Keymans Hotel

Comfortable budget hotel

If you're the kind of traveller who doesn't mind where they sleep as long as it's comfortable, then Keymans (chinese name: Huai Ning Fan Dian) is a good hotel to choose. It's definitely no frills, but in every room the basics are provided -- including cable tv, mini-fridge, wardrobe with hangers, clean towels, toiletries and hair dryer (a girl's best friend). The rooms are a little old, and the one I stayed in had stained chairs. I thought the door lock was also a little dodgy so being a female traveller, I put a chair against the door every night. But it's comfortable enough and very cheap. Also, the staff are friendly and helpful.

Unique Quality: Location is the best thing about this hotel. The fancier hotels can't compare! The Shinkong Mitsukoshi shopping centre and observation deck is opposite, as well as a huge Macdonalds that opens till late. On the street right across the hotel is a row of small cheap eateries where you can eat what the Taiwanese eat -- egg pancake, dumplings, noodles, etc. On the same street as the hotel is a 24-hour Family Mart (Quan Jia) outlet, which is a convenience store chain. The Taipei subway station (they call the subway Jie Yun here) is less than 5 mins walk away -- and the subway takes you vitrually everywhere in Taipei city. It's also easy to hop onto a bus to the airport on your last day because the Guo Guang Bus Station (NT120 per ticket) is opposite Shinkong Mitsukoshi.