ON a cold autumn morning earlier this month, Suao Cold Spring Park (蘇澳冷泉公園) seemed to have little appeal to anybody beyond a few old folk doing their daily exercise in the main courtyard around the public bathing pool. Suao is famous for its cold spring water baths, which in the summer months are popular with tourists, and even in winter draw the hardy few to take advantage of its medicinal properties.
The bathing facilities at the park are far from new, and there is a charmingly dilapidated quality to the moldering red brick building that encloses it. Bathing in the public pool costs just NT$70, with greater privacy available for NT$200 for one person or NT$300 for two. Given that Taiwan has the only carbonated cold water springs of this type in Asia (Italy is the only other country in the world that has them), this is something of a bargain.
Suao’s springs are quite different from the sulfurous springs of northern Taiwan’s hot spring resorts. Carbonated by high levels of naturally occurring carbon dioxide, the spring water was at first thought to be poisonous, as fish and insects were unable to survive in it. It was later discovered by the Japanese to make a refreshing drink, and since the 1930s its many purported therapeutic effects, ranging from its ability to cure everything from backache to diabetes, have been embraced with enthusiasm.
The Suao Cold Spring Park is far from being the only option for bathing in this invigorating water, though according to Joe Lei (雷震洲), the general manager of Sunhi Travel (尚海旅遊), a travel agency based in Suao, the open streams that used to serve local residents have now mostly been enclosed. “If you can enjoy the spring water for free, then you can’t get people to pay money for it,” he said. The water now mostly runs below the street surface and is piped to various bathing establishments around the town.
The biggest of these is the recently opened the RSL Cold & Hot Springs Resort Suao (瓏山林蘇澳冷熱泉渡假飯店), a neo-Palladian palace that has sprung up among the ramshackle houses that dominate downtown Suao. Located virtually next door to the Suao Cold Spring Park, with its creamy white walls, formal lines and central courtyard shimmering with immaculately kept pools of spring water, the RSL could hardly present a greater contrast.
“The whole central bathing area is only open to hotel guests,” I was told by Cloudia Hsieh (謝宜芬), the assistant public relations manger for the RSL, as staff attached a hospital-style magnetic band around my wrist. This would be used for all transactions within the hotel, from entering the pool area to buying a drink at the bar. “Some guests find it a little odd initially,” Hsieh said, “but once they are used to it, they find it very convenient. There is no need to carry money or keys around.”
Exclusivity is the name of the game at the RSL and staff make guests feel at home by welcoming regulars by name. The same personalized service extends to the restaurant, where in addition to a new daily set menu featuring local ingredients and sporting a fusion of various culinary styles crafted by executive chef Bozo Wang (王聰義), the kitchen makes the effort to offer any little extras to meet the individual tastes of its guests.
The hotel offers Western- and Japanese-style rooms, all equipped with private spa pools in which the famous spring water of the area can be enjoyed in private. The RSL is the only hotel that is currently licensed as providing both cold and hot spring water. Its great rival is the Hotel Royal Chiao Hsi (礁溪老爺大酒店) in Jiaoxi Township (礁溪鄉) in northern Ilan County, which is famous for its hot spring baths. “Their high season is in winter, ours is in summer,” Hsieh said, suggesting that the two hotels divide the luxury spa market in Ilan between them.
On the 12th floor rooftop of the hotel there is a super exclusive open-air nude bathing area (access costs an additional NT$600 over the room rate) that provides expansive views of the harbor and the surrounding hills. The height of the bathing area and the “infinity pool” design of the spa baths allow guests to take in a wider panorama, enjoying views of Suao’s famous harbor. As the hotel is by far the tallest building in the vicinity, this rooftop spa area allows guests to enjoy the delights of the ocean breeze in a state of nature. At night, the lights of the military vessels stationed in Suao harbor make for an attractive sight.
Further down from the military harbor is the small fishing town of Nanfangau (南方澳), famous for its fresh seafood. It is just a 15-minute bicycle trip away (bicycles are available to guests free of charge). A trail leading up Chihsin Mountain (七星山) starts just behind the hotel, providing some gentle hiking. Local residents have even set up a row of hammocks on the hill top so that hikers can take their ease while enjoying unparalleled views of Ilan’s coastline and the Lanyang Plain (蘭陽平原).
As a transit point between northern Taiwan and the southeastern coastal counties of Hualien and Taitung, Suao was once a booming tourist town. This ended with the opening of the Taiwan Railway Administration’s North Link Line (北迴鐵路) in 1980, which bypassed the town. With the completion of National Highway No. 5 (蔣渭水高速公路) in 2006, Suao has enjoyed a new lease on life as the endpoint of the major highway linking Taipei to the east coast, and Lei said that efforts are already underway to provide recreation facilities for the growing crowds of people once again passing through the town.
While many will undoubtedly continue to enjoy the rather down-at-heel charm of Suao Cold Spring Park, those who demand greater comfort and privacy now have the option of the RSL Cold & Hot Springs Resort Suao.
Ian Bartholomew stayed at the RSL Cold & Hot Springs Resort Suao courtesy of the hotel.
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