An 8-meter-high book wall houses thousands of books! Yilan’s first “library hotel” opens

▲ The 8-meter-high book wall in the Walden Hotel lobby is eye-catching.

Reported and photographed by Cai Wenjun / Yilan

Seeing the development potential of tourism in Yilan, many hotels have been opening in recent years, each creating their own unique style. The “Walden Hotel,” which officially opened on Christmas Eve 2016 in downtown Yilan, takes a house filled with books as its theme, featuring all kinds of literary classics from the lobby to the rooms, becoming Yilan’s first “library hotel.”

▲ Walden Hotel General Manager Wang Wude.

The Walden Hotel is the first star-rated hotel brand under Yilan’s renowned real estate developer Ju Chuan Construction. Walden Hotel General Manager Wang Wude said that Ju Chuan Construction has been rooted in the area for over 30 years, but mainly built various buildings or detached homes for others, so the chairman wanted to create a building of his own, combining his two passions—reading and travel—and decided to build a hotel filled with a scholarly atmosphere.

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Wang Wude said that the English name of the Walden Hotel is “WALDEN,” taken from the chairman’s favorite book Walden. The hotel’s biggest feature is being “a house filled with books.” In the Goethe Café located in a corner of the lobby, the high-ceilinged space features an 8-meter-high full book wall, with almost all the books personally selected by the chairman. Between the book walls, there is also a fully transparent Walden Path. Wang Wude said, “Guests can freely wander through the sea of books to find the ones they like. They can enjoy a cup of coffee while reading leisurely or take the books back to their rooms to savor them at their own pace. We hope to use the scholarly atmosphere to allow travelers visiting Yilan to slow down and enjoy a leisurely reading time.”

▲ Each guest room floor has books available for free browsing.

In addition to the book wall on the first floor, starting from the fifth floor, each guest room floor has shelves set up next to the elevator. Wang Wude said that the theme of the books on each floor is different, including lifestyle and travel, humanities and arts, and the parent-child themed floors on the 7th and 8th floors mainly feature children’s books and picture books, allowing guests to freely browse.

As a hotel themed around scholarly style, the Walden Hotel names its main facilities and guest rooms after famous literary authors such as Goethe, Hemingway, and Hugo. To help guests better understand these great writers, books related to them are also placed in the rooms for reading.

▲ The general manager’s most recommended Hugo Room. (Photo / Provided by Walden Hotel Yilan)

▲ Guests can enjoy views of Turtle Island even while soaking in the bath. (Photo / Provided by Walden Hotel Yilan)

Among the various room types, Wang Wude strongly recommends that travelers must stay in the Hugo Room at least once. Wang Wude pointed out that due to its location, most room types at the Walden Hotel offer views of Turtle Island from inside the room, but the charm of the Hugo Room lies in its bathroom facilities facing directly toward Turtle Island. Thus, guests can soak in the bath while enjoying the breathtaking sea view and the captivating scenery of Turtle Island at different times of the day.

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