Five-star One MICHELIN Key Shuishe, Sun Moon Lake, Sun Moon Lake
The Lalu
Ninety-six suites on the shore of Sun Moon Lake, each with a balcony over the water, on the site where Chiang Kai-shek spent his holidays.
Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.
- MICHELIN
- One Key
- Suites
- 96, all with a lake view
- Reopened
- March 2002, after a rebuild by Kerry Hill
- From the airport
- About 3.5 hours by car from Taoyuan
The hotel
From a wooden cabin to a president's retreat.
In 1901 a man named Ito built a small wooden cabin here on the Lalu peninsula. When Crown Prince Hirohito came to Taiwan in 1923 it was enlarged to two floors and eight rooms and became an official guest house. After 1949 it was the lakeside retreat of Chiang Kai-shek, who also received foreign heads of state there. The old house was built in Chinese cypress.
Cheng-Yi Lai of the Shining Group bought the property in 1998 after more than a year of talks. The Australian architect Kerry Hill rebuilt it over five years, keeping only the old beams, columns and floors, and the hotel reopened on 3 March 2002, split into three buildings, A, B and C. Across the water lies Lalu Island, sacred to the Thao people and closed to visitors. Raising the lake for a hydroelectric scheme under Japanese rule shrank the island to its present size.
- Every room a suite Each suite has a bedroom, a separate living room and a balcony facing the lake and the mountains, finished in local woods.
- Leisure Centre Whirlpools, herbal steam rooms, saunas and Japanese baths, with the Lalu Spa in Building B.
- Light by design Nathan Thompson planned the lighting from the start, and it changes seven times through the day.
Dining
Five places to eat and drink.
Restaurants and bars as listed by the hotel. Shown for information.
- The Lake View Chinese Restaurant Chinese Over the lake
- The Japanese Restaurant Japanese In the hotel
- The Oriental Brasseries Brasserie In the hotel
- The Tea House Tea In the hotel
- The Lobby Bar Bar In the lobby
Good to know
Before you go.
- Arrival Check-in from 3 pm, check-out by noon.
- Pets Not accepted.
- On foot The Shuishe pier, for boats across the lake, is about a quarter of an hour's walk from the hotel.
Getting there
Flying to Sun Moon Lake.
Taoyuan International, Taiwan's long-haul gateway and home of the Huan Yu VIP Terminal for private jets, is about three and a half hours away by car. Taichung International is closer, about an hour and a quarter by road by our estimate, with regional flights in Asia.
- Shanghai 1 h 15
- Hong Kong 1 h 25
- Seoul 2 h 15
- Tokyo 3 h 05
- Singapore 4 h 35
Questions
What guests ask first.
- How many MICHELIN Keys does The Lalu have?
- One. It is the only hotel on Sun Moon Lake with a MICHELIN Key.
- Did Chiang Kai-shek stay at The Lalu?
- Yes. From 1949 the house on the Lalu peninsula was his lakeside retreat, where he also received foreign heads of state. The present hotel was rebuilt on the same site and reopened in 2002.
- How far is The Lalu from Taipei's airport?
- About three and a half hours by car from Taoyuan International. Taichung International is closer, at roughly an hour and a quarter by our estimate.
- Can SkyCourtage arrange the flight to Sun Moon Lake?
- Yes. We arrange Business and First Class seats on scheduled airlines and private jet charter to Sun Moon Lake, with one final price, our margin included. The hotel is booked with the hotel or through our booking partner.
Also in Sun Moon Lake
Other hotels worth the trip.
Staying at The Lalu?
Book the room, then the flight.
Rates and availability come from the hotel itself. For the journey to Sun Moon Lake, a Business or First Class seat or an aircraft of your own: tell us the date and we come back with one final price, our margin included.
Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.