宜蘭東旅 Hotel East Yilan — Hotel in Yilan City

We were told we'd get a free gift of a nice set of toiletries if a review was posted. Here goes. Room 609.

Pretty good overall. The rooms are big, but very basic. Only one chair is available, though some cushions are provided for sitting on the raised floor. The desk also acts as a mirror when you flip up the hidden compartment. Pretty good. I like the QR code system to enter the room and use the lift. The Japanese style breakfast was too big to finish. There are also self serve snacks available from 8 to 10 PM. The check in was simple and the staff was friendly and helpful. There is a water machine on each floor with cold, room temperature, and hot water. The Wifi provided worked well enough to watch things on the phone or tablet. The bed is huge and comfortable. The location is pretty good. We walk a lot so it wasn't too bad to get to the train station and back.

Some things to watch out for. The breakfast times are set hourly at 30 past the hour. You need to choose ahead of time so that's not great if you like a more fluid schedule. There is no hand soap provided at the bathroom sink. So you need to bring your own or step into the shower to get body soap each time you want to wash your hands. There is no conditioner or lotion provided, only body soap and shampoo. There is nothing around the sink to keep personal items on, but there is a ladder like structure in the bathroom that acts as shelves. The fridge is small and has no freezer section. The slippers provided barely fit on my feet, and those aren't that big. I tried to make the pillows work, but they just weren't comfortable. The mattress is on the floor on a raised area. Parking is not available on site. Good luck on the street or in a lot nearby. The veggie options at snack time are limited, and the breakfast vegetarian option had more mushrooms than I could eat in a week. The clothes hanging area is 30 cm long and there are no other places aside from your own luggage to keep clothing.

Things they should have thought of beforehand but can't be helped now. There is only one elevator for the whole building. You will need to wait to use it. The staff and cleaning crew also use it and there were often carts of laundry on the ground outside the building. The raised area for the seating and the bed juts out into the living room. I put a pillow over it knowing I would probably bash my shin on it at night in the dark. They should have cut another meter of it off between the bed and the door. The shower area is huge. The door swings inwards though. Water leaks out and down onto the floor by the toilet. If they had installed sliding doors, they could have used the ample space for a cool old style wooden bathtub or something similar. Or they could have installed a rainfall type showerhead unit instead of just the one on a hose. The toiletries are set on a black shelf when everything else in the shower is chrome. The ceiling and walls have the standard issues of Taiwan homes. Paint is peeling and plaster is crumbling off in places. It really takes away from the otherwise sleek beauty of the place. Why is the lobby so big? It's huge! There could be a much better use of the space than just seating. Add a library, a pet play area, a child play area, a bar, vending machines, or pool tables, etc.

It was nice, but I would look elsewhere before...

The hotel is located 5 mins car ride or 20mins mostly unsheltered rough pathway walk from the Yilan train station if lugging a suitcase.

Have mixed feelings about the hotel.

Let’s start with the good. 👍Front desk, f&b and housekeeping Service is generally good because of their warm hospitality. For example, they were quick to offer a room change in response to noisy neighbours in the next rooms and also a spoilt bidet seat in the room. Also, the kitchen staff was helpful when I wanted to eat takeaway food at the dining area.

👍Rooms are as you see in the photos. It is clean and housekeeping changes the sheets and towels daily. There is a nice toilet bowl with a bidet seat. The shower pressure is strong but it is marred by slow water drainage. WIFI is strong except in the windowless bathroom

👍The location of the hotel is along the quieter side of the city’s main street which offers interesting shopping, bubble tea and food options. The nearest laundry is 170m which is helpful.

👍The hotel is welcomes families with furkids and kids and provide the necessary amenities like bathing tubs, sleeping cots, sterilizers to cater to their needs.

👍My favourite part of the hotel stay was the beautifully presented bento box breakfast and 8pm supper. It got boring after the 2nd day with mostly the same selections.

These are the hotel’s weaknesses: 🤦🏻‍♀️1 lift servicing guests, housekeeping and delivery. So plan your check out timing accordingly. 🤦🏻‍♀️Poor sound insulation. When you have active kids running and jumping on the wooden platform from 9pm to bedtime and both housekeeping and kids jumping from 7am in the morning, this can be very frustrating. 🤦🏻‍♀️Roadside parking for those driving. The nearest public car park charges 120NTD flat rate over 5 hours.

Conclusion: if you want to stay in Yilan town, this is an acceptable hotel for people who want clean lodging. I would regard it as a very good hostel with hotel standards.

If you are a family with kids and furkids, this is an excellent option. But if your kids are noisy, the hotel will remind you to be mindful of other guests.

If you are elderly with mobility issues, this is not the right accommodation option. Keep looking.

Pro-tip: 👉Yilan town hotels are not cheap because of low supply. Do consider Hotel East Yilan 👉For non-locals, please throw your used toilet paper in the bin to prevent pipe chokage during your stay. 👉Cash is king. 👉Keep your luggage closed when not taking things out. Saw a baby lizard strolling around the luggage bench. 👉It can get humid in the room if the air conditioning is set at 23degC. Try going at 22.5degC. Seems cold but the vents are facing the wrong part of the room so you will really need to take it down a degree or so. 👉leave the air ventilator switch on overnight if your bathroom has no window. This will help the hotel avoid mildew growth in the...

I chanced upon Hotel East Yilan while browsing for sightseeing locations on Google Maps. After reading the glowing reviews I decided to book this hotel for the 2 nights I am staying in Yilan. It was the best decision ever!

Before I talk about the hotel, I want to specially compliment Joanna at reception. She is very polite and extremely helpful when I was asking for directions to the Kavalan Distillery. She took the time to look for directions on Google Maps and recommended us to get the Easycard to travel around Taiwan. Joanna is a great service staff and any establishment is lucky to have her as their staff.

Back to the hotel.

Upon checking in at the hotel lobby, which is on the second floor, I was greeted warmly by the receptionist. They stood up to receive us and Joanna proceeded to check us in without any hassle.

A QR code will be sent to your email to access the lift and it also opens your room door. A great use to technology to reduce the need for an additional room key/keycard to bring around. It was super convenient. The QR code refreshes every 300 seconds to ensure security.

I love the minimalist design of the room. It is very modern and the toilet is very spacious with toiletries like toothbrushes, shaver, shower caps, shampoo, shower gel and hairdryer provided. The toilet bowl comes with an automatic bidet.

Location wise, the hotel is situated about 15 minutes walk away from Yilan Station (which is near Dongmen Market). The hotel is in between Luodong and Jiaoxi. So traveling to either of them is pretty easy. I traveled around with a scooter. There are 2 7-11s nearby to get drinks and food.

Free bento breakfast is provided (only 2 choices). On top of the bento, there is a coffee machine, corn flakes, milk and ice cream. At night, supper is provided from 9pm.

Overall I enjoyed my stay here. Great rooms and very good service!

I forgot to take photos of the room but it is the same as the others who have left a...