Taipei in just 1 hour—must-stay hot spring hotel for families with kids!

Reported by Liao Ming-hui / Yangmei

No matter how busy you are, make time to be with your children. Weekends are ideal for a short family trip, and soaking in a hot spring during the cold season is a wonderful idea. However, hot spring areas are often jam-packed on holidays, leaving you stuck in traffic and turning your leisure time into a rushed affair. A hidden hot spring resort in the Taoyuan area makes for a perfect relaxing family getaway. The Easten Mountain Forest Hot Spring Hotel offers tranquility without being too far from the city. Nestled in the lush, scenic hills of Yangmei, it's just a one-hour drive from Taipei. With 600,000 ping of verdant forest, the serene atmosphere and fresh air provide complete relaxation for both body and mind. Each room at the hotel has its own private hot spring room, and there's also a 750-ping SPA club offering fitness, massage, and aromatherapy services to quickly rejuvenate tired bodies. Additionally, the friendly staff at Easten Mountain Forest Hotel organize various family-friendly games throughout the day, ensuring non-stop laughter and fun for the little ones. Of course, no trip is complete without delicious food. The clear-braised lamb hot pot uses locally raised Taiwanese lamb with the skin on—tender meat in a rich, warming broth that nourishes the body and keeps you cozy. The California-style buffet dinner features a fusion of creative international cuisines, including unlimited Prime beef steaks to satisfy even the pickiest eaters in the family.

▲ Cold winter days are perfect for hot springs. Yangmei’s hidden gem, the Beauty Spring, is just an hour’s drive from Taipei—perfect for weekend family trips. (Photo by Reporter Chang Yizhong)

Every guest room comes with a stone-built hot spring room, and the colorless, odorless “natural toner” is super moisturizing.

The Easten Mountain Forest Resort Hotel boasts a colorless, odorless deep sodium bicarbonate spring rich in iron and minerals, known for its skin-nourishing and whitening properties—earning it the nickname “natural toner.” Celebrated as the “Golden Spring” and “Beauty Spring,” each room features its own private hot spring room. You won’t have to worry about time limits while soaking, and both adults and kids can play in the pools without fear of catching a chill. When you're tired, simply rest in a cozy bed or lounge on a sofa in your bathrobe, breathing in the forest’s phytoncides while enjoying a tranquil, relaxing holiday.

▲ Every guest room has its own private hot spring room. (Photo by Reporter Chang Yizhong)

▲ Recently renovated standard double rooms and stylish quadruple rooms have made their debut. The clean, warm wooden floors are safe for kids to play barefoot, and the comfy bean bags are so relaxing, adults might never want to leave. (Photo by Reporter Chang Yizhong)

▲ The hotel’s 16,000-ping “Happy Peach Blossom Ecological Trail” is a natural haven teeming with wildlife and botanical wonders. In October, fiery red maple leaves spread across the sky, offering poetic beauty in the crisp autumn breeze. In May, falling tung blossoms blanket the forest floor, and long stone steps feel like a soft white carpet. (Photo by Reporter Chang Yizhong)

▲ While walking the trail, you’ll be accompanied by cute little animals—kids can interact joyfully with nature and learn through play. (Photo by Reporter Chang Yizhong)

▲ The Easten Mountain Forest Resort Hotel is very family- and pet-friendly, offering YOYO-themed rooms, dedicated pet rooms, and a specially designed outdoor pet exercise area with ample space and facilities such as hurdles, seesaws, A-frames, and curved tracks. (Photo provided by Easten Mountain Forest Resort Hotel)

Play parent-child activities with the friendly staff, and enjoy non-stop laughter all day.

With the Lunar New Year approaching, auspicious home decorations symbolizing wealth and good fortune are especially popular. The Easten Mountain Forest Hotel has specially planned a “Money Tree DIY” activity. Colorful pinecones are hand-woven into eye-catching ornaments—perfect for inviting prosperity into your home. Don’t have a wealth-attracting ornament for your home’s feng shui corner? Bring home a handmade money tree. With guidance from the “Pinecone Brothers” and “Pinecone Sisters,” kids unleash their creativity, engaging both their hands and minds to easily craft unique pieces they can take pride in.

