Name: Fun Taipei Hostel
Address: No.5, Xiaobei Street, Shilin District, Taipei, Taiwan
Tel: +886-2-28881112 (Overseas), 02-2888-1112 (Domestic), 2888-1112 (Public phone in Taipei City)
Website: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Fun-Taipei-Hostel/209501812412459
Room type: Dormitories. Bunk beds in separate rooms.
Price: 500TWD
Nearest MRT: Shilin MRT
Nearby attractions: Shilin Night Market & National Palace Museum (via bus)
Room
There are many different room types available; 4 or 6 beds dormitories and Private rooms. Look at the table below for the full list of room types.
I stayed in the room with 4 beds henceforth, that shall be what my review focus on. The beds are all double decked beds.
The rooms are generally small ; sized probably at 4.5m x 3m (my rough estimate). However it is surprisingly spacious with built in hooks and small shelves (tiny ones) allocated near the beds for each bunker to use.
There is an air-conditioner inside every room with a remote control. I haven't been to a heck lot of hostels yet but this one really gives space! My room was filled with 4 girls however all of us still have space to put our stuffs.
I especially loved how high the space under the lower beds are as that gave a lot of space to store our stuffs! Granted that people staying on the top bed still had to leave their stuffs around, it still felt like there were enough space for everyone.
Someone commented on Hostels.com that the doors were thin and you could easily hear the noise from other rooms. I think it was more like very thin walls, because I could hear a lot of sound when I lean near the wall.
Fun Hostel seemed popular as the hostel was constantly filled with bunkers. The days I was there, i also saw other bunkers bringing their friends in to look for bed spaces and people requesting to extend their stay there.
Beds
Each bed comes with a comforter and a pillow, pretty standard set. The bed and pillow feels very nice and soft. However i personally found the bed and pillow too soft for my spine and neck and i woke up to slight neck aches after the first night. I slept with an air pillow under the pillow for the next few nights.The bunk bed creaks a little when you move, so you should move slowly if you decide to scratch your back.
Toilet
The entire building consist of 4 levels and other than the internet cafe on the ground floor, everything else belongs to the hostel.There is no attached bathroom and everyone has to share the public bathroom; the bathrooms are located at level 2 and 3. The bathrooms at level 2 are for females only while level 3's bathroom Is open to both gender. There are 5 cubicles in the public bathroom at level 2. Some of the cubicles have a toilet bowl in them. Shower gel and shampoo is available in each cubicle for your use. Hair dryers and some leftover toiletries (mostly shampoo) from other bunkers are available in the sink area.
From my experience, finding an empty cubicle can be a test of patience at night and some queuing is required. Of course with so much people sharing the same bathrooms, you can expect to see some mess or dirt. One of the toilet bowl was clogged on my first day but they fixed it by the next day. Overall, I must admit I’m not too thrilled by the toilets.
The toilets are cleaned by a cleaner in the morning.
Amenities
Some of the amenities provided are…- - Slippers
- - Shampoo
- - Shower Gel
- - Hairdryers (inside the bathrooms)
- - Luggage holding (in the luggage holding area which is really just a corner. Faith is required to use it 8D)
- - Washing machine
Towels will need to be purchased and is subjected to availability. When I was there, they ran out of big towels and I had to make do with a face towel to dry myself up for the next few days. I could probably buy one from the shops around but well, I only found out at the very end of day one when all the shops have already closed xD. So here’s a heads up!
Cleanliness
The bed sheets are nice and clean and everything looks well put together. .. until i looked under the bed =__=; The dust under the bed were so thick they had become dust balls. The dust on the floor (in the room) were also enough the deter me from (as much as possibly) placing my stuffs directly on the floor . Oh yeah, the entire hostels had wooden flooring.
The rest of the hostel looks clean enough for me.
Breakfast & Pantry
The Pantry & laundry area is locate at level 4.
To get there, you will need to climb a long flights of stairs as there is absolutely no lifts/elevator in the entire building. This is really not a place for people who cannot/don’t want to climb stairs.
A photo of the cosy pantry area at night. Hot, Cold and lukewarm water are available. There is a fridge for all bunkers to use , just make sure to properly label your food otherwise it will be thrown away.
