Behind the event ・ Updated 2022-03

iTour party site visit: Yunshui, Miaoli, a nature party wrapped by a river bend and green hills

iTour party travel has a new venue. After Cingjing and Yilan, we've found another perfect spot, this time in Miaoli. To be honest, we didn't expect much before the site visit, but once we saw it in person we were amazed: this place is a diamond waiting to be cut.

Why Miaoli

1. Short drive: about 1–1.5 hours from Taipei, an acceptable distance for a short trip, similar to Yilan.
2. Lots of sights: Shengxing Station, hidden bald cypress groves, tea factories and more nearby.
3. Hot springs: somewhere to soak at night where you stay, absolute bliss.
4. More stable weather: being southwest of the Central Mountain Range, most moisture is blocked by the mountains first, so it's relatively less likely to rain.

As it happened, a group wanted to go somewhere near Hsinchu and Miaoli, so the iTour team set off on a site visit. The place we chose was the Yunshui hot spring resort forest: we'd worked with them before, and the rooms and surrounding scenery were good to begin with, so it was our first choice; but whether it could become a party venue, we could only tell by seeing it in person.

The entrance is a little unusual: it's very close to the entrance of the guesthouse next door, but there are staff to guide you, so it's not a problem. The place is fairly well known for its hidden bald cypress grove and hot springs, and many visitors come just to look around or soak, so there's an entrance fee. Inside, the car park is huge; after parking you walk a short way to the main hotel building, hearing the river and voices from the campsite along the way, and it starts to feel like a hidden gem.

Touring the grounds: more trees than people

The hotel buildings take up little of the grounds; most of the space is given back to the landscape. About 40 rooms on over 5 jia. The rooms are in four areas:

• Macaron area: 6 three-story buildings, good for booking whole, or rented separately (by floor; the second and third floors use an outdoor staircase, and the first and second floors don't connect). Almost every room has a bathtub, and the hot water is hot-spring water.
• Tung Blossom area: only a few rooms, all on the second floor. The best part is that they face the stream, with large floor-to-ceiling windows to enjoy the view while you soak; a bit more expensive than Macaron.
• Little Prince area: three buildings, the newest decor and more space; the ground floor wasn't finished yet (reportedly to become an Instagram-worthy restaurant). In front is a very clean big lawn with an atmospheric large tree in the middle, perfect for a manor lawn party or outdoor wedding; at dusk, with bulbs or spotlights on the leaves, it's stunning.
• Camper van area: only a few, a 1-minute walk from the main building, all double rooms, with their own space that makes night-light decoration easy.

The shared areas are very clean; you can tell they're tidied every day. The bald cypress lake changes with the four seasons: at our site visit in March it was bare and bleak, by the event in April it was all green leaves and full of life, and in August and September it turns yellow and drops its leaves.

The one thing we couldn't get over: although the room bathtubs use hot-spring water, whether the water was too lukewarm or the tub material absorbed too much heat, after 30 minutes of running only the hot spring water, it wasn't hot at all when we got in. (We've told the resort, and we'll see if it's improved next time.)

Breakfast is in the main building, in a beautifully designed restaurant, with noodles you cook yourself, congee and a Western breakfast; the quality is close to a five-star hotel, so it gets a pass from us.

The key question: can the venue host a party?

The first thing we saw was the open-air space. Like outdoor venues, open-air spaces have two main worries: sun and rain, and strong wind and low temperatures. But this venue has retractable awnings overhead that block most rain and sun; and it sits on the highest point of the grounds, overlooking the bald cypress lake and looking out to the river bend and green hills, which make a very natural photo backdrop.

The space is square with existing tables and chairs, easy to plan and design but rather rigid, so we can use different lines in the design to liven it up. The upside of the existing rattan furniture is no assembly or rental; the downside is that it limits decoration and doesn't mix easily with standard setups. The drinks bar at the entrance, in a log-cabin space, has a "little Havana bar" vibe, but lacks some accessories and still looks a bit stiff. The upside: there's a wide entrance area that can set the main visual tone.

After seeing the whole venue, we knew: Bingo, this is the right place. How to turn it into a party that wows people is down to decoration and execution.

Parties at open-air / outdoor venues: FAQ

What about rain or strong sun?

Prioritize semi-outdoor venues with a roof or retractable awnings (like this one at Yunshui); otherwise, prepare rain covers and tents, and decide "sunny version or rain version" before the equipment goes in.

Can we just use the existing tables and chairs?

It saves rental and assembly, but with more stylized furniture like rattan, decoration is less flexible, so the main visual needs to be built separately.

How do you tell whether a venue suits a party?

Look at a few things: shelter from sun, wind and rain; whether there's a wide entrance area for the main visual; whether the flow is easy to plan; and whether there's a "natural backdrop" (mountains, a lake, trees) to serve as a photo wall.

See themed event design See corporate & employee travel

This post is compiled from the iTour Pixnet article "iTour party site visit | Yunshui, Miaoli: a nature party wrapped by a river bend and green hills" (2022-03-31).