Dandy Hotel - Tianmu Branch

The Dandy Hotel  is owned by the Taiwan based Taipei Inn Group, who brought in an Italian architect to design its dark-gray interiors and elegantly simple rooms. The gray-and-white color palate gets a bit of drama from red paper lanterns and ceiling drapery. The small lobby is also decorated in red wall stencils, adding decorative figures and tree blossoms to the otherwise sober interiors. Each floor has a theme with whimsical artwork dedicated to a different country (a portrait of Mr. Bean and a classic three-tier cake stand adorn one of the British floor's halls). Most guests are tourists or business travelers who want somewhere quiet to stay or need easy access to the Tianmu neighborhood. It's not exactly the kind of place a traveler would spend hours whiling away the time relaxing, but it's a great home base for exploring the northern stretches of the city.

The hotel is located in the quiet, residential neighborhood of Tianmu, which is composed mostly of affluent apartment buildings, and has only a few points of interest for tourists. There are however, some restaurants up and down Zhongshan North Road. It's within a 10-minute walk of the Tianmu Baseball Stadium, as well as the Dayeh Takashimaya, and Shin Kong Mitsukoshi department stores. Unfortunately there's no metro access within reasonable walking distance -- it's 20 minutes on foot to the Mingde station (or five minutes by taxi). The eateries at Shilin Night Market are about a 10-minute drive, or 42-minutes by public transportation. Farther afield, but still easily accessible attractions include the National Palace Museum, an 11-minute drive to the southeast, and Beitou Hot Springs, a 15-minute drive to the northwest. Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is 40 minutes away by car, but takes over two-hours to reach by via high-speed rail.

The Dandy's rooms are characterized by clean lines and light-gray tones, with minimalist designs that maximize space. The walls are unadorned, and the windows are unfortunately small, with strategically placed recessed accent lights doing the ambient work in place of natural light, or artwork. Entryways have mirrored alcoves with built-in luggage racks that give way to Italian stone flooring and sleek modern chairs. They aren't the largest rooms to be had, with entry-level Standard Rooms starting at just 16 square meters of space (172 square feet). Mini-fridges, free Wi-Fi, safes, air-conditioning, and electric kettles come standard, as do 42-inch flat-screen TVs. Room types vary more in name than amenities, but the Deluxe Family Rooms are slightly larger than the rest. The bathrooms have attractive tiles, with colors differing between rooms, and all have electronic toilets along with walk-in rainfall showers.

Given it's location right in Taipei, and its small stature, features aren't abundant here. There's a cafe on the ground floor with sleek white tables, as well as a small, comfortable lounge where the hotel serves an included breakfast buffet with both Western and Chinese options. A violinist performs during breakfast hours on some days -- a special touch for this category of hotel. There's also an outdoor patio overlooking the street, and the cafe serves cocktails throughout the day, but there's no full restaurant or dedicated bar here. The hotel also offers a 24-hour internet corner with a pair of Macs and a printer. On-site parking is available free of charge, and Wi-Fi is free throughout the hotel.