K Hotel Taipei II

I literally just returned from a 7 night stay at K Taipei II hotel in the Zhongshan district. The location is really perfect. There's a central metro station a few blocks away, an ATM across the street, and a number of 7-11's for snacks or light dinners. Rooms: My friend and I had two different rooms. Mine was the executive suite, so I can only comment on that type of room. The room overall was in need of a refurbishment, carpet and furniture cleaning. It was not in good shape. There were carpet stains throughout as well as on the sofa. The height adjustable desk chair would not stay up, so once you sat down, it would immediately lower, so you felt like you were a kid at the table 😂. The curtains are auto close/open, but you have to lightly tug them. That was a nice feature and they were blackout, for the most part. The fridge was small and not very cold, but adequate. They had Nespresso coffees which were replenished every day, as well as the two waters, and snacks. That was very nice. Lastly, if you like firm mattresses, you'll be in heaven. I wasn't really, but I had some great sleeps! Elevators: There are two elevators. One is for mobile impaired individuals and it takes you all the way to the basement (B1), which is where breakfast is served, as well as the free washer/dryers. Although there are only two, they were surprisingly quick! Breakfast: I have to say that the breakfast spread, served from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., was really nice. They had hold and cold areas with typical western dishes like scrambled eggs, frittatas, cheeses, etc. And a lot of asian dishes that change daily, although staples like rice and congee are there daily. If you're into culinary experimentation, you'll be in heaven! They also have a coffee machine that can prepare espresso, lattes, etc. There is a soy milk urn as well as juice urn. Near the rotational toaster are the breads and rolls, as well as some sweets! And there is always a nice array of fresh fruits. We had to ask for knives almost every day until they got to know us and then they'd ask if we wanted them before bringing them. Since there are families with children, it can get noisy. The first four days we stayed there was one family who allowed their toddlers to whack their glasses with their spoons....they'd also scream and run around. The hotel was more patient in allowing that disruption than I would have liked as it was really disruptive to the other guests trying to have their coffee and wake up. Washer/Dryers: They have two washers/two dryers and provide free liquid detergent in small bottles. The washers work great, but the dryers take forever to dry...and if you have someone who's hogging the machines, as we did (one man took both dryers), then you can end up waiting hours for a machine, so you definitely want to check if the machines are in use. I checked on a Wednesday, and the machines were all free, so I mistakenly thought that was normal and waited until the next evening to do my laundry....there was a 4 person wait and it took over 2 hours to wash and partially dry clothes. Also, note, no usage of the machines is allowed during breakfast. There is also a bathroom adjacent to the machines. Cleaning: We had a strange experience with the daily cleaning. For the most part, it was fine. We usually left before 9 a.m. and didn't return until after 4 p.m. One day, we returned to find our rooms had not been cleaned. When I inquired at the front desk, they said that they had switched the schedule...huh? They were kind enough, since we'd been out all day and wanted to relax and bathe, to clean our rooms within the hour. The other odd thing was that they posted one day that from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. they were going to disinfect rooms, so we had to pack all of our belongings and put them in the closet and all consumables in the fridge. Front Desk: The front desk was very helpful and accommodating. One person in particular, Zachary (Po-Hung Wang), went above and beyond! When the person hogging the washers/dryers refused to remove his already dry clothes, Zachary helped. When I was expecting a package from Jiu Fen, Zachary made sure that I received it. When I accidentally cut my toe and needed band-aides, Zachary came to the rescue. KUDOS to Zachary. The price of the rooms is VERY reasonable and during breakfast, we interacted with a few other people, and one was an international couple with one of the people a Taiwanese native. He said that when they come every year, they always stay at this hotel. My next trip, I plan on also staying here.

The location is great, but I think it's a lot of locals and Japanese, and the lobby is small and mechanical. The rooms are large, the bathrooms are clean, the lighting is rated high It's hard to control the room temperature, it's too cold to turn it off, but the frigid air from the air conditioner in the hallway comes into the room and it's too cold, and also the windowless breakfast hall on B1 is too air-conditioned, and I skip the second day because I'm so restless in a prison-like space where there's so few people, it feels as if I'm being watched by staff. There was a moth in room 5003 that was about two centimeters long, and we ran into it a couple of times, but it just lurked around and we couldn't catch it, and we lived together. Amenities include a minimally old-fashioned set, coffee makers, but room temperature creamers are bad for your health, so you should change them. 8 minutes walk from the nearest train station.

We needed a hotel room when we had to move out of a terrible nearby airbnb, and was able to check in into a room suitable for a family of four (small children) within 2 hours of booking. The room was more spacious than expected with a large queen bed and a single bed and a partly separated sitting room with a second TV. The toilet is separate into a powder room from the shower/tub. The only downside is it was a windowless room which we were warned about at the time of booking it. It proved to be a popular hotel on Saturday morning when the buffet breakfast area was fully packed. The location was great: the nearby night market and MRT station was walkable.