▲ The kind Pinecone Brother guides the kids, who feel a great sense of accomplishment after completing their creations. (Photo by Reporter Chang Yizhong)

▲ With the Lunar New Year near, placing a few money trees around the house invites prosperity and good luck all year round. (Photo by Reporter Chang Yizhong)
*One free per guest room based on occupancy (additional purchase available: NT$150 each)

▲ A life-sized version of Monopoly specially designed for families—giant "Chance," "Community Chest," and dice create a whimsical “Lilliputian” feel. Led by the Pinecone Brothers and Sisters, families tackle challenges, dress up, and share endless laughter. (Photo by Reporter Chang Yizhong)
*Event start date: January 1, 2016, every Saturday from 15:30–16:30

California sunshine buffet dinner with unlimited Prime beef steaks to satisfy the whole family

Taiwan is a food paradise, and any trip is incomplete without delicious meals. But with varied family tastes, how can you please everyone? The Easten Mountain Forest Resort Hotel’s California Sunshine Buffet gathers premium ingredients from around the world and is a must-try. The buffet includes American, Thai, and Japanese cuisines with endless creative dishes, a constant supply of fresh seafood, hearty American-style smoked and grilled pork ribs, and delicate desserts you'll want to try every single one. The highlight is the Prime grilled beef steak, freshly sliced to order—with options for medium-rare or medium. Chef Zhuang Wei-zhang says:Using only the highest-grade Prime beef, the meat is tender, juicy, and sweet.Paired with a special red wine sauce, the rich layers delight even the most discerning palates. Steak aficionados who prefer the pure flavor can simply sprinkle on some sea salt to enjoy the meat’s robust taste. It completely changes the notion that all-you-can-eat steaks are dry and tough.Just visiting the steak section is worth the trip—the value is exceptional..

▲ Californian cuisine wouldn’t be complete without the classic avocado California roll, loaded with salmon, teriyaki eel, shrimp, crab, and fresh fruit, topped with mentaiko cream sauce. The crispy seaweed, refreshing seafood, and sweet fruits create a burst of flavors in your mouth, delivering maximum taste satisfaction. (Photo provided by Easten Mountain Forest Resort Hotel)

▲ An endless supply of seafood dishes keeps the feast exciting. (Photo provided by Easten Mountain Forest Resort Hotel)

▲ Seared sea bass with sun-dried tomatoes. The sun-dried tomatoes are made through a complex process—pearl tomatoes are first baked at low temperature (120°C) for 10 hours, then soaked in cold-pressed olive oil, filling each piece with concentrated flavor. Paired with thick, tender sea bass and grilled, this is a dish with Italian flair. (Photo provided by Easten Mountain Forest Resort Hotel)

▲ Whole roasted Norwegian salmon—thick, juicy, and hearty. (Photo provided by Easten Mountain Forest Resort Hotel)

▲ The California Sunshine Buffet gathers premium ingredients from around the world. This large-scale international buffet offers American, Thai, and Japanese cuisines to satisfy every palate. (Photo provided by Easten Mountain Forest Resort Hotel)

*Start Date: January 1 to March 31, 2016 (Not available during Chinese New Year; a special CNY-themed buffet will be offered instead)
Buffet Dinner: NT$780+10% per person

【Where to Buy】Click here to grab a one-day tour package including R-style buffet + hot spring bath, starting from just NT$750 per person！

【Where to Stay】Click here for an all-inclusive stay package featuring a California-themed buffet dinner

A lamb hot pot slow-cooked with “Taiwan native sheep,” with each sheep costing over NT$10,000

“To achieve an authentic flavor, the broth is first simmered for five hours with lamb bones, carrots, water chestnuts, and sugarcane roots over low heat. Then herbs such as cinnamon tips, angelica, and other warming tonics are added,” said Chinese cuisine chef Huang Yaoting. “The lamb must be cut into bone-in chunks with skin on—it’s the only way to get that bold, rich taste of meat and broth. Weuse Taiwan native sheep, and each sheep costs over NT$10,000. But to ensure the best freshness and richest flavor for our customers, we insist on not using imported frozen lamb, even though it’s more costly.”.

