Taiwanese icon to be reconstructed thanks to Japanese partnership

Independent Japanese hotel brand Palace Hotel Co Ltd, manager of Palace Hotel Tokyo, is teaming up with Taiwanese firm The Ambassador Hotel Co Ltd to raze and rebuild a historic site in Taipei.

The landmark Ambassador Hotel Taipei will undergo a complete redesign to become Ambassador Palace Hotel Taipei in 2028.

More spacious accommodation

The property was the first privately owned luxury hotel in Taiwan when it opened in 1964 and has now closed its doors for the six year redevelopment. Palace Hotel Co Ltd will manage the transformed site, marking its first ever luxury project outside Japan.

Ambassador Palace Hotel Taipei is located in the trendy Zhongshan district. The original property housed 425 guestrooms, six restaurants and 29 banquet rooms. Following the makeover, the new hotel will debut with 106 rooms and suites. Its facilities will include a fitness centre, swimming pool, spa and versatile events spaces as well as a lounge for the exclusive use of in-house guests.

A collective of six dining venues – including a bar on the hotel’s topmost floor – and a bakeshop are slated, with the Japanese restaurant to be managed by Palace Hotel Co Ltd.

Refreshed design

UK-based G.A Group, led by Terry McGinnity, has been appointed to craft the hotel’s interiors. The design firm was responsible for much of Palace Hotel Tokyo’s interiors, creating refined spaces that blend with the property’s surroundings and celebrate the country’s heritage. The new Taipei property will echo the same sentiment, exuding an aesthetic that is aimed at being detail-rich yet overarchingly simple.

Mitsubishi Jisho Design Inc, which spearheaded the architectural direction for Palace Hotel Tokyo, will be playing a similar role in the Taipei project. In addition to the hotel component, the expansive property will encompass 73 luxury private residences housed in an adjacent, 23-storey tower.

Leveraging both brands

Daisuke Yoshihara, president of Palace Hotel Co Ltd commented: “It’s fitting that our first luxury project outside of Japan is in collaboration with a brand that trades on its history as an ambassador. Both properties have played a pivotal role in elevating the hospitality industry in each country. Through this partnership, we will work together to take the Ambassador brand to ambitious new heights, just as we have done with Palace Hotel Tokyo.”

Emmet Hsu, chairman of The Ambassador Hotel Co Ltd, added: “Undergoing this massive, six-year reconstruction will allow us to raise the bar on our products and services while further strengthening our legacy of representing the best of Taiwanese hospitality. We are honoured to partner with Japan’s most distinguished luxury hospitality brand to present the best of both to travellers from all over the world, and look forward to leveraging the respective strengths of each as we write a new chapter in history, defined by our shared pursuit of excellence.”

Tokyo inspiration

Celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, Palace Hotel Tokyo underwent a similar transformation over a decade ago, with a three-year rebuild from the ground up followed by a re-opening in 2012. Palace Hotel Co Ltd will draw on this experience as it begins a similar journey in Taipei.

Masaru Watanabe, Palace Hotel Tokyo’s senior managing director and general manager, said: “As Palace Hotel Tokyo embarks on its next decade, we’re enthused by the continued rise in demand for sophisticated travel experiences across Asia. Taiwan, with its worldly appeal and cosmopolitan travellers – many of whom are Japanophiles – makes perfect sense as the first step of our brand’s overseas expansion.”

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