"Exemplifying the term centrally located, the Sino-French themed Palais de Chine is within the original (and much smaller) city of Taipei, once surrounded by the last city wall built during the late Ching dynasty. Like the neighborhood to which it belongs, the Palais de Chine incorporates elements both ultra-modern and clearly classical. Rooms are cool and refined, equipped with imported cloud-soft beds, 40-inch flat-screen monitors, full broadband wireless, and individual coffeemakers. It’s in the hotel’s common areas that touches of antiquity truly abound, from faux-antique furniture (from both China and France), delicate flower arrangements, and dark wood paneling. A high-rise hotel in a deeply urban setting, the Palais de Chine is somewhat lacking in natural daylight, making it an excellent roost for urban night owls."