Where to Stay in Taiwan: Hotel Review
I stayed at three very different styles of accomodation in Taiwan. Checkout this post to find out what will work best for you!
During my trip to Asia, I initially planned on only visiting Japan and South Korea but decided to squeeze in a week in Taiwan, and I am so glad that I did! The historical sites, night markets, and nearby day trips and hikes make this a wonderful travel destination! I am so glad I spent nearly a week in Taipei alone because there is so much to do and see. That being said, tourism isn’t as developed in Taiwan as many other Asian countries, so hotels were actually quite expensive and there wasn’t quite as many options as I expected. Here are the three hotel I stayed at, the first of which was a collaboration with an incredible local hotel.
amba Taipei Ximending
My first stay in Taipei was at amba Taipei Ximending, one of three locations of amba Hotels in Taipei. Each hotel is in a prime location and the area that I was staying in, Ximending, is a famous walking district. The hotel is located right in the middle of Ximending, just a short walk from the train station, so the location within the community was also wonderful.
This hotel truly embodies what it means to be a boutique hotel. As soon as you enter the lobby you are greeted with incredible artwork, a foosball table, a lounge area, bar, live music / event area, and the breakfast/lunch area, all within an open space surrounding the check-in counter. While I thought this area was going to be the most stunning part of the hotel, my opinion immediately changed as soon as I entered my room.
The room I stayed in was equipped with a king sized bed facing a TV, but that wasn’t the only TV in the room. The room also had a TV in a living room area with a massive couch, that I was informed can actually be used to sleep two other people if you let the hotel know ahead of time. The bathroom has a great design as well, with a separated toilet and shower as well as a common sink area, so that each facility can be used separately. For all of their guests, they also offer complimentary flip-flops which are not single use, rather they are intended for visitors to bring them home as a little souvenir!
I had the opportunity to try the lunch and breakfast at amba Hotel Ximending and both were stunning. The lunch comes from their restaurant, called Buttermilk, and I was served with bread, a salad, fried chicken, and a steak. The fried chicken and the steak were the real showstoppers of the meal. Both were cooked perfectly with the fried chicken being so juicy and crispy while the steak was cooked to a perfect medium as I requested. The blueberry lemonade was also ridiculously good and I couldn’t get enough of it after coming out of the intense summer heat of Taipei.
The breakfast was also lovely, consisting of a balance of Western and Taiwanese style breakfast offerings. I obviously went for the Taiwanese style breakfast options because I was dying to try some rice rolls and savory soy milk soup! Both were absolutely delicious along with all of the dishes that I tried.
Additionally, the exterior of the hotel and every room floor has unique artwork created by local artists. The hotel is also located within an old department store building and they have kept certain elements of the original building. This commitment to art and architecture is really impressive to see, while many hotels adopt a more generic and simple approach amba Hotel Ximending prides itself on individuality, attention to detail, and an impeccable artistic touch.
Pure Stay
I stayed at one other accommodation in Taipei, and to save some money I decided to opt for a hostel-esque accommodation. I honestly had no idea what to expect but after reading a lot of negative review about budget hotels in Taipei I decided to take a gamble and stay at this accommodation where the reviews were generally positive.
Ultimately, I believe the gamble paid off. The reason I said hostel-esque is because everyone gets a private room, and to my surprise the room was actually pretty spacious (relative to my expectations). The room was about the width of a double bed but was quite long and had shelves for storing belongings and a pretty large desk at the foot of the bed. The washroom was shared but all of the shower rooms were private, behind a locked door, as were all of the bathroom stalls, and the womens washroom area was on a separate floor from the mens. There was a lot of bathroom stalls, two sinks, and one or two showers, and I didn’t ever have to wait to use any of them.
The room was also very clean and seemed to be newly renovated, despite being in a relatively old building. And, while old and naturally somewhat dirty in the common areas, there were no bugs which came as a really amazing surprise! There was also a common kitchn with a fridge, electric stovetop, and dishes, as well as a washing machine and dryer on the roof which was free to use including detergent.
The only negative of this accomodation, which may have also been influenced by the room I was staying in as it was located against the road, was the outside noise. The sound proofing between the rooms was great but the sound proofing to the outside was really bad. I usually went to bed quite tired and any major noise usually subsided late into the evening but if you are sensitive to noises while sleeping then you would absolutely need earplugs. This was a nearly excellent stay and I feel like I had a real stroke of luck with this accomodation (given the price point), but the noise may be a pretty big negative so it is definitely something to consider before booking.
Tie Dao Hotel
After leaving Taipei I went to Tainan for a couple of nights. I also wanted to do a day trip to Kaohsiung from Tainan but sadly it was terribly rainy the entire time I was there so I just stayed in Tainan and spent every night at Tie Dao Hotel. This hotel was very affordable, located right beside the main train station, and has a 4.8 with 24,000+ reviews on Google! The only problem is… those reviews are obviously fake or inflated so I didn’t even consider them. It was actually quite strange, it seems that in Taiwan it is quite common for hotels and restaurants to have the Google flooded with fake reviews or at the very least offer incentives for five star reviews. For hotels, the reviews on Agoda and Booking are much more reliable and I would honestly ignore the Google rating if it is high and has a ridiculous number of reviews.
Nevertheless, on other platforms the reviews were relatively good compared to some other places I looked at so I decided to stay here. The hotel staff was nice and the lobby was absolutely massive. The room was also quite big and clean enough, but definitely not spotless. This would have been wonderful considering the price but, despite being in a non-smoking room, the smell of smoke was present. I got somewhat used to it but it did make the stay somewhat less pleasant. If you are sensitive scents or are bothered by the smell of smoke I quite frankly would not stay here, but otherwise I actually thing the value was really great and that the hotel was pretty nice.
Where to Stay in Taiwan
Taiwan doesn’t have quite as many hotel offerings as some other countries in the major cities but you can definitely find some great accomondation. If you are in Taipei do not miss out on staying at amba Hotel Ximending or another one of their locations, it is a really great experience! If you are on a very tight budget or want to spend a couple of days in a more afforable place then PURE st-ay is a really good option if you are okay with a private room hotsel vibe. For Tainan, Tie Dao hotel is perfectly fine if you don’t mind the smell of smoke but if you do then I would suggest looking elsewhere! I hope those who made it this far enjoyed this blog post and that it can help those looking for where to stay in Taiwan.