Places I stayed in Taiwan

Taipei - Xi Men Ding (Exit 6/Exit 1)

1) Tomorrow Hotel 明日大飯店 (~SGD 85/night during peak season)

     I booked this room via Agoda.com

Personally like this hotel cause it's easy to spot and very very near to XMD MRT. As you can see in the picture above, it was taken from the mrt exit 6 and immediately you can spot the red banner with the word 明日 Hotel. Yes! That is the one I stayed. 

Very clean bathroom and it is brightly lit. Very thoughtful hotel to provide us with sanitary towel. The room was very clean too (till I forgot to take picture). You may refer to their website to get a clearer picture of their rooms.

Although there are a lot of negative review on this hotel but I feel that this hotel isn't as bad as reviewed. They do provide breakfast, but I used those coupon to buy drinks from 7 Eleven instead within the same day the coupon were issued. We headed to nearby local shop to have our breakfast instead and it was the right choice.

2) Jogging Bear Ming Su 慢跑熊 (~ SGD 76/night)

    I booked this ming su via direct email to the owner Norman - yengun88@gmail.com. He is                   attentive and very careful and he can communicate in English which makes our transaction an           easy one.

It's in Xi Men Ding therefore it is very convenient getting around the city. It's about 3 minutes walk from XMD MRT exit 6. I was quite worry reading some reviews online stating that someone saw some spirit in their room and stated that that room itself has no window. So I frantically requested the owner to give me a room which has windows. In the end I didn't see any paranormal activity although I stayed alone on my last day. Guess those are just rumours. There is nothing to worry about.

 The shower tub

Guesthouse is stuck in between shops, they have a lift to bring you up to your room level (mine was 5th floor), using a Tap Card system tagged with ur room keys. It was quite safe though. I booked Greek Romance room (navy theme- blue and white). They have various theme room to suit your needs. 

The room has a queen-size bed, air conditioned, LCD TV, mini fridge, and en suite bathroom with tub. You may ask for wifi password during check-in. 

Hualien (in the middle of city)

3. Pandora Hope Castle (~ SGD 70/night)

    I booked this ming su via Agoda.com. The owner was very prompt in action. He rode to the ming        su to meet me upon arrival and hand me a handful of maps and useful coupons.

It is situated within a 10-minute walk of Hualien Bus Station. However my taxi driver hardly find its location as it's located at the back of some small alley. It can be quite dark when you come back at night. I was alone so I kinda freaked out a bit. 

 This is the shared kitchen

 Some of the deco

This is the spacious living room

The room I got is on the second floor. It has a flat-screen cable TV, a dressing table and a small romantic tea corner. Free toiletries are provided in the en suite bathrooms. It has castle theme so I felt like a princess staying in a big castle. FYI, I don't see other tenant on my first night there. The entire bungalow is empty o.O

From this ming su, I managed to walk to the Golden Triangle of Hualien and also walked to Zhi Qiang Night Market which is about 30minutes away. Getting around in Hualien can be quite difficult as you can hardly flag down a cab by the road side. You have to call the cab beforehand. So I decided to explore Hualien on foot.

Taipei - Main Station

4. Space Inn Hostel 太空艙 (~ SGD 40/night)

    I booked this via Agoda.com for the ladies dorm of 4 people but they gave me a 8 people dorm ):

The entrance to the hostel

This hostel was very unique and I kinda love the concept of living in the space. Located right next to the Ximen Station and within walking distance of Taipei Station; it is very central, almost every facility is brand new and shining clean. 

My room was in F12

Unfortunately I got the top bed and the top locker which means I had to carry my luggage up to the top. Imagine me and my 20kg luggage.. phew

The staffs were very friendly and helpful and they were in special uniform which amazed me. They're pretty good at speaking English. The place is clean, modern but on the inside it's rather confusing. I couldn't find the washroom. 

The bathrooms without lock ): scary

It is very secured as you have to tap your card to open any doors. I went thru 3 doors before reaching my bed. Beds are equipped with two lights, and privacy curtains that are thick enough to not let too much light through. There are electronic lockers inside the room for every bed, big enough to store a big luggage or even a carry on luggage/backpack. Very spaceship like.

This is my first time staying at hostel (: and it was fun indeed

There are disadvantages staying there - no towel provided, you have to rent towel from the counter; no locker in the shower room and the changing area is rather small. Enough to fit 10 people though; and there is no lock in the shower room (which makes me feel nervous).