My friends and I booked a 2D 1N for our stay in Diary of Ximen Hotel in Taipei since we were initially planning to roam around in Taipei by the time we arrived by midnight, 3 AM, and check-in at 2 PM. However, we were very sleepy from the flight so our friend sponsored us and availed another day for our stay in Diary of Ximen Hotel to rest well and cancel the plan of hanging around in the city by midnight.
Diary of Ximen is a hotel that is walking distance to Ximending, a shopping hub of Taiwan. Meaning… restaurants are near, vendors are few steps away, everything we need is within reach. The hotel is accessible that we can take a bus or a train. The hotel is near the Ximen MRT Station.
Note: The cons will be underlined since it’s not quite many.
I am not sure with how much my friend was charged, all I know is we were able to book a 2D 1N PHP 3,100+ / TWD 1,700+ for a room good for four. It’s a 3-star hotel so we could not expect for an extravagant lobby and it was okay. The lobby is located on the twelfth floor which is quite confusing at first. The front office though was not smiling but speaks fluent English.
Our room is on the ninth floor (if my memory serves me right) and another front office with simpler aesthetic welcomed us. From there, we can have free water, free coffee.
The room is not cramped but it’s not spacious, either. There is no window. There is just a right room for the pieces of luggage, shoes, etc. What I have noticed is we don’t have a cabinet, just a hook to hang some of our clothes. The aircon and the lights are functioning well and so is the TV. There is also a safety box for your important things to keep and a mini refrigerator.
Of course, what matters the most is the bed. It’s a two queen size bed and the linens are clean. The towels are also neat plus some toiletries are placed on the desk of the TV.
When we arrived from our tour, we liked that our bed is arranged again. Housekeeping did their work well. During the day, we noticed that we can hear the people from the other side of the room so we minimized our music player a bit.
As for the washroom, don’t expect a bathtub but a shower. It has a dispenser for the shampoo and body wash which is cool since I don’t see that often in the hotels
in Manila.
By morning, we had our breakfast at the topmost floor. Most of the food served is vegetarian with no specific cuisine, I may say. There is nothing special on the top floor, just a view of the city.
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For a frugal traveler like me, a 3-star hotel is good enough to have a good room after exploring the city. I like that it is very near the shopping area and the WiFi works well, too!
Value: 4
Location: 5
Cleanliness: 4.5
Service: 4
Room: 4.5
Diary of Ximen Hotel address: 108, Taiwan, Taipei City, Wanhua District, Section 1, Zhonghua Road, 90號
Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. Photo watermark is named after my old site.