Over the edge of the pantry is the view of all levels of the hostel; most notably the common area of level 3. Look down and you can see the little garden on level 2.
Breakfast was Bananas and white bread with a variety of spreads. When I was there, they had chocolate spread, jam and peanut butter. No margarine/butter :(
No black tea or coffee is provided. However Oolong Tea sachets were available 24/7 . The breakfast selection is frankly, pretty uninspiring (no black tea?!). But it's easy to find affordable food in Taiwan so that's no biggie.
There are 7-Eleven, Family Mart (Convenience Store), some cafes and bubble tea stalls scattered around the area but most of the shops don't open till afternoon.
Common Areas/ Facilities
The Common lounge was just lovely! I love the entire decoration of the common area in level 3 especially.
Level 3’s common lounge! I wanna do a cosplay photo-shoot here ^w^~
And at night, they turn on the projector to watch movies. Looks so nice and cosy *_*
The common Computers (there’s a Mac behind the PC) for use at Level 3. Arghhhh I wanna do a Cosplay photo-shoot here too!
There is a soccer toy things (someone tell me what this is called plz!) at level 3.
A small locker is provided for you to store your valuables and it is big enough to put my backpack in it. I’m sorry I don’t have a better photo of it but it’s that grey cupboard on the right. As you can tell, it’s pretty deep and can store quite a bit.
There is a laundry area behind the Pantry area and you are free to use the washing machine. However, the dryer cost 10 TWD every 10 minutes and it is coin operated.
Staff
The main staff who works as the Manager there is a Korean lady named Alice. The other staff named Danny (?) Is a Vietnamese xD they were both lovely and fluent enough in English to assist you in any travelling questions.
Location
Probably one of the biggest winning point of Fun Taipei Hostel is it’s location. The hostel is smack right next to the popular Shilin Night Market, is a short walking distance from Shilin MRT station and has Buses that takes you straight to Yang Ming Shan and National Palace Museum.
Shilin MRT Station, Exit 2.
The hostel doesn’t have any signage (NOT AT ALL) and henceforth will be very hard to find if you don’t have the map and instructions given. So make sure you store the map and directions in your phone or devices otherwise it can be easy to get lost even though the Hostel is literally 5 minutes walk away. One landmark you can look out for is the Shilin Police Station and an Internet cafe with a Red signboard. The Police Station faces the main road while the building the Hostel is part of, faces the Police Station perpendicularly. 
Overall
Overall, despite the dust mitts under my bed and thin walls, I'm very happy with Fun Hostel Taipei and would recommend my friends to try it the next time they visit Taipei on a budget.
The location is absolutely lovely ! Just walk along the main road and you will find yourself in Shilin night market! It is just beside the Shilin Police Station and literally 5 minutes of walking distance from Shilin MRT Station. Getting around anywhere was easy.
I especially love the ambience and decorations of the entire Hostel. The Rustic Village x Modernistic interior design just makes you feel at home. The common room at level 3 was jovial every night with the bunkers getting together to watch movies on a projector. I also had a lot of fun talking with other bunkers I had the chance to talk to while i was there; that's the appeal of staying in a hostel! You are given legit rights to randomly talk to anyone who's lazing around the hostel as long as they can speak your language xD
However this is not the place to stay for anyone who intends to lug a lot of luggage's around as there is no elevator at all and just getting to the first level of the Hostel requires you to climb a steep flight of stairs. Even for me, I find myself feeling a little frustrated with all the climbing required to get to the pantry for a glass of water or going to the bathroom for a pee.
I use Booking.com to book pretty much all my hostels and Hotel stays the past year or so. I've stuck with them because their website is simple, intuitive and highly intelligent, If you download the app on your smartphone, all your hotel information instantly syncs to it and you have all you need to know (maps, directions, agreed price, booking number etc) at the tip of your fingers. It is super useful for long trips as you can book and store all your accommodation information in a single place.
* Just a disclaimer, I earn some commission when you book via the search engine below. It wouldn't come from you but from Booking.com & the hostee. I would really appreciate it if you do though, as it's a nice way to fund all these unbiased reviews and travel tips. But if you don't want to, of course I won't (be able to) force you to haha. Enjoy travelling!
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2 comments:
That soccer game is called Foosball... at least that's what its called in the States :)
Thanks for the useful details! :)
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