Maison de Chine Hotel Miaoli

The steak at The blue flame steak restaurant was a letdown. I asked for a level 5 steak, but it came out very well done and left me unhappy. The person at the next table ordered level 7 and got one that was very rare, with so much blood that he kept asking his partner about it. I also took five boiled shrimp from the buffet on my first trip, but there weren't any more after that.

Breakfast at Cing Yan was filling, with a clean dining area and a spread that was more than enough. They kept replenishing it, and the staff worked hard. The front desk was a different story. At checkout, the staff kept talking on the phone, and we had to wait even though nobody else was in line. Check-in also felt distant, with no greeting or smile when we arrived. We chose this hotel again because we’d stayed here years ago when visiting friends in Miaoli, and its location near their home made it easy for them to pick us up for dinner or outings. The entrance faces a large green park with running tracks. In the morning, people of all ages were jogging or doing dance activities, and vendors on foot or in vans were selling vegetables. It felt like a warm, distinctive neighborhood scene. The area was quiet, so I wasn’t sure whether it would be easy to get a taxi. Our corner room was large, with windows looking out over the park, though the lighting was dim, especially in the bathroom. At night we heard heavy thuds from above, as if something had fallen, and the guests next door spoke loudly and banged their door. Those were the main problems. The hotel looked refreshed and bright, with lots of natural light in the spacious lobby. Parking along the nearby roads seemed easy since traffic was light. We didn’t use the basement parking, gym, or other facilities because we were out touring. Room service brought an iron and board almost immediately after we called. Shampoo and soap were provided in dispensers on the shower wall, along with towels, but the hotel doesn’t supply toothbrushes or toothpaste for environmental reasons, so we brought our own. We’d consider staying here again if we return to Miaoli.

The walls are so thin I could hear conversations and kids talking four rooms away. The room itself felt dated, and although we paid for two adults and two children, the hotel gave us just one large bath towel for all of us. For another $100 USD, I could’ve stayed at Marriott Taipei.

The hotel looks great, and the staff are very polite and soft-spoken. Parking, though, was a real problem. The lot seems poorly designed and too small for a full house. My family spent an hour driving around in the rain looking for a spot in or near the hotel, and eventually had to park on the road.