Utopia Hostel

There were a few good things at Utopia Hostel: it was budget-friendly, the bed was more comfortable than I'd expected, and the room had decent air conditioning. The owner also became more helpful the next day. He helped arrange a scooter rental and even took me to sort it out, which I appreciated. But my first impression stuck with me. I got there around 1:45 pm, knowing check-in wasn't until 3 pm. I only wanted to leave my very heavy bags before going to lunch, but reception was empty. A fellow guest let me in, and I messaged the host to say I was there. He replied, “Didn't you see check-in at three o'clock?” When I politely asked about leaving my bags, he wrote, “Please check the time，come back after three,” meaning, “Please check the time and come back after three o’clock.” He then stopped responding, so I left the bags at reception and went to lunch. At 3 pm he was finally at the desk. He opened the door without greeting me and told me to take off my shoes, then said “PASSPORT.” I sarcastically added “please” to see if he'd soften his tone, but he just repeated “PASSPORT.” The hostel itself is basic but functional. The room Wi-Fi was quite slow, though it worked much better downstairs. The common area was stuffy, and the owner didn't seem to like the air conditioning set very low. I needed to work there one day and asked him to turn it down; he did for a short while, but it soon felt stuffy again. I also found large pieces of glass in my pod. The host said a previous guest had broken a glass there, but seemed more focused on blaming that guest than apologizing for it being left behind. He eventually asked if I wanted help cleaning it up, which I declined. I said it would have made sense to deep-clean the pod before the next guest if he knew about the broken glass. He shrugged and said, “It's only me here cleaning” and “I have no staff,” which didn't reassure me. At checkout, he wasn't around when I needed help getting a taxi. Uber doesn't operate in town, and the local taxi apps require a Taiwanese phone number. With nobody there to assist, I missed my planned train. I managed to flag down a taxi and catch a later one, but some help with those arrangements would have made things smoother. I'd also seen several other reviews describing the host or owner as rude and aggressive. I saw that he'd posted CCTV footage of guests who complained on his Facebook page, and his replies to some reviews were laughable. I wish I'd read those reviews before booking, because I might have reconsidered. It's hard to see how he expects to keep getting business if he treats guests rudely.

The owners were understanding when two of my friends had to cancel after something came up during our trip. We had booked a room for seven, and they even gave us a refund. The place is well located and the price isn't high. The owners aren't always at the hostel, but we could reach them whenever we needed to, and they were really nice and helpful. I'd definitely recommend staying here on a trip to Taitung.

The shower and toilet were clean, but the bed could be better. The owner didn't seem very polite, almost like he didn't need backpackers because plenty of customers come here. For just one night, though, this place could work.

I was so angry at the time that I nearly called the police. We'd booked late, and the owner put us in the wrong room. When I pointed it out, he shouted at me so aggressively that we almost got into a fight. Then he realized he'd made the mistake, apologized, and was really nice afterward. He also gave us a discount for the next day and some fruit. It spoiled the experience, but that makes two stars feel fair instead of one.