Chaiin Hotel - Dongmen

“Amazing staff at the Chaiin Hotel”

My husband and I came to Taiwan and stayed at the Chaiin Hotel-Dongmen and it was great. It’s close to everything and the rooms are perfect. The staff are all amazing especially the morning staff in the restaurant always greeted you with a smile and ensured that you had everything you needed. Thank… more

My husband and I came to Taiwan and stayed at the Chaiin Hotel-Dongmen and it was great. It’s close to everything and the rooms are perfect. The staff are all amazing especially the morning staff in the restaurant always greeted you with a smile and ensured that you had everything you needed. Thank you Claire, Winnie, Vicky and Kevin for your great service! This trip has sparked the big for us to visit more of Asia and we will definitely be back. Taiwan is very safe, clean, friendly people and amazing food and lots to see and do, and a must is all the beautiful parks within walking distance and the world famous Din Tai Fung dumplings restaurant. The hotel it located directly by an access for the Metro which is very easy to understand and use here in Taiwan.

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“Eat the breakfast”

I stayed here while my family was in town, and it surpassed my expectations. My favorite part was the hotel breakfast, which usually I'm not a fan of but my aunt insisted on us all eating together. It was so delicious with a wide array of choices that pleased everyone. The food felt fresh. Kevin an… more

I stayed here while my family was in town, and it surpassed my expectations. My favorite part was the hotel breakfast, which usually I'm not a fan of but my aunt insisted on us all eating together. It was so delicious with a wide array of choices that pleased everyone. The food felt fresh. Kevin and Vicky were welcoming and incredibly sweet. I would love to stay here again.

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“Great stay at this quirky hotel”

Had a great time at Chaiin hotel Dongmen! The first thing I noticed was the unlimited snacks for all guests as well as drinks. Although the coffee machine is only available during breakfast 😅 The rooms were modern, compact & amenities can be picked up at reception. Have to mention they don’t have … more

Had a great time at Chaiin hotel Dongmen! The first thing I noticed was the unlimited snacks for all guests as well as drinks. Although the coffee machine is only available during breakfast 😅 The rooms were modern, compact & amenities can be picked up at reception. Have to mention they don’t have a gym, as many don’t in Taipei but they do have a Vertical Art Gallery from local artists! 🖼️ Breakfast was a highlight and changed every day. Hot dim sum was served in the cabinet & make sure you order the Scallion & Egg Pancake from the breakfast menu 😋 The service was warm from the staff, particularly the restaurant staff would randomly strike up a conversation with hotel guests which was nice The location really was excellent as it’s in the same building as the metro 🚈

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“Would be great if they could just modify their cleaning policy”

LOCATION: Great location! Right across Yongkang Food Street and very close to attractions like Daan Park and the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial. It’s very close to Dongmen MRT Station and a bus stop. If you have luggage, exit at Dongmen MRT Station Exit 8 which has a lift. Otherwise, you can take Exit 7 … more

