Taiwan Boasts 31 Five-star Hotels:Tourism Bureau evaluation

　　The China Post news staff--The Tourism Bureau released the result of the latest evaluations for Taiwanese hotels yesterday: Another 34 hotels have passed the assessment and are now listed as star hotels, increasing the total number of five-star hotels in Taiwan to 31. Over half of the 107 tourism hotels in Taiwan have participated in the hotel evaluations recently conducted, according to the Hotel Star Rating program of the Tourism Bureau, which pointed out that all hotels with “stars” are quality hotels that would cater to travelers" needs.

　　In addition to star-rating, the program also funds and facilitates renovation and upgrading lodging quality of the 400 hotels with over 50 rooms, among the 2,686 regular hotels in Taiwan. These 400 hotels are designed to appeal to domestic and international travelers, as well as those visiting from mainland China, the Tourism Bureau said.

　　The project was first promoted in 2009, in which 111 tourism hotels and regular hotels alike were enlisted as star hotels, upon evaluation of the 205 hotels that registered for assessment, the Bureau pointed out, listing Chiayi"s Chia Shih Pao (佳仕堡商務飯店), Hualien"s Chengpin Hotel (澄品飯店), and Tainan"s JJ-W Cultural Design Hotel (佳佳西市場旅店) as classic examples where regular hotels received assistance in renovations and transformed into popular business hotels.

　　The three hotels that have been newly rated with five stars include Hsinchu"s Sheraton Hotel (新竹喜來登飯店), Kaohsiung"s The Splendor (高雄金典酒店) and The Grand Hi Lai Hotel (高雄漢來酒店). New Taipei City"s Chateau de Chine (翰品酒店) received the honor of four stars, and another 10 hotels across Taiwan were honored with three stars.

　　Another 20 hotels are currently in the evaluation process, the Tourism Bureau pointed out yesterday. To encourage those in the hotel industry to participate in the evaluation project, the Tourism Bureau will not only waive the registration fee for those who register before August 2012, but also advertise for those rated as star hotels on a special website.