Master Hotel

Other than the cigarette smell, the room was okay for its price. It was older, but it worked, and hygiene was acceptable. We’d been told it was a non-smoking room, but it smelled strongly of cigarettes. The receptionist was rude and unhelpful, couldn’t speak English, and seemed disgusted by our broken Chinese. There’s no staff available from 9:30pm to 9:30am, even in an emergency.

The location is excellent, but several things in the room made the stay difficult. The WiFi didn’t work, and after we told the front desk, they suggested using the neighboring room’s network. That barely worked either, with long waits for maps to refresh and lots of timeouts. Hot water started off dangerously hot, then turned cold before the end of a ten-minute shower, and the pressure changed without warning. We were there in winter, but the climate control only cooled, so we had to stay under the blankets or wear our outerwear indoors. The rooms were very dim; reading was only possible with the small penlight near the desk, so you may want to bring a headlamp. To me, this felt more like a three-star AirBnB in a country like India or Vietnam, but with worse WiFi, than a professionally managed three-star hotel in a modern country like Taiwan.

The location is good, right at Taipei Main Station, but there’s no 24-hour reception and you can’t check in after 8:30pm. I’m not sure why they call themselves a hotel. I’ll never book here and wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.

Location is the main draw, above the Taipei Bus Station and conveniently placed. From Taoyuan T1 Airport, the express train to Taipei Main Station takes about half an hour and costs NT160 per person. The check-in counter faces the main road, while the apartment rooms are entered from the back beside the bus ticketing counter at Block C, so pay attention to the counter hours. Service was above average. A corner room is quieter but smaller, and the walls aren’t well insulated, so you can hear people talking when it’s quiet. The balcony facing the road also gets traffic noise at night. There are three lifts, though one was always under maintenance during our stay; the lift is old and makes funny noises. Water pressure is strong, but you have to adjust hot and cold using two taps. They’re stingy with shampoo and shower gel. Bottled water, instant coffee, and tea are provided. There’s no heated room or toilet seat.