Are you thinking of where to stay in Taipei? I would recommend you to stay near Taipei Main Station. It’s a convenient location with easy access to Taipei’s transportation network of trains, subways (including airport subway) and buses. There’s a popular recommendation, CityInn Hotel – Taipei Station Branch I, but because of of our last minute travel plans, it was fully booked. Hence, we searched on airbnb for a place to stay in Tapei. And we found one with great location and price!

Airbnb Studio with en-suite bathroom and kitchen: www.airbnb.com.sg/rooms/16835902
Price: S$402 (might be cheaper if it’s all weekday nights)
Duration: 4 nights from Thursday to Monday, averaging S$100.50 per night

If you don’t have an airbnb account, sign up at www.airbnb.com.sg/c/christinas7795 to get S$50 off your first trip of S$100 or more.

The location of this airbnb is really good! It’s near to Huayin street where there’s delicious doughnuts and pepper biscuit. Yums! You also get 24/7 minimart and shops on its ground floor. The apartment is just above Q-Square, which is just beside the Taipei Bus Station. Hence to reach the Airbnb, it’s nearer for us to take 1819 from the airport rather than the airport subway.

When we arrived, the friendly host picked us up from the bus stop where we alighted. The owner is a Korean who speaks Mandarin with a Taiwanese accent. He showed us around the apartment and explained a few things to us — e.g. where the light switches are, etc.

It was a nice little studio apartment with everything we need – a well-equipped apartment that resembled a hotel. There’s a mini walk in wardrobe behind the TV console and the cable TV has a good selection of local and international channels. The host also provided a fridge full of mineral water bottles and some delicious Taiwanese snacks! You can find disposable bedroom slippers and toothbrush too.

The bathroom is spacious and good quality toiletries were provided. The host gave ample towels for our four nights stay as well. And though there’s no heater for the room, there’s heater in the toilet! This is to prevent chills after a shower. Oh for ladies, there’s also a good quality Philips hair dryer for you to use. :)

You can cook and do your laundry at the balcony – washing machine and electric stove are provided. There’s also a tiny space for you at the balcony to have a good view of the city.

The weather was good and we thought it would be good idea to open the balcony sliding door and let the wind in. But don’t! There’s this machine from the next-door building making noises right outside, so it’s better to close the door and block out the noise pollution.

Happy stay for our first leg of babymoon! :)

However, there are a few things you should take note. On the same level, there is a mix of service apartments (with cleaners doing their rounds in the morning) and offices. Right beside this airbnb is a small office – yes with chairs, tables and office workers. Nothing wrong, just felt weird though. Security wise: All doors come with digital number padlock and there’s a lift token for you to scan before you can go to specific floors.

This place would have been perfect if not for the super hard bed and flat pillows. And I forgot to request extra pillows for my bump! And just so happen the owner went on a short trip the next day after we checked in. A downside of not staying in a hotel. The bed was so hard, I had suspected it’s just a wooden plank underneath. >.< I am okay with hard beds, but this is way over my limit, would stay at this place again if the bed was much softer.

If you are not a hard bed person, you can still check with the host to see if the bed mattress is still hard or if he has changed it. Overall, it’s a wonderful stay with a great location!

Are you planning to stay in an airbnb in Taipei? Or are you apprehensive? Feel free to ask about our experience below or on our Facebook Page or Instagram.