bB’s second hotel in Taipei was Hotel B, a short cab ride away from Eastern Star Hotel.
I was in a room on the 11th floor again. Coincidence much?
Hotel B has nicer decor than Eastern Star does. I heard they were renovated in recent years.
The room! Awesome view! Awesome huge windows!
Definitely lots more space than Eastern Star Hotel, even though it wasn’t as cosy and homely. It was very much easier to get organised in this room, with the extra vanity/desk area. However, it did take me a longer time to feel comfortable in this room. Maybe it was all that space around me. LOL.
The bed was super comfortable though! Possibly even more comfortable than Eastern Star’s, which was already excellent. Fluffy doona, feather/down pillows, softer bed.
Unfortunately, the air-conditioning could not be adjusted as I liked. It was way too cold on most days, because it was quite rainy. The staff said it was because they had to keep it within a certain range across the floor. Perhaps they need to upgrade the system to allow individual temperature control. But I was quite happy to turn it off when they told me fresh air would still be flowing into the room.
Vanity/desk area with a nice, spacious coat wardrobe, electric kettle etc. No snacks provided, only tea and coffee. One big disappointment was the hair dryer provided. It was a terribly basic one which fries hair. I did not use it at all.
The funny slanting floor lamp. LOL!
The bathroom was good and pretty spacious. No leaking on the floor. But the water temperature was a bit of a problem. For the first few days, I noticed that while there was adequate hot water, there would sometimes be spurts of extremely hot water during my shower. This made it slightly uncomfortable but I could deal with it. But on the last day, when I was due to check out, I had no hot water running until I complained to the recep. They apologised and said it was because many guests checked out (it was a Monday) and they turned down the water control. WTF. They told me to leave the water running for five minutes. It didn’t work. They sent a guy up to look at it. It didn’t get fixed till like an hour later. Even then, the water was still very cold unless I turned it down to the smallest stream level, which made my shower really slow. This was my last day when I had plans to meet Vi and Mike for the last time before my flight. Time was precious! I was quite upset.
Even though they were apologetic, all the manager could offer was a 50% off for my next visit. Next visit? We’ll see. He did bow to me several times though. And they gave me several Hotel B cups as gifts, which I gave away to my hired driver because I didn’t want to carry extra things on my flight. Thanks, but no thanks.
If they could fix that horrible water problem, I would consider visiting them again. Because otherwise, it was quite a nice stay. There was a laundry area with one washer and dryer, free to use for all guests. Sometimes you may have to queue for it, but I was quite lucky to be able to get some laundry done a few times during my stay.
The housekeeper here was a lot nicer than the one at Eastern Star too. Eastern Star auntie was very grumpy. This one was always very happy and always said good morning to me. On one of the days, she also chatted with me a little, asked me where I was from and said I was very cute. LOL!
So the first day I checked in, it was a wet and rainy day. I was tempted to stay in, but decided to brave the cold and explore the vicinity for food. Somehow, even though it was a quieter area, I was more willing to go out exploring. Maybe I am afraid of crowds.
Thankfully, the rain actually paused right when I stepped out of the hotel. I walked round and round, and found this little street with this little eatery that offered vermicelli with intestines.
You place your order on this notepad on the table, and take it to the counter to order. My table was #8, by accident.
I had a mini feast of vermicelli with intestines, braised egg, and lots of vegetables. It was awesome. And so cheap!
After that, I wandered back to the hotel, without getting lost. A miracle!
bB had an early night, in anticipation of the early start the next day for my appointment at Villa32, my hot spring session!
Woke up early and hence could catch the hotel brekkie hours! It wasn’t as good as Eastern Star’s, in my preference, even though they had a bigger selection of savoury and sweet items to go along with the plain congee. I still preferred the brekkie at Eastern Star. The orange juice they provided was kinda lame (syrup juice) and the soy milk tasted burnt.
bB filled her tummy anyway, with two bowls of congee, and got ready for her hot spring adventure…
x o x o
bB
