Our latest Project of the Week is a unique double development for Hyatt Hotels Corporation in what will become Taipei’s second tallest building.

Mixed use skyscraper, Taipei Sky Tower, will house both Andaz Taipei and Park Hyatt Taipei in the Taiwanese capital.

First pair

The project marks the first time that both the luxury Andaz and Park Hyatt brands have been developed within one tower in Asia, though our TOPHOTELPROJECTS researchers were told at one point the Park Hyatt section may have been swapped for offices. However, this was not confirmed, and the caution could have been due to the proximity of the existing Grand Hyatt Taipei in the downtown Xinyi District.

Therefore the hotel pair will deliver 500 keys in total, with Andaz hosting 200 rooms and Park Hyatt representing the other 300.

Bamboo inspiration

Riant Capital is the firm behind the 280-m-tall tower, which will cater to high-end travellers. Taipei Sky Tower will also house retail spaces, restaurants and an auditorium, with its base providing a multi-functional public space.

The architecture was designed by renowned Italian firm, Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel & Partners (ACPV), and celebrates Taiwan’s balance of modernism and tradition by taking inspiration from Chinese bamboo shoots and pleats of Greek columns. ACPV is also responsible for designing Park Hyatt Taipei’s interior, while the selected designer for Andaz was Asian design studio, Shanghai-based Neri&Hu Design and Research Office.

New hospitality line

The chosen hotel company and designers demonstrate the developer’s vision of creating a new line of hospitality products to differentiate from the pool of hotels built in the global hospitality industry over the last few decades and for the tower to become Taiwan’s next-generation landmark for innovation, efficiency, and sustainability.

As a diversified lifestyle luxury destination, Taipei Sky Tower retail space will step out of the typical Taiwanese department store shopping format, and aims to create a 300-m long variety of various flagship stores. All stores will be carefully selected and all lifestyle driven in order to produce a diverse yet interesting shopping experience.

Schedule ramp-up

Across a total area of 88 500 sq m, the 54-floor development is estimated to cost more than $1 billion.

When the project was first discussed in 2016, Riant Capital invited eight international hotel groups to bid for TST’s operation rights, and Hyatt Hotels Corporation’s dual hotel concept won out, with the contract awarded in 2018.

The building was originally scheduled to complete in 2020, and while construction started slowly, it now seems to be progressing rapidly to meet the revised opening schedule of Q2 2024.

Experiential product

Aaron Chan, chairman and CEO of Riant Capital said at the time of the contract award: “While social media and the online sharing economy are reshaping the global tourism industry, we find this as a unique opportunity and attempt to go a step further. Travellers nowadays are tired of the conventional hotel experience but are still unsure about the consistency of what online short-term lodging offers. We believe this is where the opportunity lies. We want to create a product that is experiential and exciting, and at the same time consistent and operationally well run.”

David Udell, group president of Asia Pacific, Hyatt Hotels Corporation, added: “We are delighted to collaborate with Riant Capital to pioneer a new hospitality experience in one of the city’s most premier destinations. This collaboration is particularly exciting for us since it will be our first dual-hotel luxury development project in Asia. Having both Park Hyatt and Andaz under one roof will give us the opportunity to offer two very different luxury and lifestyle experiences to our local and global guests, and cater to their different stay needs.”

Rare combination

Park Hyatt is the group’s luxury brand known for its attention to detail and exceptional personal service. Andaz is a newer brand that showcases unconventional hotel style celebrating the local culture and surroundings.

The combination of Park Hyatt Taipei and Andaz in one building will bring two luxury and lifestyle experiences to Taipei Sky Tower, and also make Taipei the third city in Asia, after Tokyo and Shanghai, to have both Park Hyatt and Andaz brands under the same city skyline.

Many TOPHOTELNEWS articles draw on exclusive information from the TOPHOTELPROJECTS construction database. This subscription-based product includes details of thousands of hotel projects around the world, along with the key decision-makers behind them. Please note, our data may differ from records held by other organisations. Generally, the database focuses on four- and five-star schemes of significant scale; tracks projects in either the vision, pre-planning, planning, under-construction, pre-opening or newly opened phase; and covers newbuilds, extensions, refurbishments and conversions.

Learn more

Related Articles