Yan Chen Inn

The food options around Kaohsiung's Yancheng District are a real plus. There's no breakfast at Yan Chen Inn, but nearby places make that easy to work around. Big Fatty Charcoal Grilled Sandwich is one special recommendation, and serves both breakfast and dinner. I liked the comfortable, minimalist feel of the Muji-style rooms. The transparent glass windows and Japanese-style furnishings bring in good natural light, and the layout works well. A decorative panel behind the room door also helps keep hallway noise out. The mattress and pillows have a firmness that suited me, and I slept well. My recommendation score is 4.8 out of 5. I'd rate the design and location five stars, and comfort and value four. After work, I like finding quality in everyday life, and this lucky stay added another good accommodation to my list in southern Taiwan. This group has six locations in Yancheng District, and I've visited and documented three so far. More to come.

The room was comfortable, especially the large corner room, and the bathroom pressure was a nice surprise. But our room was on the third floor, meaning two flights of stairs. The first step from the second to the third floor is unusually high and easy to trip over if you don't notice it. A family member stumbled there while going upstairs, so it felt a bit dangerous. We arrived around noon hoping to leave our bags, but there was no staff at the desk. My phone plan couldn't call Taiwanese numbers, so I had to call out in the building for someone to come down. A doorbell or some other way to reach staff would make things easier, especially since the guesthouse also serves visitors from outside Taiwan.

We arrived at the guesthouse at 2:30 pm on October 15 for our one-night stay and left our luggage. When we asked to check in, we were told it wasn't possible until after 3:30. They said anyone checking in after 5 would receive the door lock and room codes by message through the booking app and by email. We returned by taxi at 1 am on October 16 to check ourselves in, but there was nothing in either the app or email. We called the emergency number the guesthouse had given us. After two hours of calling without an answer, we also contacted the police, but that didn't help. At 3:30 am we found another hotel, costing 900 yuan a night. We had none of our daily necessities with us, including toothbrushes, clothes, underwear, makeup remover, or glasses. We had to buy disposable underwear and spare contact lenses ourselves. At 10 am we went back to the original guesthouse. Its owner called the front desk and said they would refund us and cover the cost of renting a charger, but nothing else. We were told the guesthouse had explained everything to the front desk by phone, and the receptionist passed that information on to us. Is that reasonable? She was just doing her job. Was it reasonable for the guesthouse to push her out of the way? And was this handling fair?

The place has a nice style, and the counter staff were very friendly. I was disappointed, though, because the website photos gave me the impression of a sunlit apartment, while the unit we got had no windows. Sound carries badly too. I could hear everything from upstairs and next door.