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| Stylish Wu Lai spa |
WHENEVER I FIND MYSELF forgetting why it is I ever chose to live in Taipei – and during the cold, damp winter months this can be relatively frequently – I console myself with the knowledge that relief from the blues is not far away. Few cities can boast such a natural abundance of world-class, volcanically activated hot water springs on their doorstep as the Taiwanese capital. And thanks to Taipei’s ever-improving public transport system, heading out for a quick soak in perfect 60-degree-Celsius waters – cool beers at hand and a massage in mind – has never been easier.
The Japanese pined for their hot springs (or onsen) whilst governing Taiwan for the first half of the 20th century and soon set their sights on the hills around Taipei. The area around Peitou, supplied naturally by the geothermal energy of neighbouring Yang Ming Shan (the still active volcano, itself a National Park) became an obvious location for the beer halls, tea gardens, bathhouses and intimate hotels so beloved of the era. For Taipei spas, hot springs, and Taipei spa resorts, the Peitou spa region is the ideal hunting ground.
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| Outdoor soak in Jin Shan |
Hsin Peitou (or New Peitou), connected by its own separate line to Taipei’s wonderful new commuter train system, is the most popular and easily accessible of several hot spring regions – others include Wu Lai and Jin Shan – which surround Taipei. Its spas help keep the Japanese tradition alive, despite a decline in the popularity of spa-going through the 1970s and ’80s. Today, new resorts are springing up offering spa packages catering to tired businessmen, health-conscious families and reticent lovers, alike. Be it hot oil massages, aromatherapy treatments, saunas, karaoke (optional) or fine dining, the Hot Spring Renaissance is upon us.
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Hsin Peitou springs and inns
Hsin Peitou is the first choice getaway from Taipei. For just US$1 the aforementioned MRT will whisk you from Taipei’s Main Station out to Peitou, a half-hour ride away. Change at this station for a single stop along the branch line to the Hsin Peitou terminus and it’s as though you’ve entered a different world. Mountain greenery and wafting sulphur vapours stimulate the senses. Straight across from the train station is the Hot Spring Museum, a painstakingly restored Japanese colonial-era bathhouse containing all you ever needed to know about the history of Peitou’s spas.
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| A Wu Lai spa bedroom |
Running uphill beside the museum is a road looping up into the steaming foothills, with most of the best Taiwan hot spring resorts located, conveniently, around its circuitous route. In fact one needn’t even pay to reap the therapeutic benefits of Peitou’s spas and numerous Peitou hot springs: just join the locals sitting on the edge of the pavement, shoes and socks removed, feet dangling in the steaming sulphurous waters running alongside the road.
For a more refined approach, however, the absolutely best place to begin a tour of Peitou spa resorts is at the I-Tsun Hotel. Built in the late 1920s, this was a favoured spot for Japanese army officers – during the second world war, kamikaze pilots would often spend their last nights in Peitou. It is a beautifully preserved wood-panelled collection of rooms built on different levels, set within a garden ring of bonsai trees and centred round an ornate goldfish pond. Many of the guestrooms are decorated as they've always been in the Japanese style, with tatami mats being the order of the day. Genial matron, Mrs Lee, is one of a gaggle of elderly female staff to whom the I-Tsun has been both workplace and home since her teenage years. One of the eccentric design touches at the I-Tsun is its lobby furniture, reminiscent of Beirut Airport, circa 1973.
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| Whispering Pines/ photo: hotel |
The baths – the heart of any hot spring resort – are of the communal type, one for men and one for women. These steaming hot sunken pools are set in grey slate stone with views through large windows to the garden foliage beyond. The waters here are clouded almost white, topping-out at around 60 degrees Celsius, comfortable enough to make for long, lazy dips. Guests wander around as though at home, stopping off for a few minutes in the pool or ordering some of the I-Tsun kitchen's fabulous Taiwanese or Japanese food. This is eaten cross-legged at low tables. Sliding doors open to admit gentle breezes and the sound of water trickling in the nearby rock garden.
