The Richforest Hotel - Sun Moon Lake

Rooms and decor

The Richforest is a 4-star on the Ita Thao side, and the whole building, inside and out, is made of Taiwanese Hinoki cypress. The lobby carries a soft resinous scent you simply do not get in a newer hotel. Rooms wear a Classic Japanese-Taiwanese wood look — good bedding, warm lamps — so the feel sits closer to a mountain ryokan than a lakeside hotel. Sizes start around 35 sqm, take 1 to 4 people, and most rooms come with an in-room tub.

Food and amenities

Facilities run resort-deep. The top-floor panorama restaurant looks over the lake for about 270 degrees, and there is a gym, a cypress-wood sauna, a meeting room and a tea lounge off the lobby. Breakfast pairs a Western buffet with a Chinese-Taiwanese set and pours the local Sun Moon Lake black tea. Real guests score the place around 9.0.

Location and getting there

Our team will say it plainly: this is the best lake view on the list. The building stands up on a rise, so the water, Lalu Island and the green hills around it read clear with nothing in the way. It is quiet too — about a 5 to 7 minute walk above the Ita Thao market — and on a still morning you can watch the mist drift over the lake from the room balcony. Getting here means the Ita Thao side, so you ferry your bags across the water or take a taxi straight to the door.

Things to know before booking

Rates sit on the high side — from about $145 a night, up to roughly $225 for the larger rooms. Reaching the hotel takes a ferry hop or a taxi rather than a bus you can walk off of. And it books out fast in high season, so lock in a room well ahead on a holiday weekend.

Our take

The Richforest suits couples and anyone after the best lake view in the quietest setting. If you like the smell of wood, birdsong in the morning, and a long soak in the tub with the lake in front of you before bed, this is the answer. We rank it #5 because it pulls the comfort, the cypress scent and the best view on the list together in one place.