After
finishing up a section of my work trip in Thailand in the last week of January, 2016, I had a few days either side of a weekend to spare before the next job
(which was also in Thailand). I had previously booked flights to Taiwan as part
of the work trip, but the job to be done there had to be delayed. But, if
you’ve been following my blog, you’ll know my fiancée lives in Taiwan. So I
kept the flights (reimbursing my company for them, of course!) and headed over
to spend some time with her, staying for five nights in Millennium Vee Hotel,Taichung.
Situated a
little way off the main strip of north-western inner Taichung, Millennium Vee
is located in a slightly upper class area. There are plenty of fancy houses
and apartments around the place, and in the hotel car park, we found lots of
exotic sets of wheels. This location does pose a bit of a disadvantage,
however, because it’s not a short walk outside to a convenience store or to
restaurants. That’s probably the only downside, though, as the hotel itself was
extremely nice.
The lobby
is in a long rectangle, parallel to the main street from which you drive in,
decorated in soft brown and cream shades, with a couple of pieces of artwork
punctuating the length. To the right of the main entrance is the Lumi coffee
shop and bar, offering drinks and afternoon tea. I only visited once during my
stay, but the staff there were very friendly and efficient.
My flight
came in quite late, and so we checked in around 10:30pm. The process was smooth
and simple, and the staff member there explained everything very clearly. The
room booked was a Deluxe Room, which is actually one of the standard levels of
accommodation. I quite liked it, but Avy almost instantly decided she preferred
other hotels we’ve stayed at in Taichung! The bed was very comfortable – I
often have issues with my back when I sleep in different beds on my travels,
but no such problem here. The pillows, though, were probably a bit too soft for
my liking. But there were two per person, so it still worked okay.
As a
greeting gift, we were welcomed with a selection of nougat, which was quite a
nice touch. I wouldn’t say I’m a huge fan of nougat, but the chocolate one was
very tasty – quite soft in consistency. The white flavour was a bit like
chewing on a chunk of sticky plastic, though. As a healthier option, the coffee
table came adorned with two Taiwanese yellow grapefruit. I’m a big fan of
grapefruit, though I do prefer red over yellow. Nevertheless, these were juicy
and delicious. The knife provided was a blunt butter-knife, which is not ideal
for cutting grapefruit; I would generally cut it in half and then shuck the
fruit from the rind on the inside of a half before dissecting it – you can’t do
this very well with a butter-knife. These had to be eaten more like an orange: cut into quarters or eights from the whole. Just a pointer so that you don’t
make as much mess as I did!
As I was
spending time with Avy, I didn’t try out all the extra facilities of the hotel,
like the gym and pool. Here are a few official photos from the hotel website.
Breakfast
is served on the 3rd floor, in the Soluna restaurant. There’s a
fairly wide selection to kick your metabolism into gear in the morning.
Somebody from the front desk will greet you and find you a table, offering tea
or coffee – the first cup is brought to you, but after that you will have to
ask for a top up or visit the coffee machine. There’s also the option for
takeaway cups for the coffee machine if you ask nicely – Avy likes to sleep in,
and my booking only included one breakfast per day, so I just brought her a nice
hot cup of caffeine.
On my last
day staying at Millennium Vee, it just so happened to be my birthday. Avy and
I were out for most of the day, but when we got back and were packing up to
leave early the next morning, the room phone rang. The reception had called up
to wish me a happy birthday; a lovely surprise to receive. They offered to help
celebrations by sending up a serve of cake to enjoy, and it was absolutely delicious.
My thanks to the kind staff for topping off my birthday just nicely!
Needless to
say, Millennium Vee Hotel is not a budget place to stay when you are visiting
Taichung. But with the elevated price tag comes that extra bit of luxury and
comfort. If you have a bit of extra cash to splash on your lodgings, definitely
give it a try. As a seasoned Taichung hotel-dweller, Millennium Vee sits safely
in my top 3 places to hang your hat in Taichung.
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