A 60-Year-Old Building: Formerly the LiPa Department Store, It’s Now a “Black Pearl” – The Renaissance of Ximending with 500-Room Hotel

▲Exterior view of the Delighton Hotel entrance (Photo / Reporter Yan Xintong)

ReporterYan Xintong/ Comprehensive Report

The Delighton Hotel is located in Ximending. Once a long-abandoned LiPa Department Store, after more than five years of redevelopment and renovation, it has recently been completed and opened. In its heyday, the former LiPa Department Store was a must-visit spot for generations 3 to 5 when they came to Ximending, but now times have changed, and the old building has taken on a completely new look and a new lease on life.

The new Delighton Hotel is part of the Houbawang Group, boasting an excellent location and great accessibility. FromExit 4 of Ximending Station, you can reach the Delighton Hotel in just two minutes. Next door is the Zhongshan Hall, located in the very heart of the city center, in a vibrant area full of cultural energy.

▲Reception hall on the 5th floor of the Delighton Hotel with seating for guests to rest (Photo / Reporter Yan Xintong)

Liu Zhengcheng, manager of the Planning Department at the Houbawang Group’s Head Office, said that the Delighton Hotel main building has over 500 rooms,making it the hotel with the most rooms among those in Ximending. The Delighton building itself is also a historic structure, having existed since the early days of the Zhonghua Market era, with the building being at least 35 years old. After property rights were consolidated, the business license was finally obtained in 2015 (Republic of China Year 104), giving birth to the current Delighton Hotel.

▲Café on the 5th floor of the Delighton Hotel (Photo / Reporter Yan Xintong)

The overall visual design of the Delighton is minimalist. For the exterior, the architectural master Li Tianduo was brought in, while the interior was crafted by design master Wu Zongyue to create a modern, fashionable taste. Liu Zhengcheng said that most urban business hotels he had seen previously mostly featured blue or other color schemes, but to keep up with international trends and offer uniqueness, the Delighton was designed with black as the main visual theme.

▲Another corner of the Delighton Hotel shows the shopping mall currently under construction; the future will feature a mall, restaurants, food street, and banquet hall (Photo / Reporter Yan Xintong)

The entire shiny black building exterior has even earned praise from those within the company as a “local black pearl.” The building’s exterior is adorned with LED lights, and the façade facing Zhonghua Road glows with colorful, neon-like effects at night. Liu Zhengcheng also mentioned that even the interior entrance features LED light decorations.

▲The former atrium of the LiPa Department Store, which used to be the retail space, will become the Delighton Mall; it is currently under construction (Photo / Reporter Yan Xintong)

The Delighton Hotel pioneers the concept of a “food drive-thru”
To make it more convenient for guests to enjoy the diverse snacks and foods of Ximending, Liu Zhengcheng said that the Delighton launched the“food drive-thru” service in 2016, a service not yet available at other hotels. Given the overwhelming variety of Ximending street food, guests can’t possibly try everything, but if the hotel partners with many food vendors, allowing guests to place orders that are then delivered together to their rooms within a set time, it would make enjoying these foods much more convenient. This is currently in planning and is expected to be launched in 2016.

▲Executive suites on the 7th floor of the Delighton Hotel feature floor-to-ceiling windows with city views, designed with star-level quality, focusing on providing high-quality experiences for guests (Photo / Reporter Yan Xintong)

The guest room floors of the Delighton are located on the 5th to 12th floors and the 15th floor; the 1st floor is the reception entrance, surrounded by rest areas with large glass designs. The 5th floor houses the reception desk and also has adjacent rest areas. Floors 2 to 4 are still in the integration phase and are planned to include a diversified shopping plaza, food street, and banquet hall. The food street will be operated via a merchant recruitment model—these plans are all currently underway.

▲City-view suites on the 7th floor of the Delighton Hotel include family rooms with two large beds and direct views of the classic western district scenery (Photo / Reporter Yan Xintong)

Room rates at the Delighton range from NT$3,000 to NT$6,000. Liu Zhengcheng said that the Delighton aims to create 5-star hotel quality at an affordable price, and all service staff hired are required to have bilingual abilities—at least one of English or Japanese. The guests served are mostly independent backpackers from China, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Macau.

▲Exterior view of the entrance to the Delighton Hotel Mall (Photo / Reporter Yan Xintong)

Currently, Deli Mansion Hotel is in branded operation and is scheduled to open in 2016. Currently, room bookings are about 85% full, and the 2016 turnover is expected to reach NT$500 million. The hotel aims to operate with a fresh new look and provide professional accommodation services. Liu Zhengcheng also revealed that another budget business hotel is under construction in another location in Ximending, also scheduled to open in 2016. The site is near the Luoyang Parking Lot. Liu Zhengcheng said it will be a themed design and cultural creative business hotel, distinct from Deli Mansion.

Deli Mansion Hotel
Address: No. 4, Xiushan Street, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City; No. 99, Hengyang Road, Zhongzheng District; No. 110, Yanping South Road, Zhongzheng District
Phone: (02)23757777; (02)23757777


%The retro-style elevator hall of the hotel retains the distinctive characteristics of Taipei in the 1960s–70s (Photo / Eastern News)

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