Ohotel

Breakfast had a limited selection, and the woman seating guests was rude. When I asked if we could sit with our friends, the woman beside them agreed to switch, but the host rushed over and said we couldn’t because she was a hotel VIP and needed looking after. The room was old, dingy, and musty, with mold on the shower curtain and ceiling. There was only one plug, and guests aren’t supposed to flush toilet paper, yet there wasn’t even a covered bathroom bin. Disgusting. We paid $118 usd (3600 nt) for a Saturday night and expected something decent for that price. I guess this was our first and last stay here.

The lobby has nice art, and the front desk staff were pleasant enough. The rooms felt dingy and clearly need some care, but the construction was the worst part. It was incredibly loud, ran for most of the day, and made the walls and floor vibrate. They hadn’t mentioned it by email, on the booking site, or even on their own website. I had two young kids who needed naps and couldn’t use earplugs, and there was no way for them to sleep. If we’d known, we wouldn’t have booked. Instead, after spending thousands of ntd to get to Taichung, we had to choose between paying more to go back or twice as much for a last-minute hotel. They refunded the reservation, but not the other money we lost or my time. Avoid.

There’s a laundromat inside the hotel, which was a real plus for me, and the staff were generally helpful, though sometimes a bit attitudinal. The room was very spacious, but the furnishings and design are undeniably dated. At times there was a lingering cigarette smell in both the hallways and room, even though the hotel is supposed to be smoke-free. The lobby is super grand, with a chandelier and grand piano in the middle, giving it a royal European feel.

A nice spot in downtown Taichung.