I knew that I would want to stay in the Ximending area during my stay in Taipei and after looking over at the hotel choices, nothing seems really interesting. Most of the chain hotels are also located out of this prime district, which makes me really wonder why is that so. Taiwan seems to be a hotspot for Airbnb, especially in the area of Taipei Main Station as well as Ximending. These are the two main spot for travellers to Taipei. Ximending is also known as the Times Square of Taiwan. It is never quiet and full of shops, restaurants and food. Ah Zhong Mian Xian is also right there in the area! I personally find booking an Airbnb extremely time-consuming since you always have to look through all the listing and then the reviews. These are really important since they could either make it or break you stay. Hopefully this will help with you.
I stayed at this studio apartment in Ximending. It is called titled as a condominium right in the heart of the area, actually located between the Main Station and Ximending MRT station. It is said to have a big living room and balcony. The host is Maggie. The rate that I paid for 5 nights was 546.88SGD. So it is about a slight over a hundred per night. Here is the link to the apartment. https://abnb.me/r5zW6PeSbU
Let me first say about the location and the host. Maggie was a superhost, technically, for all my Airbnb stay, I only got for superhost. She seems like a pro in Airbnb and have multiple properties in Taipei. On the day of the check in, there was another party as well and we stayed in the same estate but different studio apartments. The location was perfect, it is about a 10 mins walk from the mrt. It is located on Kunming St easily recognizable by the whale logo on the building. There are multiple eateries around the place. It is a very good and safe neighbourhood.
We texted Maggie when we arrive in Taipei so she could meet us. There was a slight wait for her and we could only wait outside the condo. There was a security guard on duty which was pretty rude. Then there is only 1 lift so there is a constant wait. It seems like this place have a lot of short-term rental. The place is actually quite fresh looking. It seems like a common place for short-term rental.
It is quite a walk from the lift and the place seem really stuffy, perhaps it is in the middle of summer. The door was good and high quality in case you are worried about safety. The place certainly look like it is in the pictures. Maggie show us around the place and intro briefly to the stuff, such as extra papers, bags and the aircon system. The place was fresh and clean, something I am really happy about. The aircon was strong and even for a small size apartment, there were 2 aircon. However the place was certainly not as huge as it described in the listing.
Upon entering, the toilet was immediately located to the right and on the left was the mini kitchen and fridge area. We didn’t do any cooking so I can’t advise towards this aspect. There is no washing machine in the apartment. After that was a mini living room with a tv and a 2 person sofa. There was cable television available.
There was a double bed at the far end and then an extra single bed place in the living room. Facing the double bed was the mini dressing table as well as the wardrobe. Now here it comes, the biggest concern about this place, the bed was hard as a rock. It was extremely uncomfortable. You could literally feel the wooden plank right through the sheets. Then what about the big balcony?
The toilet was of a normal size, basic soaps and papers are provided. Water pressure was normal, not excellent, although that was just that. A basic but sufficient one. Hairdryer was provided as well.
All in all it is not too bad, the location was good, especially for this price right smack in summer, but then the bed was really hard and uncomfortable, the wifi was also really barely not usable. That was really annoying. I guess it technically fits my requirement basically, safe, location and a good host. Other than that, nothing worth remembering. Not as if I will be back in Taiwan, but if so, I will stay at another place. There are always hits or misses when staying at an Airbnb! Sometimes you miss the place so much, or you may just can’t wait to leave! Next up, my day trip to Yeliu, Jiufen & Shifen
Seeing The World In Steps 