Stay here: Hoshinoya Guguan

What’s the deal?

A treasure among the mountains, Hoshinoya Guguan resides in the serene Guguan hot springs area of central Taiwan. Designed by architects Rie Azuma and Hasegawa Hiroki, this ryokan-style retreat seamlessly blends architecture with its surrounding nature, from the soothing sound of the babbling brook in the communal garden and the sight of flowers along the waterways to serene moments in the pavilion over a cup of tea.

The hotel offers plenty of ways for guests to experience local culture, including sampling traditional Hakka pounded tea, exploring indigenous Taiwanese culture through Atayal weaving, and crafting your own traditional Atayal instrument as a unique souvenir.

Why stay?

Most of the hotel’s 49 rooms are duplexes, each boasting a semi-outdoor hot spring. The Shui guest rooms feature floor-to-ceiling windows which flood the space with natural light and offer sweeping mountain views – an ideal setting for reclining on the sofa with a book while taking in the breath-taking mountain vistas. The lower level offers a semi-outdoor private hot spring, perfect for a relaxing evening soak served with a sky full of stars.

Don’t miss

The hotel’s exceptional kaiseki cuisine makes for an extraordinary culinary journey. Executive chef Shunsuke Fujii combines fresh Taiwanese ingredients with Japanese culinary technique to craft distinctive fusion dishes. The ganmodoki fried tofu with Tainan milkfish and the tender Guguan trout rice pot with sweet salmon roe are standouts in an unparalleled dining experience.