The beauty of traveling with family on an all-expenses-paid trip is rolling in extravagance. The conference paying for my dad's speaking engagement put us up in the Grand Formosa Regent, a beautiful, modern, very international hotel in the Four Seasons chain. Located in a district known mainly for shopping and finance, there were banks every block and huge billboards surrounding the hotel for luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton. No street food or markets to be seen.

The gracious staff greeted all guests with deep bows and impeccable English, many staffers being fluent in Japanese as well. (Of course some Chinese became visibly uncomfortable with this, including my parents, so the staff was quick to switch back to Chinese as needed.)

Our room was spacious and impeccably appointed. Furnished with two fluffy queen beds, a sitting area with sofa and chairs and a few provided magazines (which oddly, often had English on the covers but only Chinese on the inside), and extensive cable TV. Décor was very clean and bright, lovely and comfortable.

The bathtub was beautiful and deep, leading me to enjoy nightly baths rather than showers. Japan's heavy influence on Taiwan was highly appreciated with the cool robotic multi-featured toilet—everyone can appreciate a pre-warmed seat, right?

Of course, as nice as the hotel was, in a bustling city like Taipei it was still just a place to sleep. Thus, equal importance must be given to the hotel's food. We were able to expense breakfasts in the Brasserie, a buffet-style restaurant. Although it catered to a wide range of guests rather than critical Taiwanese only, dishes were replenished frequently and always tasted fresh, with plenty of items available cooked to order.

I was especially impressed with the pool of honey flowing from a golden sheet of honeycomb. There were plenty of Japanese and Chinese breakfast items for those of us who didn't travel 8000 miles to eat scrambled eggs and pancakes, such as mini okonomiyakis (seafood pancakes), dim sum, congee, and the Taiwanese specialty you-tiao (crullers).

As usual, the attempt to cover so many bases meant not everything could be done well. Steamed barbecue pork buns fell apart too easily. Ham was overly salty. Shui mai was a bit on the chewy side. The less said about the you-tiao the better. But on the plus side, the okonomiyakis were delicious, bacon was perfectly cooked, and I can eat an endless number of turnip cakes.

All in all, good, but nowhere near the quality one can find cheaply in less-fancy Taipei neighborhoods. However, it's a great way to start the day if you aren't paying, in a beautiful and room-adjacent environment.

<   previous      •      next   >