A-HOME

The room looked onto a dark rock wall, though the place itself is charming, with friendly owners and breakfast served beside a spectacular view. It sits right at the top of town, so with luggage I’d take a taxi up the back way. It cost 200 NT (6 USD), and saves you from hauling bags along a crowded kilometer of narrow old street and stairs. It’s expensive, but that seems normal for the town.

This was a handy base for climbing Keelung Mtn, a roughly 1.5-hour round trip with lots of stairs, and Ting Gong Temple is right nearby. The views were great. I arrived at 8:30 PM on a rainy, dark Tuesday and got the purple room in #137. Its wide window opens right toward the "rock wall," and listening to the raindrops was lovely. The bed was very comfortable, everything was clean, and the bathroom had a Japanese feel. There’s a shared area for tea, coffee, and sitting, plus a separate dining room where breakfast included French toast with cheese. I was grateful to get a super last-minute deal on Tues Oct 30th.

We loved having breakfast on the balcony, with the town and ocean in view from our room. The French toast was a favorite, and the hosts treated us more like friends than guests. Such a sweet, cozy getaway. I’d love to come back.

The breakfast view was superb, the towels were very good, and the owners were super friendly. But at TW3750, the conditions are hard to justify. There aren’t many choices around, so maybe the musty, damp, moss-covered surroundings, old mattresses and blankets, algae-filled pond, and lack of heating can be excused if you look at it as a Gold Town stay. The AC worked well, but the shower kept switching between hot and cold. Being soaked in the rain probably didn’t help how I felt about the place. I might recommend it if they had a proper heater for drying clothes after coming in from the rain.