ARK Hotel - Dongmen

The hotel is close to Daan Park, one of our favorite places in Taipei, and there are lots of good places to eat nearby. The MRT, buses, and Youbikes are easy to access. Rooms are small, as we expected, and the hotel gives details about the size and whether there’s a window or a view. We knew our 20sqm room would have a window but no view. The frosted glass was probably for the best, since the building next door could otherwise see into our room. Sunlight still came through, which was pleasant. We slept comfortably. The room had the usual basics: mini fridge, water kettle, safe, TV, A/C, chair, desk, and hair dryer. There were only a few hooks and no closet, so more hooks would be useful. Bathroom water pressure and temperature were good, though I wish the toilet had a bidet, even a spray bidet. The carpet and wallpaper looked worn. The room was clean on arrival; daily cleaning was sometimes more thorough than other days, for example they didn’t vacuum every day, but they did remove trash, change towels, and restock bottled water daily. You could request daily sheet changes by leaving the card on the bed. The carpet gets vacuumed, though a professional deep clean might help remove built-up dirt and get into corners regular vacuums miss. The lobby is small, with a couch and table shared by staff and guests. There isn’t a pantry for eating lunch, so takeaway is best eaten in your room or outside, perhaps in the park or on a street bench. There’s a big fridge and microwave on the top floor by the washing machine, which I assume guests can use, though we didn’t. The lobby also has a coffee machine, water dispenser, snacks, and a weighing scale. We knew from reviews what services to expect. The snacks were just okay, but free; the coffee was decent, not great. The washing machine and detergent were free, while the coin-operated dryer cost NTD10 per seven minutes. They said a load would take about 60-70 minutes, but after 49 minutes our clothes were about as dry as after the washer’s spin cycle. I suspect it would take longer than 70 minutes to dry them fully, so hang them in the bathroom or room and they’ll dry overnight with the exhaust fan and aircon on. Staff will help if you approach them, though they aren’t the type to greet you all the time, which actually suited us as introverts. The hotel offers airport transfers, but we didn’t need one. We could hear loud voices in the hallway and in nearby rooms, but most of the time it was quiet. If you don’t need a fancy hotel, give Ark hotel a try.