Which to choose · Taipei
The Mandarin Oriental or W Taipei?
The Mandarin Oriental, opened in 2014 on Dunhua North Road in Songshan, is marble, chandeliers and some of the largest rooms in Taipei behind a façade by C.Y. Lee; W Taipei, opened in 2011 and refurbished to January 2025, sits above City Hall MRT in Xinyi with Taipei 101 about ten minutes' walk away. The Mandarin is the formal one, close to Songshan Airport; the W is the one for Xinyi, its bars and a pool deck.
Songshan, Taipei
Mandarin Oriental, Taipei
Opened 2014 · 256 rooms
Xinyi, Taipei
W Taipei
Opened 2011 · 405 rooms
In short
Choose the Mandarin Oriental for space and calm in Songshan, near the city airport, with some of the largest rooms in Taipei; choose W Taipei for Xinyi, an MRT station beneath the hotel and Taipei 101 in view.
Space
Mandarin Oriental, Taipei
Rooms from 55 sq m; the Mandarin Rooms are 70.
Taipei 101
W Taipei
Eleven Fantastic Suites have windows and a bathtub facing the tower.
Getting around
W Taipei
City Hall MRT station is directly beneath the hotel.
Mandarin Oriental, Taipei
Choose Mandarin Oriental, Taipei for
- Rooms from 55 sq m, the Mandarin Rooms 70 sq m
- Ya Ge, Cantonese with a MICHELIN star nine years running
- A two-floor spa with 12 treatment rooms, and a 20-metre heated outdoor pool
W Taipei
Choose W Taipei for
- City Hall MRT directly beneath, and Taipei 101 about ten minutes on foot
- Eleven Fantastic Suites with windows and a bathtub facing Taipei 101
- A 25-metre outdoor pool on the 10th floor, with the WOOBAR and the WET Bar beside it
Side by side
- Where
- Songshan
- Xinyi
- Opened
- 2014
- 2011
- Last renovated
- –
- 2025
- Rooms
- 256, 47 of them suites
- 405
- Room sizes
- 55–70 sq m
- 13–43 sq m
- Restaurants and bars
- 6
- 4
- Pool
- Yes
- Yes
- Hot spring
- –
- –
- Awards
- 1 MICHELIN Key
- Forbes 4 stars
- Design
- C.Y. Lee
- Tadashi Yamane (exterior); GA Design International
- Airport
- Songshan Airport is five minutes by car
- Taipei Songshan Airport is 10 to 20 minutes by car and Taoyuan International 30 to 45 minutes
- Brand
- Mandarin Oriental
- W Hotels
- Booked through us
- Mandarin Oriental Fan Club
- Marriott Luminous
The rooms
Mandarin Oriental, Taipei
W Taipei
Which to book. For Taipei 101 from the room, ask for a Fantastic Suite: there are eleven, with floor-to-ceiling windows and a bathtub facing the tower. In the Fabulous Rooms the partition between bedroom and bathroom turns to open the bath to the same view at night.
The first room
Mandarin Oriental, Taipei
Deluxe Room
55 sq m · king or twin beds; marble bathroom with walk-in shower and bath
W Taipei
Spectacular Room
about 43 sq m (13 ping) · sunset-orange scheme; a window sofa that doubles as a daybed
The room to ask for
Mandarin Oriental, Taipei
–
W Taipei
Fantastic Suite
about 69 sq m (21 ping) · Taipei 101 view · eleven of them; mostly open-plan, with floor-to-ceiling windows facing Taipei 101 and a bathtub with the same view
The largest suite
Mandarin Oriental, Taipei
Presidential Suite
376 sq m · Taipei view · dining and living rooms, jacuzzi, private gym, study, kitchen and butler service
W Taipei
Extreme WOW Suite
about 364 sq m (110 ping) · 270-degree city view including Taipei 101 view · the only one, on two levels across floors 29 and 30; two bedrooms, a kitchen, a ten-seat dining table, wine cellar, sauna, spin bike and a telescope
Dining
Mandarin Oriental, Taipei
Ya Ge · Cantonese restaurant
Bencotto · Italian restaurant
Café Un Deux Trois · international semi-buffet restaurant
The Jade Lounge · lounge · beside the lobby · afternoon tea
M.O. Bar · cocktail bar
The Mandarin Cake Shop · pâtisserie
W Taipei
Seasons by olivier e. · modern French restaurant · 10th floor · breakfast
YEN Chinese Restaurant · Cantonese restaurant · 31st floor
WOOBAR · lobby bar · 10th-floor lobby · afternoon tea
WET Bar · poolside bar · 10th-floor pool deck · Thu–Sun afternoons
The spa and the pool
Mandarin Oriental, Taipei
A two-floor spa with 12 treatment rooms, two of them VIP suites with a vitality pool and steam shower, plus heat and water facilities, a 20 m heated outdoor pool on the sixth floor reached through the spa, and a 24-hour fitness centre.
