S Aura Hotel

“A great value hotel”

Two of us stayed for four nights in the luxury room class. We were in room 1216, which is the top floor, corner room. We thought this hotel was very good value, clean, and well maintained. We would stay here again when we visit the Neihu district again. It is not a fancy 5-star hotel, but it ha… more

Two of us stayed for four nights in the luxury room class. We were in room 1216, which is the top floor, corner room. We thought this hotel was very good value, clean, and well maintained. We would stay here again when we visit the Neihu district again. It is not a fancy 5-star hotel, but it has very attractive prices and does everything a hotel needs to do to be comfortable with good service. As the hotel is on the intersection of two busy streets and the Wenhu MRT line, I was worried about possible noise. I did not see other reviews mentioning this as a problem so we booked the room. There is modest road noise through the window. The MRT line is very quiet – it is not like Jake Blues apartment in Chicago that shakes with each passing train! The MRT line goes at a slower speed on this section of track due to the Jainnan station and a curve. At night, it is peaceful, there is very little traffic too. During the day, you do notice it some, but it is a background noise. Room 1216 (or perhaps any end units) does seem to be next to a service elevator. One can hear it as a “wooshing” noise behind the wall. If one were trying to concentrate and work in the room it might be a distraction without headphones. It seems to run from maybe 7am - 10pm. For room 1216 in particular, there were only a couple things I would change. The biggest is that the toilet paper rolls are positioned behind the toilet along a wall, so it is a big twist and reach to use. It was not just me, my much more lithe partner found it offputting too. We eventually took a roll off the roller and used it freehand. The shower has a wand and an overhead “rain” head. The want is mounted at about 4’ height, so it is not convenient to use as a shower head. I found that if there is pressure in the line (and it had great pressure), I could tilt it back in the holder and then the water is coming out at a better height. I am not a fan of the overhead rain shower heads. The breakfast buffet is very good with a nice variety. It leans mostly Taiwanese/Asian, but there are usually a few western items. The hotel is in close walking distance to several shopping malls that all have good food courts. There is also a food plaza next to the Indigo hotel a block away. You can also find more traditional “hole-in-the-wall” style restaurants along Neihu road. The hotel is also convenient for bus and MRT use. Although Jainnan (Miramar) station is closer, I often use Xihu, as I can catch a bus for 2 stops that drops me off right across the street from the hotel. Not that it’s much of a walk from Miramar. There is a Cheunghwa Telecom store just east of Xihu station. I was able to get an eSIM there for my visit. The agent spoke good English. It was more convenient than the lines at the airport. From the airport, one could take the 1840 airport bus to the Xingtian Temple bus stop, then change to one of many other buses at the same stop that will take you to the Miramar bus stop just a block from the hotel. You would want a bus pass, of course, for the transfer. Or take the 1840 all the way to Songshan Airport and grab a taxi.

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