When Uketamo Hotel opens its doors in Taipei on January 22, it will enter a hospitality market already crowded with luxury brands, design hotels, and wellness-adjacent offerings. Yet Uketamo is not positioning itself as another spa hotel or lifestyle concept. Instead, it is staking out a more introspective space, rooted in cultural dialogue, daily wellness, and what its creator calls “human sentient hospitality.”

“For us, wellness is not just about spas or yoga,” says Benjamin Liao, chair of Forte Hotel Group. “It’s about how you live every day, even in the middle of the city. You shouldn’t have to wait for a holiday to feel grounded.”

That philosophy shapes every aspect of Uketamo, from its architecture and service model to its food, tea program, and staff training. Designed as an urban sanctuary, the hotel reflects a belief that calm and presence are practices, not escapes.

Liao describes Uketamo as a dialogue between Japanese and Taiwanese approaches to hospitality. Japanese omotenashi — the deeply ingrained ethic of anticipating guests’ needs — is paired with Taiwan’s more informal warmth and adaptability.

“Japanese hospitality is very earnest and deeply committed to perfection,” he says. “Taiwanese hospitality, on the other hand, is more open-hearted and flexible. Uketamo is about bridging those two cultures and finding something that fits the world today.”

That “something” is neither rigid nor performative. Instead, the hotel emphasizes presence. Liao notes that Uketamo’s internal training draws on mindfulness concepts, including the idea that it is acceptable not to have immediate answers.

“Service isn’t about hardware or checklists,” he says. “It’s about being present and understanding what someone really needs.”

Located in the heart of Taipei, Uketamo does not attempt to recreate a forest or retreat environment. Rather, it blends elements of nature with manmade structure, inviting guests to reconsider their relationship with the city itself.

“We talk a lot about nature, but nature doesn’t have to be perfect,” Liao says. “Even in an urban environment, nature is still there. Wellness is about learning to appreciate imperfection and finding balance within it.”

This philosophy extends to the hotel’s sixth-floor wellness center, which offers yoga, breathwork, sound healing, and kriya practices in partnership with Nepal-based Avata Wellness. Programs are designed to be accessible — something guests can incorporate into daily life, not just special retreats.

“One of the most important things is that people can reach a peaceful moment in a busy day,” Liao says. “That may come from the space itself, from an interaction with staff, or from a simple practice that helps them reset.”

Food is central to Uketamo’s concept, but not in a prescriptive or ideological way. The hotel’s flagship restaurant, Bliss & Bone, champions a “pro-vegetarian” approach, encouraging reduced meat consumption without moralizing or excluding.

Menus highlight seasonal Taiwanese produce, with an emphasis on understanding where food comes from and the labor behind it. Stories from partner farms, including in Hualien, are intentionally woven into the dining experience.

On the ground floor, MN/ZO Café offers a more casual counterpoint. Focused on artisanal pizzas and grab-and-go fare, it provides what Liao calls “light social moments” — quick, satisfying meals that still reflect Uketamo’s values of quality and balance.

Hidden within the hotel’s 111 rooms is Kimamori, a discreet tearoom named after a Japanese harvest custom of leaving the final persimmon on the tree. The act serves as both offering and restraint, acknowledging nature’s limits while allowing birds to feed and seeds to disperse for the next season.

“It’s a reminder that not everything needs to be optimized or monetized,” Liao says. “Sometimes leaving something untouched is part of sustainability.”

Uketamo adopts the practice as a design principle rather than a motif. Kimamori is deliberately non-transactional, a space meant to slow consumption rather than elevate it. Taiwanese oolong teas are served alongside Japanese and Nepalese selections, chosen for origin and process rather than rarity. The ritual is intentionally simple: drink slowly, notice what is present, and leave without taking everything with you.

As Forte Hotel Group prepares to open additional properties, including a Signia by Hilton in Tainan later in 2026, Uketamo serves as a testing ground for ideas that may shape the group’s future direction.

“In an age of AI and constant acceleration, understanding what it means to be human becomes more important,” Liao says. “Hospitality has a role to play in that — and Uketamo is our contribution to the conversation.”