RCTP/TPE - Taipei Taoyuan - Gateway City Suites - January 2026

The Gateway City Suites is sited just off the airport and is eleven stories high. Were given room 1014 which gave great views again nothing could be missed, any room facing the airport from 6th floor up would be just as good The building currently has scaffolding over the front but the protective netting is poor and did not affect viewing. This hotel is a cheaper option and is used by a number of Taiwanese tour companies. Therefore the breakfast and buffet meals are more Chinese orientated Western option is available and had no issues, This gives views into EVA maintenance but due to ground equipment reading aircraft is limited, It has no airport shuttle but cabs are very cheap and plentiful.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/o7YXxbWrqWd9qxNN9

Credit Martyn Castle & Dave Hutt

RCSS/TSA - Taipei Songshan - Riviera Hotel - January 2026

We stayed at the Riviera Hotel which has a roof top garden which will provide excellent photo landing shots even of the smallest types, The airport departures can also be seen from the roof garden. From the 6th or 7th floor any rooms facing the front road will all be good as everything passes right in front of you. We had room 612 a corner room that was just as good.

Credit: Martyn Castle and Dave Hutt

https://maps.app.goo.gl/TSa2xCF7uqT4Z84R7

RCSS/TSA - Taipei Songshan - Yazhuang Hotel - October 2025

Overlooking the western threshold at Songshan, nothing can be missed here if movements are using runway 10 (as they were during our stay). If using runway 28 in poor weather, you may miss some departures if a low cloud base.

 

The hotel frontage looks out onto a road with the airport being immediately behind the shops and buildings on the opposite side of the road. Provided you have a reasonably high floor room nothing will be missed. (We had rooms on 3^rd & 5^th floors, and all gave similar views).

 

Some rooms have a slightly more restricted view due to signage adjacent to the window, but not so restrictive that you cannot see proceedings.  All rooms have a single King size bed, but the hotel is cheap and therefore this isn’t an issue. Cost per room was TWD 2,230 (approx. £54.40).

 

Movements here are much more limited than at TPE but all domestic flights operate from here, plus it is the main base for the RoCAF Transport fleet. After 3-4 hours the Mandarin & Uni-Air ATRs start to return. Aircraft up to A330-300/B787-10 size can be seen.

 

A shuttle to the airport is available and takes 10 minutes or so. Once at TSA there is an excellent observation deck giving ample opportunity for photography. For info we arrived here having taken a Taiwanese High Speed Train from near Kaohsiung so (being four of us with baggage) took an Uber from the station to the hotel. This was very cheap, at just TWD 490 (or just under £12.00 inc. tip) in total.

Pictures from room 506.

Note it is against Taiwanese law to photograph military aircraft.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/t8zufp1yZePeFdpM8

RCSS/TSA - Taipei Songshan - Attic Motel- May 2025

Attic Motel is about a 20-25 minute walk from the terminal, although they apparently have a free shuttle and there was an MPV outside with their branding.

All rooms face towards the threshold of runway 10, i.e the corridor runs along the back of the hotel.  Makes it nice and easy. 4h/5^th/6^th floor. I was in 503 which was great for spotting.  Too many obstructions like lamp posts and trees, as well as the hotel windows, for photography.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/23j5iYE5vZZyhApn7

Note it is against Taiwanese law to photograph military aircraft.

RCTP/TPE - Taipei Taoyuan - Hyatt Airport Hotel - February 2025

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.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/cXTwKHLtHL2SxKnx9