There's nothing better than hot pot in the cold winter. From the perspective of traditional Chinese herbal medicine, lamb nourishes qi and builds strength, helping to ward off the cold. From a modern nutrition standpoint, lamb is rich in iron—six times more than pork—and is ideal for women’s health. With today’s reliance on takeout meals leading to excess calories but nutritional imbalance, the preferred method for winter tonic is “clear stewing.” It replenishes nutrients without adding weight—leaving you warm and satisfied, not heavy and bloated.

【Where to Buy】Click here to grab a one-day tour package including R-style buffet + hot spring bath, starting from NT$1,999 per person！

▲The lamb is tender yet firm after slow cooking over low heat, with a slight chewiness that gets more flavorful the more you bite. The skin is collagen-rich, offering a non-greasy taste. Though the broth looks light, it’s actually slow-cooked with a generous amount of lamb bones, meat, and vegetables, resulting in a rich, mellow, and comforting drink. (Photo provided by Eastcom Mountain Resort Hotel)）
*Start Date: Now until March 31, 2016
*Not available during Chinese New Year

【Where to Buy】Click here to grab a one-day tour package including R-style buffet + hot spring bath, starting from NT$750 per person！

A must-try: the forest-hidden toast, with the wildly popular “Spicy Cheese” selling out instantly

A visit to Eastcom Mountain Resort Hotel is incomplete without trying their limited-edition handcrafted toast, which sells out in minutes！ There are four flavors—original, red bean, fruit, and spicy cheese—each limited to 24 loaves per day, meaning only six per flavor！ Due to limited availability and instant sell-outs, there is no delivery or phone reservation service. Visitors to Yangmei can rush to the hotel during baking hours to get them. The most unique is the spicy cheese flavor, made with pungent Taiwanese chili peppers and high-melting-point cheese that doesn’t easily melt—each bite delivers juicy cheese chunks and bright red specially-made chili, making it an extremely “popular” Western-style bread.Tear it apart by hand and feel the delicate softness and chewiness of the bread with your fingertips, while your taste buds enjoy the natural milk aroma and smooth texture.The dough is made entirely with fresh milk—no water added—and uses imported New Zealand butter with no trans fats, avoiding any low-quality oils like lard or shortening. There are also no additives such as moisturizers, modified starches, or improvers.The delicate, richly textured and slightly chewy feel comes entirely from the skill of Pastry Chef Yu Xiaohui. To enhance moisture and achieve a softer, moister texture, the chef blends tangzhong and sponge dough, then undergoes three rounds of fermentation with fresh yeast and over 30 minutes of hand-kneading. Through tactile control during kneading, the temperature and humidity of the dough are precisely managed—every loaf of handcrafted toast reflects the chef’s dedication to quality, and every bite is filled with luxurious, genuine ingredients.

▲Hidden in the mountains, these limited-edition toasts are freshly baked daily and sell out fast. (Photo by Reporter Zhang Yizhong)

▲The tangzhong + sponge dough mixing method with triple fermentation adds softness and moisture. This time-consuming process results in bread that’s richly textured and chewy—without any additives. (Photo by Reporter Zhang Yizhong)

▲The original fresh milk toast emits a subtle milky aroma. Luxurious ingredients, carefully baked by the chef, make this basic white toast simple yet refined. Hokkaido red bean toast includes whole beans and has low sweetness, a favorite among children. The fruit flavor combines eight types of dried fruits—green grapes, mango, passion fruit, tomato, apricot, lime grape, cranberry, and Taiwanese pineapple—for a colorful and nutrient-rich treat. The spicy cheese toast is the most beloved, with each bite offering chunks of cheese and spicy red chili—a fiery, satisfying delight. (Photo by Reporter Zhang Yizhong)

【Handcrafted Toast】
*Baked every Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday (24 loaves each day; normal supply during Chinese New Year with 36 loaves baked daily).
*Four flavors available, sold until sold out.
*Prices: Original Fresh Milk Toast NT$150 per loaf, Hokkaido Red Bean, Fruit, and Spicy Cheese Toast NT$180 per loaf