LOCATION: Great location! Right across Yongkang Food Street and very close to attractions like Daan Park and the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial. It’s very close to Dongmen MRT Station and a bus stop. If you have luggage, exit at Dongmen MRT Station Exit 8 which has a lift. Otherwise, you can take Exit 7 which has an escalator if you’d rather not take the stairs. There’s a morning market at the back where you can buy fruits. There are quite a lot of banks, restaurants and convenience stores close by. Though the area is busy, it’s pretty quiet especially at night. CONDITION OF THE PROPERTY: The the overall design of the property is nice and simple with a few quirky touches here and there. The wallpaper and carpet especially in common areas have seen better days. The carpet was quite threadbare and stained. Perhaps the hotel can consider different flooring materials instead of carpet so that the floors will be easier to maintain. Wallpaper is scuffed and peeling in some sections BUT while we were there, we noticed that they replaced some of the peeling wallpaper in the halls and we saw them replacing the wallpaper in the unoccupied rooms, so at least the hotel has already begun to address these issues. HOTEL MEMBERSHIP PERKS: We were very happy that they upgraded us to a room with a king sized bed, a bathtub and Japanese toilet. We were also allowed to check in early because we signed up for their hotel membership upon arrival, so I suggest you sign up for membership to get such perks. Btw, you get a token gift (we were offered oolong tea or a face mask) upon signing up, FYI the oolong tea is extremely strong so I suggest you choose the face mask or another drink if available. DINING: Our room came with breakfast. The first couple of mornings, I went through a process of trial and error, trying to figure out which items I liked best. They have the following stations: salad bar, congee bar & soup station, bread/pastries station (with butter & jam), dimsum station, fruit bar with a limited selection of cheese and ayu jelly in citrus, special order menu, drink station (coffee/tea/hot chocolate/juice/soy milk) and a section with offerings that changed daily which included steamed rice, various vegetable/vegetarian dishes, a main dish of the day (usually pork) as well as sausages/ham, scrambled eggs. The dimsum, congee and bread were just ok but overall, I think the rest of the food they offered was quite delicious. I recommend you go for their main dish of the day as well as the vegetarian options, egg and steamed rice (their steamed rice is a good variety). You can get additional vegetables from the salad station. The soup offering changes daily and is generally quite good. The ayu jelly with citrus is very refreshing. Their special (made to order) menu has 3 items, I recommend the radish cake (2nd item). Make sure you have it with the soy garlic sauce (you’ll find packets of this on the table with condiments). The hotel offers free snacks from the afternoon until 6:30AM. The snacks are nothing to write home about but it’s nice to be able to grab juice and candy from the snack bar. You can grab bottles of water any time of the day from the reception area. ROOMS AND BATHROOMS: Our room was a good enough size though the slightly odd placement of the TV made the room seem a bit smaller than it actually is and you had to be careful walking past the TV to get to the bathroom. I wonder if they can transfer the TV so that it's closer to the ceiling and in one of the corners facing the bed. Even though the room was a decent size, the layout made it difficult to lay out 2 suitcases at once so we unpacked essentials from one suitcase and put them in the “closet” and laid out just one suitcase while the other one remained upright in a corner. Even on a scorching hot day, the A/C cools the room quickly, especially if the blackout curtains block out the sun. When the weather is cool, just open the window for nice fresh air. Side tables are a little small but serviceable. Reading lamps are bright. The desk is a good size and the brightness and coolness of the desk lamp can be adjusted. Room comes with a mini fridge, electric kettle, electronic safe, phone, hair dryer, hangers, room slippers and shoe horn. There are several outlets for charging devices. TV has limited channels and it’s best if you can understand Mandarin as there are few foreign language channels. It would be better if each room could have an air filter as I noticed that the air seemed a bit dusty or perhaps they could vacuum more often? If they can't put an air filter per room, they could at least be air filters in common areas like the lobby, dining area and hallways. This would be good if other guests are coughing/sneezing. Some reviews say the bed is hard, I prefer to use the words ‘firm and supportive’. Though it would be better if they used a thicker mattress pad for extra comfort. The bathroom is a good size. One set of toiletries is provided at the start. They staff doesn’t restock toiletries except for toilet paper but you can grab additional toiletries as needed from the reception area. This way you just get what you need. Bath gel and shampoo dispensers are re-filled as needed. The water pressure of the shower is EXCELLENT and there’s plenty of hot water. CLEANLINESS Upon check-in, the receptionist will tell you that only basic cleaning of the room/bathroom is done daily. Even knowing this, I was surprised by just how basic the cleaning was. They throw out your trash, change your towels if you put them on the floor and wipe down surfaces in the bathroom. It would be nice if basic bathroom cleaning included a bit more (ex: removing hair from shower drains daily) and cleaning the inside of the toilet bowl every 3 days. Before we booked our rooms, I read a review that said they don’t change the bed sheets. Since it was just one review and it was from 2021, I thought staff was doing limited cleaning due to Covid (to lessen staff exposure). However, it seems it’s really the hotel’s policy to NOT change the sheets during your stay, perhaps the hotel is an eco/green hotel? It is true that hotels use up a lot of water washing sheets and towels daily so I can respect their wanting to cut down on water consumption/waste. The hotel has a number of eco-friendly practices such as making use of re-usable breakfast coupons or using bath gel/shampoo dispensers instead of sachets which I think are commendable. But what if you are a long-staying guest? Wouldn’t it be kind of gross if they don’t change your sheets for the duration of your stay? Some cleaners will at least fluff up your pillows and re-make the bed so the bed does look more inviting but the sheets are still the ones you slept in. I admit, I only change my bed sheets once a week when I’m at home but part of the hotel experience is enjoying fresh sheets. Perhaps the hotel can modify their cleaning policy a bit to include 1) daily removal of hair from drains, and 2) scrubbing of insides of toilets, changing of sheets and vacuuming the carpet every 3 days. It would also be good to be upfront about these eco-friendly policies on booking sites such as hotels.com, etc (ex: As we are an eco-friendly hotel, we will only change your used towels if you place them on the floor. Only basic cleaning is done daily, more thorough cleaning and changing of linens takes place every 3 days.), I hope Management can consider this so that guests know what to expect. STAFF: Staff is helpful and efficient. If you don’t happen to speak Mandarin, no problem. Front Desk staff can speak English well (and possibly other languages like Korean or Japanese). Most staff can speak at least a little English and everyone makes sure to assist you despite the language barrier. SERVICES/FACILITIES: The hotel is pretty no-frills. There’s wifi in the common areas and rooms. The hotel has a laundry room and rates are reasonable (NTD50 to wash, NTD50 to dry). There’s a communal restroom on the lobby floor (next to the laundry room). The L level has a small recycling area where you can throw your recyclables in a bin next to a bin for regular trash. There’s a cute vertical art gallery from the ground floor to the L level (take the stairs to see the artwork). There’s only one elevator so you might have to wait a few minutes for the elevator to get to you but the stairwell is open so if you are into fitness, you can climb straight up to your room. If you arrive past 11PM, there’s a call button right inside the building entrance that you have to ring so that you’ll be given access upstairs. The hotel (and Taipei in general) is very safe. I accidentally left my bag (with some valuables including my laptop and our passports) in the lobby for about 15 minutes and no one touched it). OVERALL: Would I recommend this hotel to others? It depends. If you want to hotel close to an MRT station/bus stop and a food street and don’t mind the cleaning issues so much, then yes, this is a great hotel for you! But if you want a full-service hotel with a pool, etc, don’t like semi-self-service hotels, or if you want your room/bathroom cleaned more thoroughly, this is NOT the place for you. I think that if the hotel modifies its cleaning policies even just a bit, then more people would love to stay here, especially considering its great location and good service.

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