snore: citizen hotel taipei

Double room.

at this time last night, flight 5J 310 was making its descent towards taipei taoyuan airport, a quiet terminal that exuded this gloomy vibe.

we breezed through immigration, despite my apprehension that things will probably be ruined by my visa-exempt authorization certificate.

because our flight was late, we missed the last bus that would have taken us to the city for less than NTD 300. so we had no choice but to take a cab, which was very convenient, and awesome because the taxi had FREE WI-FI!!! but ended up costing us NTD 1,170.

we arrived at citizen hotel in no time at all. i was relieved to find that they did not lose our reservation (yes, i worry a lot), the man at the reception checked us in pretty quickly.

when we got to our room, we were pleasantly surprised to find a clean, simply furnished, yet complete room. we had everything we needed: free wi-fi, toiletries, towels, slippers, closet space, and drawers. a few "luxuries" didn't hurt: a flat screen panasonic tv, complimentary bottled water, kettle, and chairs. now if only we had electrical outlets by our night tables, things would have been perfect.

Breakfast.

this morning, we had free buffet breakfast at citizen hotel's restaurant. it featured a pretty satisfying spread: congee, siopao, ham, eggs, tofu strips, vegetables, toast, jam, and butter. for drinks, you can have tea, coffee, orange juice, cranberry juice, soy milk, or cow's milk. you can definitely fill up if you're gearing up for a long day of walking.

because a lot of walking is what you'll be doing when you stay in citizen hotel. its location is its main weakness. it is about 15 to 20 minutes away from the closest MRT station. there are buses that pass in front, but the MRT just gets you to certain spots more efficiently.

while the number of advantages definitely outweigh that one setback, it's something that will make me think twice about recommending this hotel to others. i've experienced staying in hotels that are mere steps from most important landmarks, and it just makes life a lot easier. and when you're in a foreign place, you take every single advantage that you can.

hotel information
citizen hotel taipei
address: no. 80, section 1, jinshan south road, zhongzheng district, 100 taipei
phone number: +2 2397 1377
email address: ctz.hotel@msa.hinet.net