Maria Hotel

When visiting the magical Alishan national park, there are very few lodging options inside the park. But being inside the park allows you direct access to all the trails and beauty. None of the lodging options, even the the Alishan Hotel, which cost $500+ USD a night, are luxury hotel accommodations. This is a 2-3 star property, and for that level, it exceeded my expectations. We stayed at a different hotel during our visit 2 years ago, and I can say that the Maria Hotel is 100% better than where we stayed last time. Here are the things that we liked: - The hotel staff is really nice, friendly, helpful, and speaks English very well. - The hotels are all non-smoking, but in the past, that hasn't been strictly adhered to. This hotel was definitely smoke-free, - The rooms look like the rooms posted online. We had 2 double beds and big window that let in a lot of natural light and from where we could see the trees. - The beds and pillows were comfortable. And they offer electric blankets if you are cold. - The bedding and room were clean, not pristine. Again, it was way better than I expected. - We were able to pay by credit card. - The location was perfect. Less than a few minutes from the restaurants and park shuttle, and a 5 minute walk to the train station. - The bathroom had hot water and included shampoo and body wash. I've seen reviews about the bathroom not having a shower curtain and the floor getting wet. I agree that is annoying, but that is also very Taiwanese (having grown up here) and standard here. The water also dries up fairly quickly. And the fact that we had a bathtub/shower helped contain a lot of the water which was a nice surprise. - We had no issues with the noise level - it is what it is like in all hotels. We were in Alishan during a very heavy rainfall. I was worried heading up there that we would be stuck in our room for 2 days and that the room would be similar to the last hotel we stayed in.

The location of this place is ideal. The staff was very friendly and super helpful. Be prepared to use a translation app if you don't speak Mandarin. You have to think of this place as kind of camping. You are in a park so I did see bugs (not in the bed!) crawling around but that did not bother me. They seemed harmless. I will have to say that during my stay the bathroom started flooding from a drain on the tile floor. When I asked the front desk about it they explained that the pipes need repair and have not been fixed. This happens when someone in another room is taking a shower. They did offer me 500TWD in cash for the issue which I was grateful for. I didn't have high expectations of this place so I wasn't totally thrown by it and because I was only staying 1 night I found it manageable but I'm not entirely sure at this point if I'd book here again because of this situation.

Located at the centre of Alishan National Park. It is easy to move around with eateries and supermarket. Front desk staff is very friendly. If you are taking a coach, then need to walk a short distance after you arrive at the front gate of Alishan National Park to the hotel. Unless you are driving a car.

The desk could be a bit demanding about pushing you to buy things.

Very convenient location. Mold in the bathrooms. Thin walls and large gaps in the main door. Could hear all of the hallway.

There's no elevator and the building looks old. The bathroom was very narrow. But it was good enough.

Ok ok. It’s super basic. Best thing is the heating mattress . The mattress could be cleaner, the price could be cheaper for what’s given.

Location is very convenient I wish there is a shower curtain on the bath tub

All staff was friendly and support us.

Very helpful stuff / great location Outdated property/ bathroom a bit moldy

The staff is exceptionally and very kind to carry our big luggages up the stairs. The owner even took my big bag up the slope so I don’t have to carry it and deliver it to my husband at the transit Center. Unbelievably kind and unexpected. Thank you L. Vivo Nothing, it is on the mountain so don’t expect 6 stars hotel from the Ritz. We have everything we need and more.

Location and friendliness of staff The facilities are not well thought-out. E.g., there was no shower curtain and no hooks on the wall to hang clothes. There were dead flies in the room

The hotel is located within the Alishan National forest so it is very convenient if you plan to hike and watch the sunrise. It is also close to lots of shops. The facilities, specifically the heated bed and water, are perfect! The breakfast is not good. It is better to just buy from 7-11.

It’s in the area to do activities The room is mot clean enough(blanket is look dirty)

Convenient location within Alishan Recreation Area. Although the room and lobby seemed a bit dated, it was quite clean and sufficient for a good rest. The bed has electronic blanket, which is a great feature to have in the cold weather. The host Sunny was very kind and helpful. Appreciate her help in accommodating our request for utilizing the room post check out. Thank you Sunny. The vegetarian friendly breakfast was a bonus and was very nice. None

The room is enough for a group of 3. The slippers are 'real and proper' slippers, not the thin hotel type slippers. The room was cold at first, but the blanket warmer worked its magic so even without a heater in the room, it wasn't cold. And Sunny, the girl at the reception area, was such a delight to talk to! None. We were happy with our stay.

The staff was extremely kind and spoke both Chinese and English. Breakfast was included in the stay at a local breakfast place. People mention that the hotel is cash only but they will take both card and cash for your payment, just communicate your needs with them. No elevator but it wasn’t too inconvenient since it’s not very tall of a building.

Heating Blanket ??

It’s ok. Small and old.

- Very friendly staff, they were accommodating with my request to leave luggage in a safe area. One lady spoke fluent English and another man spoke well enough for us to converse. - Location is good, easy-to-find and 5 minutes walk to the bus station. - The room was very big and the bed was fairly comfortable. - I didn't inspect things closely but the room seemed clean. - The room was very hot, I think they had turned the heating on before I arrived. For local people, 20-22 degrees would be considered cold (they even explained that I could use the electric blanket), but for me (European) it was way too hot! - The sound isolation is not great, I could hear the couple talking on the floor above me. - Breakfast is in another place and is from 7-9am. I didn't try it because it was a little bit inconvenient. - The price is not cheap, however I know that's the norm for staying in Alishan.