Hostel Name: E Hotel
Address: 188 Datong 1st Rd., Xinxing District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
I stayed at the E Hotel in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. I booked online and selected the hotel for its price and location. This was my first time to Kaohsiung so I was unfamiliar with where might be the best area to stay. After looking on the map I noticed that there is a metro system with two lines that cross in the middle. I picked a hotel near the junction station and it turned out to be a good area.
The E Hotel is rated as a 2-star hotel, and I paid $18.55 USD per night.
The hotel is about 5 minutes walk from Formosa Boulevard Station, and it’s about 20 minutes from the airport to Formosa Boulevard Station. The hotel is in a commercial street and the building blends in with the surrounds. It’s not immediately obvious where it is.
I checked in with a helpful and friendly receptionist.
I booked a double room with private bathroom. The room was spacious and the bed was comfortable.
My booking said my room had a window. Technically there was a window, but it was more like a skylight than window. I opened the window and it had a view of the back wall of another building. I liked how they stuck a picture of the Kaohsiung city skyline on the window.
There is free water and tea and coffee making facilities in the room.
The bathroom was spacious and seemingly in good order. It wasn’t until I used the sink that I realised the sink was blocked.
Sinks get blocked, so in this case it’s best to let management know so they can fix it. They ended up moving me to another room while they waited for a plumber. I moved to my new room which also had a fake window, with this fake window being connected to the hallway.
My new room was fine, but then on the third night I had some late night phone calls. Sometimes they are massage girls calling in Chinese, so I just yell at them to leave me alone. That happens a lot in mainland China, but I’ve never experienced that in Taiwan.
Then I got a knock on the door at 11.30pm. I was yelling at them to leave me alone as well, and then I saw it was someone from management. Apparently the thermostat had broken on this floor and the air conditioning wasn’t working. Like the proverbial frog in the slowly boiling pot of water, I hadn’t noticed it was getting warm in my room.
It was only when I packed up and moved to my new room on another floor that I noticed how much cooler it was. I ended up staying in three different rooms over three nights. The building was starting to show its age, but at least the management were doing what they can to maintain it.
There is free wifi at the hotel, and I had a good connection in my rooms and in public spaces. There is no breakfast service here, so I ended up having a 7/Eleven breakfast. There is a little coffee area in the reception area.
So that was my entertaining stay at the E Hotel. It was cheap and in a good location so that was all I needed. Book the E Hotel online or search for more hotels in Kaohsiung.
