About this hotel
General information
HOSHINOYA Guguan is a hot-spring retreat in a misty mountain valley at Guguan, set on a ridge above the Dajia River. Its facade pairs glass with wooden latticework, mirroring the green slopes so the building settles into the landscape, while art-filled interiors give it the calm of a gallery. Spring water runs from the open-air baths through bamboo groves into the Water Garden, and gazebos stand among the pines for reading or an afternoon nap.
The 49 rooms come in five types, most of them maisonettes in which a whole floor is given over to a private bath fed continuously with hot-spring water. The grounds hold gender-separated bath halls, an outdoor pool, a spa, a dining hall serving seasonal kaiseki, a library and a lounge for resting after a soak, plus Kazenoma, an open fourth-floor deck where the breeze runs freely. Stays are sold room only or with breakfast and a seasonal course dinner.
Location
The resort sits on a hillside above the hot-spring town of Guguan in Taichung's Heping District, about 90 minutes by car from downtown Taichung. From Taipei the journey takes around 2.5 hours: an hour by high-speed train to Taichung, then an hour and a half by car. The hotel arranges chauffeured transfers from Taoyuan International Airport, Songshan Airport, Taichung International Airport, Taichung railway station and Taichung High Speed Rail station, to be requested at least three days before arrival. Guests arriving by car have private parking and Tesla and Porsche chargers that can be reserved.
Spa
The baths are filled with soft, low-alkaline hydrogen-carbonate spring water. The bath halls, separate for men and women, each have a deep indoor bath edged in fragrant cypress and an outdoor bath laid out in a zigzag that echoes natural rock forms and frames the seasonal scenery; bathing is without swimwear. Spa treatments and massages take place in a traditional Japanese room lit softly through shoji paper screens, once the body has been warmed in the spring.
Sports & leisure
Beyond the baths and pool, the hotel runs activities on site and trips into the surrounding area:
- Forest in a bottle, an hour-long workshop in the Water Garden building a miniature forest of living plants inside a glass vessel;
- a weaving workshop in the Atayal tradition, working on a tabletop loom with a teacher, on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays;
- seasonal programmes such as stretching in hot-spring water with breathing exercises and craft sessions with cypress and cedar scents;
- Taichung City Taxi Tour, day trips around Taichung by sightseeing taxi with an English-speaking driver on three routes: the city's classic sights, a local's day out of markets and a tea house, and a cycling ride along a former railway line followed by the Gaomei Wetlands.
For children
There is a playroom for children.
Restaurants & bars
The kitchen brings Japanese technique to Taiwanese produce:
- Dining Hall — a seasonal kaiseki dinner built on local ingredients, including sturgeon and trout caviar from Guguan, served on Arita, Kutani, Bizen and Oribe ware; at breakfast a Taiwanese set of congee in chicken-and-scallop broth with douhua, a Japanese set with grilled fish, or a Western one; at lunch beef noodles, curry and udon, booked ahead;
- A la carte In Room Dining — dinner in the room from a menu of Taiwanese and Japanese dishes;
- Library — coffee and books on travel;
- Yuagari lounge — a place to rest after bathing, looking onto the Water Garden.
Swimming
At the centre of the leafy grounds lies an outdoor pool of clear blue water, like a pond deep in a forest, ringed by gazebos that offer shade and the breeze drifting in from the surrounding groves.
Pets
Pets are not allowed.
Rooms
49 rooms in five categories, from 75 to 216 m². Most are maisonettes: the living space, with floor-to-ceiling windows onto the mountains, on one level, and a semi-open hot-spring bath with windows at both ends and adjustable louvres on the other.
Every room has its own hot-spring bath, a bathtub and shower booth, double basins, a separate WC with a Washlet toilet, a minibar, refrigerator, electric kettle, safe, reading light, room wear for adults and children, pyjamas and free Wi-Fi.
Feng
A maisonette with low furniture for floor-level relaxing and a balcony; the spacious bath area has a shower booth and a bench. Sleeps three.
Yue
One of five maisonettes with a bath area twice the size of the others, furnished with a sofa rather than a bench for after a soak. One 200 × 220 cm bed; up to two guests.
Shui
A maisonette with the living area and bedroom, behind a picture window onto the mountains, on one level and a generous bath area with a bench on the other. One 200 × 220 cm bed; up to two guests.
Shan
One of three single-level suites: two bedrooms, each with a 200 × 220 cm bed, a living area for floor-level relaxing and a wide terrace looking over Guguan. Up to four guests.
Sen
A penthouse maisonette, one of a kind at the hotel, with two double bedrooms and a third bedroom for three, two semi-open baths and a wide terrace with a dining table facing the mountains. Up to seven guests.
Photos are for illustrative purposes only. Actual room layout, furnishings, décor, views and amenities may differ from those shown and may vary between rooms of the same category. Hotel and room descriptions are based on information provided by the property and are believed to be accurate at the time of publication, but are not guaranteed. The hotel may renovate or change its rooms, facilities, restaurants and services at any time without notice. The final details of your stay are confirmed at the time of booking. See our Terms of Use.