Lyon

The self-service setup is worth knowing about before you arrive: check-in is done with keypad locks, so look up the information on the website first. That doesn't mean the service is bad. The room was bright enough that we didn't need the lights, and the cute Pop Art decor, soft bed, rocking horse, and little table and chairs made it comfortable and suitable for children. Lyon is behind the Kaohsiung Arena, with a 7-Eleven close enough to walk to. A few things didn't work well: the TV was out, the wall clock wasn't moving, and the bathtub filled so slowly that it took nearly two hours to get enough water for a soak. The tub pressure is low, and the floor gets slippery when wet, so be careful. The refrigerator runs on compressed electricity and stays around 10°-16°, which isn't suitable for chilling food.

The room smelled strongly of smoke as soon as we walked in, and sound carried so badly that even small noises brought complaints. The high chairs in the double room were covered in dust, and the sofa bed beside them was broken and dented. Shampoo and shower gel were the same product, which was shocking. In the 8-person industrial party room, the towels were moldy, the beds grimy, the sofa had a hole in the middle, and the bed was so soft you sank into it. Dust was obvious around the place. The bathroom was damp and stuffy with no window, its hot water pressure was weak and the temperature kept changing, and the shower head parts were loose. There were hordes of mosquitoes, but the electric swatter was dead. One of the two hair dryers sparked when plugged in. The refrigerator still had the previous guest's candied sweet potato in it, disgusting.

For a low-cost stay, it could work, and the two stars are because Booking.com had a low price. But it takes a while to walk to the MRT because the Dome is in the way. We stayed at New China that night and used self check-in. The towels and toiletries looked clean, which was the one reassuring thing. The entrance on the first floor looked like a warehouse, while the stairwell and common area outside the room were dusty. Inside, the lighting was dim, the furniture was dusty, and there were cockroaches. The double bed was so soft that it hurt my back, though that may depend on the person. This is a supplementary review.

There was a lot of clutter by the entrance, almost like a storage room, and the male staff member was impatient and rude. The room itself was large and nicely decorated, about a 12-minute walk from Taipei Arena MRT station. Still, the smoke smell was strong and barely eased when I opened the window. The air conditioning wasn't very cold, though luckily the weather was cold too. It took about 3-5 minutes for the shower to get hot, and the refrigerator really wasn't cold.