Jiufen Komachi Homestay — Hotel in New Taipei

Jiufen….Feel “spirited away” (The movie of studio Ghibli) in this decommissioned gold mining mountain town, originally built by the Japanese and now a maze of lanes and alleyways with rich history and culture. This hotel is located in the top of Jiufen. But it is also the disadvantage of it because it is not easy to find. You have to walk around 10-30 minutes from Familymart/ 7-11.||||Everything looked Japanese style and cozy. You have to leave your shoes at the lobby and change into slippers before entering the hostel. ||||Room: I and my cousin stayed at deluxe sea-view suite for 1 night. Our room is at the 2nd floor of this hotel and there's no elevator. If you have large luggage, you’ll have a hard time walking up and down to carry your luggage. But we are luckily because we leaved our large luggage in Taipei and pack small backpack to stay here. Privacy is high as well. Japanese style room has large space with mattress on tatami mat, toilet is big and toilet seat had heating. Everything looks perfect clean. The room had a good view, but partially blocked by the roofs of the houses below. ||||Breakfast: When we checked in, the owner also asked what time we wanted to have breakfast the next morning. In the morning, the owner prepared a delicious breakfast. It's pure Japanese style with rice, miso soup, grilled fish, omelet, pickle and some other side dishes.||||The public area: Great for solo, couple and a group. It provides both cozy space and public space where you are free to interact with others or be alone. ||Staff: We didn’t see other staff. The owner is very friendly. She is very helpful. You can always see their smiles and greetings.||||Location: This hotel is located in the top of Jiufen. But it is also the disadvantage of it because it is not easy to find the place (despite being equipped with the useless map and Google maps and a printout of the name in Chinese and Japanese). You have to walk around 10-30 minutes from Familymart/ 7-11. There isn't even the courtesy of an English sign at the place, making it even harder to find (I don't expect English language skills, but "Komachi" or "Xiaoding" would have been a minimum of...

For us there were more cons than pros to this place, unfortunately.||||Pros: well presented, fairly quiet, nice view if you are facing the coast, pleasant breakfast.||||Cons:||* the reservation process is unnecessarily complex (register with third-party booking site, request, receive an SMS, make 50% deposit online using Paypal by 12pm).||* the map provided to "help" you find the place is simply abysmal - a homemade Excel document with stylised roads and signs which bare little resemblance to the real layout of the town.||* there isn't even the courtesy of an English sign at the place, making it even harder to find (I don't expect English language skills, but "Komachi" or "Xiaoding" would have been a minimum of help for guests).||* the owner expected payment of the remaining 50% of the fee in cash only. This wasn't communicated in advance, and in our case proved a disaster because the only ATM in the town (yes, only one, at the very bottom of the hill) was out of service for the entire time we were there (we tried multiple times, down and up the steep hill).||* the room was pleasant, if a little gloomy due to the relatively narrow windows, but the mattress was thin, on a hard base.||* the balcony area (shared) was pleasant, but mosquitoes were everywhere. It would have been nice to have some mosquito coils provided.||||It must be said that if (a) we hadn't wasted 45mins on foot trying to find the place (despite being equipped with the useless map and Google maps and a printout of the name in Chinese and Japanese) and in the end being rescued by a kind resident who knew who to call, and (b) had unnecessary stress about payment, we might have felt...

Kyufun komachi is a pleasant little inn. It was clean and comfortable. I appreciated very much that the innkeeper allowed us to check in very early because the room was available and I could take a quick shower before heading out to Shifen.||I would stay here again, now that I know how to walk up. ||||Following their directions (see my additional tips in bracket)||||After getting on the bus, please get off at "Jiufen Old Tunnel Entrance" stop and enter Jiufen Old Street. When arrive at No.155 Jishan Street (it is almost that the end, when you see the stairs that may bring you down to A-mei teahouse, instead of go down, go up the stairs. Just before this turn, you will see one of the stores that sell meatballs but you will see a lot of cooked white chicken being displayed), take the stairs and walk up, "Jiufen Elementary School" is at the end of the stairs, please walk along the path towards left. After passing "Dragon Gate Inn‎" and "A-HOME",(after you see A-HOME you will see like a white building call "Mei Hao [chinese words]) keep going forward and you will see the sign of "Jiufen Komachi"||||Their breakfast I believe has not changed for years, given that I see the photos of the same food that I ate. I really can't complain about it, it was tasty. My friend who was with me does not eat fish, so kudos to them on the spot their pan fried some radish. Maybe they can consider updating their breakfast.||||My rating of 3 stars is for overall experience, but I would like to give the staff 5 stars for all the efforts to...