A little further up the valley is Whispering Pines Inn. Of similar vintage and design to the I-Tsun, the password here is discretion. No neon signs or garish fairy lights advertise this spa. One could almost mistake it for a private home. It is this low-key quality that patrons appreciate. Stars such as Richard Gere and Zhang Zhiyi (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon) number among the many VIPs to have sought escape here. Blind masseuses are on hand to work out those knotty muscles, if relaxing in the milky sulphur waters hasn't already done the trick. Later, delicious Taiwanese delicacies tempt the palate, with ice-cold Taiwan Beer to chase them down.
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| Outdoor pool: Wu Lai area |
A stone’s throw away, a hot spring experience of a more energetic nature is offered by the huge, glitzy Spring City Resort. This is the sort of place to visit armed with an agenda — there’s stuff to keep you occupied every minute of the day. Outside, the extensive grounds include cafes and warm sulphur paddling ponds, children’s play areas, swimming pools and fountains. There’s a health club with all the trappings. All rooms come with en suite hot spring baths. Top of the range is the Spring Suite, decorated in minimalist Japanese style. This includes its very own juniper pool and precisely geometrical Japanese yard, a huge dining room laid with tatami mats, state of the art entertainment systems and so on. When not relaxing or exercising, there’s no end to the opportunities for eating. Chinese, Japanese and Western menus are on offer at the main restaurants of this five-storey pleasure dome.
The intriguingly named Sweetme Hotspring Resort is a contemporary streamlined option with the no nonsense design touches of traditional Japan. Swathed in glass, cream and beige tones, the atmosphere is serene with cultural accents provided by tatami flooring and ikebana displays. Each room harbours its own private pool – a sculptural work of art in its own right – filled directly from the hot springs. The public spa and hot springs area has a Japanese-Mediterranean touch and promises to treat you “like a Roman aristocrat”. A Chinese restaurant and coffee shop are on hand to provide post-soak nourishment and a swift return to Asia.
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| Villa 32/ photo: hotel |
Just down the road but up the scale of exclusivity, is Hsin Peitou’s latest hideaway paradise, Villa 32. Hiding behind high walls lies a world of water features, a landscape littered with lanterns (discreetly submerged, of course), and a cache of vintage vino in their speciality wine cellar. The award-winning Villa 32 sets the standard now for all of Hsin Peitou’s aspiring hot spring hotels. Enjoy alfresco Italian gourmet dining beneath towering camphor and maple trees, and for once (in this child tolerant city) escape the charms of childish chatter thanks to Villa 32’s policy of restricting children under the age of 16.
Wu Lai resorts and hot springs
National Route 9 snakes along the contours of a steep valley towards the small settlement of Wu Lai, 20km southeast of central Taipei. Clustered here are some of the most splendid hot springs of Taiwan. Principal among them is the new Spring Park Spa & Resort. Designed – unlike much of Taiwan’s architecture – to blend into the landscape, and using much wood and local stone to achieve this effect, Spring Park offers world class facilities to an otherwise very local destination.
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| Peitou: Japanese flourishes |
Soaking in a deep tub, staring out through floor-to-ceiling windows, one takes in the copper-green waters of the river, overshadowed by a towering wooded hillside. One thing you’ll notice is the crystal clarity of Wu Lai’s sulphur water, and its lack of odour (a distinct plus for those who turn their noses up at the boiled-egg smell of most sulphur springs).
The Scandinavian atmosphere of Spring Park resort is enhanced by its open plan, multi-tiered layout. Light and “lightness” is worshipped, in all its senses. A café and various restaurants make use of open-air terraces. Whether it's nouvelle cuisine or a good old-fashioned massage, rest assured that the traffic and bustle of Taiwan is another world away from this, Taipei’s most international hot spring resort.
