The trendiest hotel in southern Taiwan！ A hundred-square-meter space filled with artworks and featuring a modernized antique "red sleeping bed"

▲ Tainan Silks Place, arguably the trendiest stylish accommodation in southern Taiwan.

Reported by You t
ru / Tainan

The wave of innovative thinking in Taiwan’s hotel scene has been gaining momentum in recent years. From the understated luxury style of northern Taiwan to the classic art creations of central Taiwan, the openings of major hotels in southern Taiwan over the past year have also drawn widespread attention. What kind of hotel can stand out among the numerous accommodations and make it onto travelers' must-visit lists? This hotel, connected to the Nanhua Dream Mall in Tainan, has dedicated 120 square meters of space "solely for curation" and is definitely worth a try.


▲ The reception desk, designed with elements of traditional window lattices, is hidden behind stone pillars on the first floor.
%The artistic installations hidden behind the stone pillars on the first floor welcome guests with creativity.


In fact, to see whether a hotel truly cares about local culture and connects with the thinking of local youth, before looking at the unique furnishings inside, you might want to check out the art walls and exhibition spaces that showcase its curatorial philosophy. Tainan Silks Place has three must-sees: a full art wall on the left side of the entrance lobby on the first floor, three small houses in the restaurant on the fifth floor, where designers Woodson, Line Processing, and the Southern Visual Studies Association used wood, bricks, and fair-faced concrete to display the life stories and trajectories of local people. Additionally, there are the guest room areas from the sixth to the ninth floors. As soon as guests step out of the elevator, they encounter a complete exhibition area that replaces the usual lounge spaces — a total of four floors spanning 120 square meters dedicated to displays.

Sacrificing "sellable" space to create a platform for promoting local culture. Tang Bo-chuan, chairman of Tainan Silks Place, described it as: "It's not easy to raise a mischievous child." To establish the first "Place" brand under the Silks Group with its own distinctive style, Tang Bo-chuan and Shen Fang-zheng visited various corners of Tainan, engaging with local creative cultural businesses and bringing their works into the hotel. Thus was born a hotel full of cultural charm. Guests staying here can sense the atmosphere of Taiwan's historical and cultural fusion in every corner.


▲ In the guest room areas from the sixth to the ninth floors, a complete exhibition area greets guests as soon as they exit the elevator, replacing the typical lounge space.


▲ The small houses in the fifth-floor restaurant each have their own unique design styles.

The Dutch architecture firm Mecanoo was invited to integrate Tainan’s streetscapes and building materials into the hotel. They placed street lamps from Shennong Street in the walkways of the rooms, and used a black-and-white color scheme as the main theme, incorporating large black wooden cabinets and white walls. Tainan Silks Place has a total of 223 guest rooms across 8 room types. The rooms feature a grid-based visual design that creates the enclosed sleeping feeling of a traditional "red sleeping bed," offering a distinct level of stability when sleeping compared to most other hotels.

A sweet taste experience is an essential element of Tainan that cannot be missed. Shen Fang-zheng, CEO of the Silks Group, said that at Tainan Silks Place, you can find Tainan’s “sweetness,” which is why the hotel has designed a Return to Sweetness coffee bar and a Gan Cui restaurant, emphasizing the sweet side of life in Tainan. However, when it comes to food offerings, the hotel doesn’t go for the usual beef noodle soup or congee found in many five-star hotels, but instead offers a variety of homemade breads and Italian dishes.


▲ %The design aesthetics of several dining areas are also quite distinctive.


▲ %The hotel's cultural-themed coffee shop is located within a more tranquil section.



▲ The corridors on the guest room floors feature lighting designs resembling the lanterns of Shennong Street.


▲ %The interior furnishings and accessories on the guest floors exude both tradition and nature, reflecting the cultural heritage and warmth of the region.


%The design also incorporates hidden details and unexpected elements.


Hotels that pursue “trendiness” continue to emerge in Taiwan, and the marketing and design approaches of art hotels are constantly challenging traditional norms. Tainan Silks Place is a work that bridges tradition and new trends. Its soaring entrance lobby doesn't rely on exaggerated visuals or bold aesthetics. Instead, the reception desk is cleverly hidden behind the stone pillars in the lobby, requiring guests to look a little harder to spot the golden counter engraved with traditional window lattice patterns. After checking in, guests will find innovation in the comfort of their rooms, where a multi-faceted red sleeping bed serves as the centerpiece, with a grid-style design flowing throughout the entire room.

Tainan, this increasingly thriving tourist destination, showcases its charm as three hotels — Tainan Silks Place, Hotel Éclat, and Silks Place — have been established one after another, each displaying its unique appeal. Tainan Silks Place, with its unique artistic design style that isn’t family-oriented, is also a breakthrough from many traditional southern Taiwan hotels. Whether the “Place” series will continue to grow and thrive in the future is something to look forward to.