Zhen Hu B&B Sun Moon Lake Itathao

Elaine at the Wyndham Sun Moon Lake made my January visit feel special. I needed help getting around and contacted the hotel. She kindly arranged a taxi for us to Taichung HSR station, going out of her way to help a stranger. I’m sincerely grateful for her hospitality.

There’s plenty to do indoors, from pool and air hockey to fooseball and board games, plus a pool, hot bath and spa area. The gym is small, but well equipped. Parking is free until 1 PM on checkout day, then costs 60 per hour. Our modern room was quiet, and the beds were very comfortable with lots of pillow options. Ita Thao street is right beside the hotel, which made the location perfect. One of the best Wyndham hotels I’ve stayed at. I’d definitely come back, 100% recommended.

The hotel made an already exhausting trip stressful. We’d had a four-hour flight followed by a three to four-hour mountain drive, and arrived close to 10 PM to find our room had been given to guests from a tour group. The replacement had a terrible layout, with the toilet sink right beside the bed, and suspicious brown marks on the bathroom wall. We’re a couple but were assigned two double beds, and asking to have them joined delayed getting into the room. I was close to tears after such a long travel day. We didn’t ask to move then because we didn’t want more hassle. The next night, after another long day out and drive back up the mountain, we discovered housekeeping had entered even though we’d put up the Do Not Disturb sign. Our valuables were left around, and we felt uncomfortable and unsafe. We decided we needed a different room and packed and unpacked again around 10 or 11 PM. At first they said no rooms were left. Only after we said we didn’t want to stay and asked to check out the next morning did they open another room for us. Sun Moon Lake itself felt overrated to us, with an underwhelming lake, money-making businesses for boat rides and bicycle rentals, and too little in the way of amenities, activities, or even hygiene. But the hotel’s mistakes meant we had two late nights without any rest or relief when we returned. A very disappointing place and trip.

The location in the Ita Thao shopping district was handy, and the breakfast buffet was huge. Our room had a very large bathroom, a private hot spring bath, and complimentary snacks and drinks. There’s also a big game room with air hockey and pool, but you need to reserve a time if it isn’t already open. I’d come again.