The Novotel has recently been rebranded as Hyatt. There is one shuttle bus per hour from T2
to the Hyatt Airport hotel, alternatively you can take the train one stop, be
warned though like much of Asia the tickets are cash only and are NT25 which I
understand is less than a pound.
Fortunately the wait was no too long and I
joined Mark in the airport view room we had reserved. There is a new terminal 3
being built and whilst it has severely restricted the view the hotel is still
workable for spotting and is still the best location in the area. Both runways
can be seen but views of most stands have been lost. Departures
to the US from Taipei are either very late in the evening or mid-morning,
Arrivals back are either very early in the morning or late in the afternoon. I
had worked out that most regional flights depart in the morning and arrive back
in the evening at some point. There appears to be a lot of towing of aircraft at
Taipei and the primary remote parking ramp can be seen from the Hotel with most
things being able to be identified with something slightly more powerful that
mini bins. Whilst I understand some inbounds for TSA, the downtown airport, can
be seen the cloud base was too low on this occasion.
Extra Note November 2025: Executive twin rooms 832 & 834 were allocated to us here. The hotel itself is situated perfectly at the south-western end of the airport with allocated rooms (and many others) facing the action. The Executive Lounge was also available with similar views. The view you get allows for all runways on both sides of the central terminal structure to be viewed, with aircraft taxiing between the two sides of the airport almost directly beneath you. Terminal 3 is under construction as an extension of the existing terminals on the other side of the main taxiway.
Some parking stands are visible from the hotel but essentially you are monitoring movements. Electronic aids work fine here. Unfortunately, during our stay the weather was primarily torrential (and I mean torrential…) rain which negated any photo opportunities. However, with better weather you would have no issue getting excellent photographs.
This is not a cheap hotel, but is worth it for the views if you have the budget. We paid TWD 9,723 per twin room (approximately £245.00 per night).
Whilst we are at Taipei TPE, if unaware, this is possibly the worst airport you can try to view airside from. There are no views out from any concourses – you have to go down to the gates themselves. A couple of places we noted; at Bistro D (near gate A6), a table adjacent to a small window will give you limited views of runways 05R/23L. In the general area for gate A3, you have good views of runways 05L & 23R. There are other gates in this area, so along as you are not being too obvious, quality time could be spent here but there appears to be nowhere giving a normal panoramic view as such.
Due to the weather I was unable to take any meaningful photos. The video below does give you an idea why - this was taken in 'broad daylight'!