Royal Rose Hotel Xinsheng

The free tea and light snacks in the lounge were a nice touch, and it’s conveniently close to the metro, restaurants, and shopping. Still, when we return to Taipei, we’ll stay somewhere else. The WiFi in our room was unreliable and kept cutting out. Staff restarted the router, but it only helped a little. The in-room safe also didn’t work, and the laundry machine can’t be used before 9 am, which isn’t convenient for many travelers. Staff were a mixed bag: some were sweet and tried to help, while others were cold and unhelpful.

It’s in a quiet residential area, but the room had a string of problems: the safe, lights, plugs, and AC were broken at different times, and there was no hot water at night. The phone didn’t work either. The wallpaper was peeling and very moldy, and the bathroom was moldy too. The decor felt dated and strange. WiFi was spotty, and the staff weren’t helpful or professionally competent in hospitality.

For the price and location, it’d be hard to find another room this spacious, and the cleaning staff did a good job. We were given a free upgrade when we arrived, and the staff were incredibly kind. They explained the free snack bar on the first floor and went over a few things about cleaning and checkout. There were still some issues in the room. The WiFi wouldn’t connect and the TV remote didn’t work. We thought about calling the front desk, but just went with it and enjoyed being away from screens. The fan, heater, and AC are positioned oddly, so air blows right at your face while you sleep. There was also a nail sticking out of the bathroom wall, high above the toilet, so you probably wouldn’t accidentally hurt yourself on it. It still made the room feel poorly maintained.

There’s a lounge behind the lobby with free drinks, snacks, and instant noodles, plus a pool table and dartboard. You can get the balls and darts from the concierge, and it’s a comfortable place to relax and eat. The staff were friendly and polite. The room was spacious, modern, and clean, though I didn’t like the toiletries. It’s a decent boutique hotel tucked into a small alley in a residential area. There’s a wide choice of food within a 5-10 minute walk, but places close pretty early and there isn’t much else to do nearby. The metro is also a 5-10 minute walk away, and the hotel is fairly close to town.