Aloft Taipei Beitou

My Government-Mandated Quarantine at a Five-Star Hotel

"In Taipei, there are a handful of government-approved quarantine facilities, ranging from bare-bones hostels to luxury hotels. Travelers arriving in Taiwan can take their pick, but are required to cover nearly the entire cost. McKechnie chose the Aloft Taipei Beitou, which was a mid-range option and cost him 72,000 Taiwanese dollars, or about $2,412, for two weeks. He expects the Taiwanese government to refund him for about $30 per day, or about $420, total. 'I decided for my mental health that I wanted a nice room and a nice view,' he says. 'It was expensive but I’m glad I spent it.' Every morning at the Aloft, he took his temperature and reported the reading to his assigned quarantine officer, a cheerful man named Danny, who called once a day to check in. Meals were catered by the hotel restaurant, Nook, and served three times a day in plastic and cardboard. The meals tended toward Western fare—burgers, pizza, and soups—and offered a choice of several options from a daily menu. All were very tasty, McKechnie says. No one was allowed to enter the room and he couldn’t leave, so laundry and housekeeping weren’t an option. (Fortunately, he had enough changes of clothes to sustain his visit.) But he was given a stack of nearly a dozen towels and plenty of soap and shampoo, and deliveries were always available. McKechnie ordered a coffee from a nearby cafe almost daily, delivered by UberEats. 'I had this incredible view of green plains in the north of Taipei. The contrast was beautiful with mountains,' he says of his room and its large window. 'It was like my form of entertainment. I hardly even watched the TV. Looking at that window was something to look forward to every morning.'"