W Taipei
AWAY Spa on the 12th floor, a 25-metre (82-foot) outdoor pool, WET, on the 10th floor, and the FIT gym with Technogym equipment, a sauna, steam room and whirlpools.
Where they are
The two stand 2.4 km apart, as the crow flies.
Mandarin Oriental, Taipei
In Songshan, Taipei's established business district, near Taipei Arena
Nanjing Fuxing station
10 min on foot, Green and Brown lines
Taipei Arena station
10 min on foot, Green line
Songshan Airport
5 min by car, 5–10 min
Taoyuan Airport
35 min by car, 35–50 min with traffic
Taoyuan Airport
60 min by train, Airport MRT to Taipei Main Station, then Green line; 60–70 min
W Taipei
In Xinyi, Taipei's business and shopping district, near Taipei 101
Taipei City Hall MRT station
2 min on foot, Station directly beneath
Taipei Songshan Airport
10 min by car, 10 to 20 minutes
Taoyuan Airport
30 min by car, 30 to 45 minutes
Taoyuan Airport
45 min by train, Airport MRT and metro
The building
Mandarin Oriental, Taipei
Built new on the site of the Mandarina Crown Hotel for owner Lin Ming-Chun after nearly nine years of planning and construction, and opened in May 2014; the architect was C.Y. Lee (Taipei 101), and Tony Chi designed the restaurants. The interiors mix European design with Asian touches, with Lasvit chandeliers throughout.
W Taipei
The hotel takes floors 8 to 31, with the lobby on the 10th, of a tower built over Taipei City Hall Bus Station; the exterior was conceived by Japanese designer Tadashi Yamane and the interiors by GA Design International of London on a 'nature electrified' theme, with timber check-in counters, green walls by the pool and an interactive light installation, To Light You Fade, by rAndom International at the entrance. It opened on 14 February 2011 as W Hotels' first in Taiwan and 39th worldwide. GA Design returned for a refurbishment of more than two years, from 2023 to January 2025, which replaced the original saturated colours with earth tones, green and sunset orange, added recycled-terrazzo surfaces, and put digital art by Daniel Brown in the guest-floor lift lobbies.
Booked through us
Mandarin Oriental, Taipei
Mandarin Oriental, Taipei
Mandarin Oriental Fan Club
A room upgrade when available
Daily breakfast for two
A US$100 food, drink or spa credit each stay
A welcome amenity
In Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta the hotel gives another benefit in place of the credit.
W Taipei
W Taipei
Marriott Luminous
A room upgrade on arrival when one is available
Daily breakfast for two
Early check-in and late checkout when available
Some hotels add a US$100 credit; most do not.
Still deciding? Tell us your dates and what matters most, and we will say which we would choose, and book it at the hotel’s own rate with the perks above.
Questions
The Mandarin Oriental is five minutes by car from Songshan Airport and about 40 minutes from Taoyuan. W Taipei is 10 to 20 minutes from Songshan and 30 to 45 from Taoyuan.
W Taipei, about ten minutes on foot from Taipei 101. The Mandarin Oriental is in Songshan, 10 to 15 minutes by car from Taipei 101.
More hotels compared
- The Grand Hyatt or the W, Taipei?
- The Peninsula or the Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong?
- The Mandarin Oriental or the Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore?
- The Mandarin Oriental or the Peninsula, Bangkok?
- Dusit Thani or the Ritz-Carlton, Bangkok?
- The Okura Tokyo or the Tokyo EDITION, Toranomon?
- The Peninsula or the Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo?
- The Tokyo EDITION, Ginza or Toranomon?