The Sherwood Taipei (西華飯店) is to exit the market on Feb. 15, bowing to effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has wreaked havoc on lodging facilities heavily reliant on foreign business travelers.
The 320-guestroom hotel yesterday morning issued a statement to confirm the decision, which was made after it obtained preferential development terms to rebuild the 32-year-old facility on Section 3 of Minsheng E Road.
“While reluctant, the hotel arrived at the decision in light of lingering border controls and uncertainty over the virus outbreak,” the hotel said in a statement.
Photo: Lin Tsui-yi, Taipei Times
The hotel in 2020 filed an application to redevelop the premises and in November won a 40 percent award of future floor space, Sherwood Taipei board director Mark Liu (劉恆昌) told reporters.
The hotel has to halt operations to take advantage of the situation, Liu said, adding that it has not yet decided whether to develop luxury homes, office space or a mixed-use complex.
Recipients of favorable building terms must submit construction details within six months of approval.
Older facilities such as Leofoo Hotel (六福客棧) in Taipei, Ambassador Hotel Taipei (台北國賓飯店) and Taipei Fullerton Hotel East (馥敦飯店南京館) have also applied for the terms, citing similar headwinds.
International tourist hotels have been hit hard by COVID-19 restrictions, with no end in sight.
A boom in domestic tourism has been of limited benefit for facilities in Taipei, as most people prefer to vacation in southern and eastern Taiwan.
The Sherwood sits on a 1,050 ping (3,465m2) plot of land. It has 20 floors above ground and five basement levels.
Since it opened in 1990, the Sherwood Taipei has received guests of international renown such as former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, former US president George Bush, film director Ang Lee (李安), and Hong Kong movie stars Chow Yun-fat (周潤發) and Andy Liu (劉德華).
The hotel said that its customers could stay at the Marriott Taipei (台北萬豪酒店), which is run by the same management team.
People with unused hotel and restaurant vouchers can call the Sherwood Taipei to redeem them, it said.
Hamp Court Palace
Separately, Hamp Court Palace (寶璞大飯店) in Taipei’s Zhongshan District (中山) has converted into a quarantine facility right after its opening earlier this month.
The hotel of 129 guestrooms on Jianguo North Road (建國北路) is the latest adventure of United People Co (韋樺實業), a garment and bedding retailer that recently forayed into the hospitality industry.
The company spent NT$30 million (US$1.08 million) taking over the property and plans to pour another NT$200 million renovating the facility in preparation for border reopening, it said.
The company inked a 12-year lease from the property’s owner Yu-shang Development Co (御上建設) on expectation the hospitality industry would soon emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic.
This story has been updated since it was first published to add information about Hamp Court Palace hotel.
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