Wulai Spring Resort is an impressive new addition to the growing Wulai hot spring scene. Turn left immediately after crossing the narrow bridge at the start of Wulai village and follow the country lane for half a kilometre as it clings to the mountainside, a white river crashing by on your left side, a long way down. The resort’s open-air pools look out onto the privacy of thickly jungled mountainside, across the river. Catering to the domestic and Japanese tourist markets, the Japanese rooms here offer that bedroll-on-wooden-floor experience so essential to the delivery of a solid night’s sleep in the Taiwanese countryside. The private hot spring rooms are just right, no unnecessary gadgets; a true back-to-nature experience and at a price that fits.
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| Peitou: garden service |
More representative of the older, family-run hot springs – which have attracted visitors to the curative properties of Wu Lai’s sulphur waters for decades – is the Guo Chi Yen Hot Spring. An unabashedly communal experience, the sounds of kids splashing and shrieking in delight welcomes one to this resort. Families and groups of friends often prefer the more casual atmosphere of these traditional baths to the contemplative privacy of places like Spring Park Resort.
After a soak, punctuated by many cool showers, happy day-trippers mingle, drinking beer, eating salty local snacks and playing cards — it's the Taipei equivalent of a day trip to the beach. Similar in terms of price and range of facilities on offer, the Tungfung Hot Spring Lodge, located a short distance down Wu Lai’s main street from Guo Chi Yen, is well worth popping into. They are so relaxed here that no limit is imposed on the length of your stay. Pay your entrance fee and soak all day (and well into the night, too)!
Jin Shan (Yang Ming Shan)
The Jin Shan hot spring region is located on the northern side of Yang Ming Shan mountain, the volcanic National Park. It is a beautiful area, high up in the clouds and a good hour’s drive from central Taipei (about US$15 by cab, each way). On a clear day one can see down to the ocean at the northernmost tip of Taiwan's rugged coastline.
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| Most decor is traditional |
Hikers naturally gravitate to the trails across this rugged area. End a hard day’s walk at the Tien Lai, Jin Shan’s most elaborate hot spring resort. Whether it’s a restorative hour-long sulphur dip or a weekend hideaway, the Tien Lai comes up trumps. One of the most impressive features here is its open-air pools that drop-off dramatically against a background of sweeping mountain scenery. There are sulphur showers and fountains, even a special area designated for hard-boiling your eggs!
Inside, many rooms come with their own hot spring baths. The main body of the complex houses a well-equipped health club, including both dry and humid-style saunas. Scrubbed and pummelled clean, one can then proceed to the resort’s many and varied restaurants and cafés to fortify oneself for the journey home.
In Jin Shan village, a little further down the mountainside, a cheap and friendly hot spring experience is offered at the eponymous Jin Shan Hot Springs. Relax for as long as you can stand their piping hot acidic sulphur waters. Private baths as well as public pools are available, along with the ubiquitous, life-saving ice-cold Taiwan Beer.
Taipei spa hotels and options
If time is of the essence, there’s no need to leave Taipei city for a spa experience. Simply jump in a cab to the Far Eastern Hotel and zoom up to the fortieth floor for a relaxation session that will literally put you, if not on top of the world, then at least on top of this city.
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| Jin Shan steam room |
The Horizon Spa, managed by Shangri-La group, has packages designed for even the hardened connoisseur. Their “Express Facial Treatment” will cleanse, drain, exfoliate and rejuvenate the head, readying one to take on, perhaps, the awesome two-hour-long “Swedish Body Treatment" which includes 60 minutes of Swedish massage.
A newcomer to the Taipei spa scene is Miramar Spa, on the spacious 2nd floor of the Miramar Garden Hotel. Located in the hotel’s Vigor Health Club, with its floor-to-ceiling windows, the spa specialises in facial treatments and in detoxifying the executive body in (almost) every way imaginable. Fancy some lymphatic drainage? A collagen treatment? Being sculpted by Dead Sea Salts? Then Miramar is the spa for you.
Don’t worry. If all this has transformed you into a spa-junkie, you are certainly in the right city to get your next fix.
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