Taipei Main Inn is located conveniently at Taipei Main Station — the very reason I chose to stay this hostel. Upon arrival, I was delighted to find out that the hostel is literally opposite Taipei Main Station's Y13 exit and a stone's throw away (5-minute walk) from Taipei Railway Station. Although not as fancy as some other hostels in Taipei, Taipei Main Inn prime location paired with its affordable price made it a perfect choice for my four nights in Taipei.

Literally 50 meters away from Taipei Main Station's Y13 exit

Room

I stayed in the '6-bed Mixed Dormitory Room' for 4 nights. If you read my angry blog post about never staying in mixed rooms in hostels again, I'm sure you can guess how I felt about Taipei Main Inn's rooms. That being said, other than its convenience, Taipei Main Inn has its credits too.


For one, I loved the mini platform for me to place my belongings and the mirror that I face every morning to apply my makeup. The lighting isn't very good but for the price I paid? It'll do. Taipei Main Inn also has lockers located conveniently in the room.


I also liked how Taipei Main Inn placed a full-length mirror near the door so I could check out how my outfit looks like before I leave my room.


Taipei Main Inn provided toothbrush, toothpaste, towel, cup, bedroom slippers and a bottle of water. They even had a postcard (and stamps at the reception to decorate my postcard) for me to send home!

Toilet

Ugh, I don't want to repeat my terrible experience of a shared toilet. Read my previous blog post on the shared toilet or TLDR: no, I never want to share toilet with guys again. Ever.

Common Area

Taipei Main Inn's common area was rather empty both times I was there. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the serenity as I did my laundry and watched television. Did I mention that I did my laundry for free at Taipei Main Inn? All other hostels I stayed in in Taiwan required a small charge. Taipei Main Inn even provided washing powder and a dryer. For absolutely no charge!

Service

Taipei Main Inn's reception is opened 24/7, making checking in and out at any timing convenient. They could also speak good English and, obviously, Mandarin. Payment can be made in cash or credit. When you're travelling out, you have to leave your room and locker key with the reception, which I liked because a muddlehead like me won't have to worry about misplacing my keys.

Taipei Main Inn provides luggage storage. Note that your luggage will just be left in a corner but Taiwan is relatively safe so it wasn't that much of a worry for me.

Others

Like many reviews before me, I found the rooms in Taipei Main Inn to be a bit stuffy because there are no windows. I didn't see any windows around the hostels either. It didn't pose a huge problem for me because I wasn't in the hostel most of the time, although I could see claustrophobic people hating the space.


Taipei Main Inn, like all hostels I stayed in in Taiwan, had no elevators. Since I stayed on the fifth floor (fourth actually, but because of Chinese superstitions, the number 4 isn't used), I had to carry my luggage up and down. The staff are friendly though, and they insisted on carrying my luggage up for me although I could very well manage on my own.

Will I return to stay in Taipei Main Inn?

Only if I stay in an all-female room the next time.

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Taipei Main Inn 梅樓驛站

Address

No. 12, Lane 21, Zhengzhou Road, Datong District, Taipei City, Taiwan 103
 

Email

maininntaipei@gmail.com

Phone Number

+886 2 2555 2587
 

Price

On average, SGD $21 per night

Booking

I booked my Taipei Main Inn room via HostelWorld, which provides a best price guarantee.

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Disclaimer
I paid for the rooms and none of the owners knew I am a blogger while checking in so I did not receive any preferential treatment. Everything stated on this review blog post is purely based on my own experience and opinion.