Eslite Hotel

Character and identity

Toyo Ito's gently curved 18-story tower sits inside Songshan Cultural and Creative Park, a pocket of calm in the otherwise frenetic Xinyi district. The 104 rooms all open onto balconies, a genuine rarity in Taipei, and the design language pairs traditional brick and stone with rotating works by local artists and photographers documenting mid-century Taiwanese life. The literary DNA runs deep: Eslite began as a bookseller, and 5,000 volumes line the Lobby Lounge, which doubles as a reading room. In Between steakhouse handles serious dry-aged beef and pours from Eslite Wine Cellar, one of Taiwan's leading importers. Service is polished and quietly attentive.

Who's it for

Bottom line

The reason to book is the architecture-meets-bookshop sensibility you won't find elsewhere in Taipei, plus those balconies. Book a City View room for the Songshan park and Taipei 101 outlook, splurge on the Library Suite if the literary angle is the whole point, and reserve months ahead for New Year's Eve when the 101 fireworks turn this into the city's hottest room.