Amba Taipei is de hotel of Ximending since it opened it’s doors in February 2012. It is no ordinary boutique hotel that is operated by Taiwan’s Ambassador Hotel Group. The hotel has since gained a lot of popularity locally as well as internationally. The Amba Taipei is strategically parked in the heart of Ximending – 5 minutes from Ximen station and sits right on the dot of Wuchang Street. The building of Amba Taipei is a part of a multilevel building – Eslite book store, a department store and a chain of other busy restaurants. Wuchang street is known as a movie street so be sure to catch a movie at one of Taipei’s coolest cinema.
The lobby and reception area is on the 5th floor and all 162 rooms are found from level 6 to level 10. The name Amba Taipei is closely related to it’s parent Ambassor hotel. The word ‘ba’ refers to ‘let’s’. For instance, the reception is renamed ‘wenba’, which is ‘let’s ask’, while the main restuarant’s name is ‘chiba’ for ‘let’s eat’ and dessert bar is ‘tienba’ for ‘let’s sweet’ and so forth. The reception ground area is futuristic and modern, along with a chic bar and restaurant with artwork. Depending on the night, bar visitors will be entertained by live band performances.
Amba Taipei’s artistic design is the most distinctively unique feature of the hotel. It is created by Taiwan’s most celebrated and well known artists, architects, music stylistsand mixologists. Inside the hotel you will be greeted with different pieces of art at every turn of the corner. There are beautiful art pieces made by something as banal as using multiple combination of stickers but with amazing artistic produces and results.
The rooms at Amba Taipei are modern and clean. The beds are all white with an old coke chest and metal drums set up as side tables. The closets look like they are from IKEA and showers and toilet are separate. Rooms come with a regular sized fridge and wifi speed is pretty smooth. Rooms also have IP telephony and a 32- or 40-inch Internet TV offering satellite channels, built-in Skype and social media, and Internet videos. If anything, the room resembles an aloft. Rooms are also designed with MUJI furniture, reflecting it’s minimum eco friendly lifestyle. Most rooms have double paned windows so noise level is reduced even though it is located downtown.
Some luxury bath products that are made from local ginger are for sale in the lobby. It is provided by socially responsible Taiwanese brand, Ginger. All the rooms in Amba Taipei are equipped with these small Taiwanese ginger products where you have a chance to sample them and buy them later as souvenirs if you enjoy using them. Besides soaps, there are shower gels, shampoos, hand creams and more.
First thing in the morning, Amba serves breakfast in the restaurant with an open kitchen setup, communal seating and fast counter service. A variation of juices, tea, coffee are lined up and cooking stations where there is a selection of eggs, porrdige, waffles and much more are available to guests. The extensive breakfast buffet starts as early as 6.30am.
Even though the Amba’s chiba (restaurant) is a dining place, it also doubles as a library or book store where there are rows and rows of book shelves containing comic books, miniature cartoon character toys, warm yellow lighting and big black plus sofas at your comfort. Overall, Amba Taipei is an oustanding hotel with excellent service and impeccable rooms and accommodation. The location is spectacular with just 5 mins away from major transportation and close to attractive sights, restaurants and entertainment hubs.
77, Wuchang street Section 2,
Taipei 10843,
Taiwan
Tel: +886 2 2375 5111
