MEANDER Taipei — Hotel in Taipei

This is the first & older branch of Meander Hostel in Taipei. While the lobby is nicely renovated, the bedrooms is in an old building whose lift is on 2nd floor. They share the same building as other local residents.

Located close to Ximen— the most popular night market in Taipei filled with fashion retails and street food.

Overall, I love their large social lounge space and hospitality is just as excellent however the bedroom quality is a stark contrast from its 1948 branch. With only about a mere 80 NTD price difference, the value of the rooms here is significantly lower than 1948’s.

🤩 Highlights ➊ Near Ximen With popular hotpot restaurant across the street that opens till 3am. ➋ Large Social Lounge 4 times the size of 1948’s Branch. ➌ Ultra Soft Mattress Firmness 4/10

🙇🏻‍♀️ Downside ➊ No Provisions of Bath Towels 1948 provides new bath towel on daily basis, the practices here is too much of a drastic difference. ➋ No Wardrobe Cabinet You get only a mini square locker. (Not ideally for long term stay) ➌ Below Average Housekeeping The lobby bathroom smells extremely bad for days… ➍ Old Shabby Environment Lift smells bad. The walls here are dirty with lots of markings. Expect a shabbier quality than what’s shown on photo. ➎ Unnecessary Inconvenience They have a practice here where you need to change into a house slipper once you enter the entrance before walking around the lobby and to the bedrooms. However the lobby floor isn’t mopped daily nor the bedroom walkway fully carpeted like Meander 1948 (they don’t even practice this even though it would be the right home-like experience), it did not make sense and is quite inconvenient. This is on top having tap your card every time you enter your bedroom area in the building located next to the lobby because the building is shared with other local residents. ❻ Far From Train Station Takes about 15 mins to pull your luggage around the pavement to this hostel which doesn’t have an underground mall tunnel like Meander 1948 located at Taipei Main Station area .

📨 Feedback • Bath Towels Provision Is A Must • Keep your music to the counter area not the entire lobby, it’s noisy when it is still playing after 12am. Hard for us to focus on our work. • Show photos of the small locker online (for Meander return guest, we will assume you provide the same wardrobe despite the location difference) • Remove the house slipper rule, it doesn’t make sense even from a hygiene point of view. (I have my own sets)

🎧 Noise Level: Low 👯‍♀️ Majority Crowd: Mixed (Western & Asian) 🧼 Cleanliness: Acceptable 🤵🏻‍♀️ Hospitality: Excellent 🏨 Architect (International...

I booked this place because of its good reviews and great location. I wanted to like this place. It has great potential, but it didn't meet my expectations. I had a lot of luggage and there was no elevator available for me to use for the room I was staying in. Perhaps my trip was ruined by rowdy guests that also stayed while I was there. The walls are paper thin so I didn't sleep well. The facilities met all the basic requirements but at the price I paid for which was about $80/night for a single room with a double bed, I wish there was just a little more care taken. It was on-appearance clean, but the shower soap dispenser had a lot of mold inside that I wish they cleaned. It seems like their cleaning crew pay attention to optics but never deep clean and that behavior accumulates. Some parts of the shower had areas where cleaning needed improvement, especially the grout and showerhead. The power outlets had an accumulation of dust and dirt that I couldn't stand so I wiped it clean for them. The walls have seen better days with scuff marks that shows their wear and tear.

On the plus side, I loved the communal vibe. It made you feel like you were part of a community which is rare. The shower did have excellent water pressure and always had hot water, however, the shower head had a leak and the hose itself was dirty.

(If you are an employee of this business, I recommend you visit voco hotel in Seoul Gangnam. While they are a bit higher end, they executed the communal kitchen and laundry extremely well and the accommodations are immaculate. Remember: cleaning isn't just about cleaning what you can see. Every surface should be cleaned, even if you can't see it. I know it takes time, but that's what sets apart good from great. Be proud of your establishment, get your cleaning crew to care and teach them to clean from head to toe. If the walls show wear, either wash them or repaint them. Dusting is an important step that shouldn't be skipped. Repair and replace items that are worn. Ultimately, your customers will thank you for it and they will reward you for...

Stayed for some nights, had a bad experience. Long story short, if you want to sleep well, go somewhere else. Staff is also lacking hospitality mind-set.

Details: Hostel has electronic doorlocks and dorm lockers that beep loudly and are prone to waking you up at night Staff gives all people checking-in a full room tour, despite it being after midnight or not. Tour includes turning on the dorm lights, staff talking loudly in the dorm, and (of course) demonstrating the beeping locker

On 1 night one of the lockers malfunctioned when staff demonstrated it to someone checking-in late, and the alarm went off for 20 minutes. After already being woken up by late-night room tours by staff for 2 nights, I decided it was enough and decided to check-out early.

The hostel was giving me a hard time to do this and wanted me to pay an additional night as penalty. I was okay with that, but then found out they were unwilling to refund me without having the original copy of the check-in receipt (this is nuts, it's almost 2020). Saying it was just like returning a pair of jeans, impossible without a receipt.

Staff should read-up on what it means to be in the hospitality business - check on what you can do to improve before blaming paying customers for...