a DVD library.. you can borrow dvds to watch in your room :-)

We stayed here for 1 night in a Grand Deluxe room. I didn't know what to expect but was very pleasantly surprised. I wouldn't hesitate to stay here again & would recommend it to anyone looking for a centrally located alternative to the large hotels & other boutique hotels in town (which look a bit bland & corporate), though the room size is on the small side.

The location is terrific, in south Taipei within walking distance to the best shopping & trendy dining/nightlife spots. Cabs are easy to get right outside on the street, which is a main one but not loud, with plenty of trees. The staff at the front desk & door were excellent, very professional, knowledgeable & eager to help (the hotel had just opened). We didn't eat there so I can't comment on the food or restaurant. There is no gym but they offer complimentary use of a health club a few minutes walk away.

Our room was on the small side but very thoughtfully decorated, with french windows (locked shut, unfortunately) overlooking a side street providing a good amount of light. The overall effect was on the dark & cozy side, but it didn't feel oppressive given the windows & hardwood floor. The bed was extremely comfortable, with a fluffy down duvet & pillows. The technology in the room was top notch, with touch panel lighting, a flat screen TV, a laptop/internet access center & a Japanese toilet. The shower stall was spacious, with windows & wooden flooring that gave it a spa feel. There was a large minibar with all items inside complimentary (water, juices, beer), as well as a Nespresso machine with several type of coffee available (also complimentary), which was a very nice touch. Note though that we had booked a lower category room but were upgraded upon arrival; the original room we booked would have been even smaller.

Overall, we were very happy with our experience & would recommend it for the comfort, service & location. But if you prefer large rooms, you may need to book one of the higher category rooms.