Booked in a Pinch Didn’t Know what to Expect

I was becoming distraught after calling all the mid-range hotels in the Taipei Lonely Planet guide and finding all the hotels were booked for Saturday.  As I made call after call to booked hotels I asked for recommendations and I was given the number to Dolamanco Hotel.  I could barely understand the lady over the phone but I called and reserved a room over the phone by solely stating my name:  Michael.  The desk person at Dolamanco Hotel stated 2000 TWD ($62 USD) which was exactly what I paid at First Hotel.

I arrived at Dolamanco hotel’s very small front office and was immediately treated like royalty.  The place seemed really small and was decorated with Latin dancers.  After I checked in I took the tiny elevator to the 7th and top floor to my room 713.  The elevator was literally the smallest elevator I have ever been in which could carry a maximum of 3 people up and down but possibly only two.   The old elevator made it a bigger mystery to what my room was going to be like but I was pleasantly surprised.

Dolamanco Hotel Taipei Room 713 View from Couch

Very Nice Room w/ Amenities

The room was spacious with a large king or queen sized bed and a couch.   A rather large LCD flat panel television and DVD player were cool along with plenty of desk space but I was more interested in the mini bar.  They stocked the room with a few little Asian cracker snacks, tea, coffee and the fridge had a couple of Taiwanese energy drinks in it.  Best thing of all, they included all the food complimentary.  There was a 7-eleven nearby so stocking the small refrigerator was no problem either.

Everything was clean and in order.  The bathroom was nice as well.  The shower was equipped with about 10 shower heads and they stocked the room with all the toiletries you can think of including body lotion, face lotion, hand lotion, shampoo., cotton swabs, tooth brush and paste not to mention a complimentary condom!  Not only was this stuff included but it was pretty good as well.  The following is a view from the Dolamanco Hotel rooftop which had seating from the small restaurant.

Great Service

The service at Dolamanco was a pleasant surprise.   The front desk at Dolamanco Hotel was very small and was worked by a single employee.  All three employees who worked the front desk were very friendly and nice.  They would greet me with a smile each time I came and/or went from the hotel.  Most importantly they were able to write down in Chinese the locations I was interested in going which made it much easier than trying to talk with a taxi driver who speaks maybe 1 or 2 words in English.

I just can’t say enough positive things about the two ladies and one gentleman who ran the front desk at Dolamanco.  The complimentary breakfast served on the top floor which is reached by a set of stairs from the top floor was good as well.  The whole restaurant only had about 5 chairs with a couple chairs on the roof deck.  As I walked in and presented my coupon I grabbed a couple of pieces of toast and coffee and the cook made eggs fresh which was nice.

Location

Finding Taipei 101 is no problem from Dolamanco hotel because they both lie on the same street.  Taipei 101 is a little over 10 long blocks away Dolamanco but I enjoyed walking in the 60-70 degrees weather as I’m now used to the 85-95 common to Bangkok.  Also on Xinyi Street is Da-an park which was described in the Taiwan Lonely Planet guide as, “the closest thing Taipei has to a central park.”   A MRT (subway) station is withing walking distance and there are non-stop buses running to and from Taipei 101 most of the day.

View of Da-an park and Xinyi Street from Dolamanco Hotel Window

Overall Impression

I was so satisfied with the room  I decided to stay my last night in Taipei at Dolamanco Hotel rather than book another hotel Sunday night just to blog about it.  I was pretty much satisfied with all aspects of Dolamanco hotel.  I though the price ($62) was fair compared to the other hotels I looked at in Taipei, the service was excellent and the location was perfect as it was within walking distance from Taipei 101 and the large Da-an Park is directly across the street.  Unfortunately I deleted my video tour of room 713 so I hope the pictures and information suffice.

First Hotel Taipei

After I failed to postpone my weekend trip to Taipei I had a struggle finding a hotel.   All of the hotels I found online were booked as I kind of expected searching 2 days before the day I arrived.  The answer to my hotel problem was closer than I thought.  Instead of searching online for a hotel and contacting all the hotels which most people had probably already booked with I checked in the mid-range hotel section I decided to call hotels that weren’t on the first page of Google directly.

First Hotel was located in the mid-range section of Taipei hotels.  I called them and booking a hotel room for a single day was as easy as giving them my credit card number over the phone.  Even though the front desk staff I spoke with had decent English skills when I asked if First Hotel had an airport pick-up they suddenly spoke no English.  I ended up again reading in the Lonely Planet about the best way into the city from the Airport which meant taking an “Airbus” to one of its drop off points then a taxi for a few kilometers to First Hotel.

Checking in was easy as I simply presented my credit card, showed my passport and signed a couple things.  There was no hassle of filling out a bunch of paperwork as they sent me up my room on floor 10 which was the top floor.  Although small, my room (112) was nice as you can see below.  I have read other reviews that stated First Hotel’s top two floors (9 & 10) are renovated and nice while the others are not so be forewarned.  I was satisfied with room 112 and they even left 2 complimentary bananas and oranges on the desk.

First Hotel Location

As you can see from the photo at the top of the post, First Hotel is located in a well populated area called Zhongshan .  I didn’t read too much about the area before hand so after checking in I got out of the hotel and started walking around.  It seemed like I walked around forever and didn’t find anything that interested me enough to check out.  I ended up taking a taxi back to the hotel after a couple hours and get to bed early (on a Friday night) so I could get an early start on Saturday.  I have read other reviews criticizing the location for being 15 minutes away from the closest MRT station.

The Zhongshan Neighborhood next to First Hotel in Taipei

Overall Impression

I didn’t’ really feel like hotel hunting for the next couple of days so I decided to stick it out at First Hotel for the entire weekend.  My plan failed when I asked them for a room the next morning and they were booked.  It turned out to be a blessing in disguise because the next hotel I found over the phone Delamanco Hotel was nicer and in a much better location.  If you’re looking for a room in Taipei and are looking to spend around 2000 NTD ($60 USD) First Hotel is adequate but unless you’re planning to fly from the small airport which is nearby or have specific nearby plans, you can find better hotels in better locations for around the same price.