The apause inn is a small hotel across from Taipei’s Main Train Station, occupying two floor in a commercial building. The rooms are small and many don’t have windows, but they are modern, clean, efficient and very quiet. You’ll get a small breakfast and have access to a laundry room and even a small fitness room. If that’s all you need, you’ll get a budget stay in a central location. check out my photos and review of apause inn Taipei to see if this could work for your stay in Taipei!
Location: The apause inn is located a short walk from Taipei Main Train Station, making it easy to get there and around the city by public transport. It occupies two floor inside a 11-story commercial building, so you’ll have to look for the apause inn sign and take the elevator to the 5th floor.
The airport express train takes 35 minutes into the city. There are two metro lines and numerous buses to get you anywhere you want to go in Taipei, quickly.
Around the hotel are countless shops, coffee shops and restaurants in walking distance. Sights like the 2/28 Peace Park, National Taiwan Museum and Liberty Square with the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial are also walkable.
Service: The front desk was friendly and professional. Upon check-in, our room wasn’t ready and they processed the paperwork and stored our luggage until the official check-in time of 15:00h (3:00pm). The front desk agents were happy to provide hotel information and spoke enough English to handle the basics, but not necessarily enough to handle a more complex conversation. I had booked a higher room category and appear to have been downgraded, but wasn’t able to communicate that.
Housekeeping is organized very well – in addition to the usual “do not disturb” sign, you have options to ask for new towels only, an eco-cleaning (reuse towels) or full-service cleaning and replacement of towels and sheets. That’s a great way to avoid unnecessary cleaning and tailor it to what’s important to the guests. They did clean our room thoroughly and replaced towels as a default, as we had not put out one of the signs.
Staff in the breakfast room was polite and efficient. They took the breakfast voucher, handed us a buzzer and prepared the breakfast quickly. I don’t speak Chinese and English was limited, so while they did have a choice of sweet and savory breakfast, they didn’t offer us a choice and I wouldn’t have known how to ask for it…
Room: I had booked an Elite Double Room and we were assigned what I assume was a basic room without windows in the center of the property. It is a very small room, although efficiently designed. It has light-wood floors and furniture and white walls, so it feels reasonably bright despite not having a window. Not having a window has the advantage of the room being very quiet – you’ll not find big-city noise here!
The double bed has a firm mattress and equally firm pillows, all with good quality sheets. It takes up most of the room. The bed area is sunken one step, making it feel a little more roomy.
Across from the bed is a narrow shelf with two tiny stools, as well as a wall-mounted TV. Near the door, you’ll find a sink-in-countertop and vanity. The shelves and drawers hold a full set of toiletries, including a dental and shaving kit. The apause inn also has a snack basket (chargeable), a small fridge with complimentary water and the tiniest safe I’ve ever seen – it holds a wallet and passport, but not much more.
The bathroom is enclosed in frosted glass and has a toilet and the shower with full glass door. Shampoo and soap are provided in eco-friendly dispensers and the towels are of good quality. The bathroom has nice tiles, was clean, modern and functional.
The free WiFi internet was reliable and fast at an average speed of 28.9Mbps.
Restaurant & Amenities: The hotel offers a laundry room with washer, dryer and ironing facilities. Detergent is available for a fee. This is a nice feature, especially if you are on a longer trip.
The fitness room of the hotel is very small and has a few cardio machines. Unfortunately, it is also used as luggage storage, so you won’t be able to use it when the hotel has high occupancy, like during our stay.
The breakfast is served in a small dining room of the lobby. It is freshly prepared and nicely presented, but there are no options for you to choose: On day one, we both received fresh fruit, a cheese tortilla with sausage and ginger jelly. It looked and tasted very good. The second day, we had one savory toast with cheese & meat and one sweet toast with chocolate. They also looked and tasted good. You have a choice of instant coffee and tea drinks with a hot water dispenser. It wasn’t very good, but you can “upgrade” to a freshly ground coffee from a (paid) vending machine in the lobby that was a little better. While you didn’t get a choice of food and the portion was small, it looked nice and tasted good. There is a Starbucks Coffee just across the street if you need better coffee or more choices.
Value & Rewards: I booked the room during high-season for $75/night including breakfast. That’s a steep price in Taipei for a small room without windows. I’ve seen the same room available on other dates for under $60/night which would be more reasonable. You can find the current rates at the apause inn Taipei here!
I booked through hotels.com and will earn two night credits towards a free night after 10 nights – or roughly a 9% discount. I used my CapitalOne VentureOne card and will earn 10 points per $, or almost a 20% discount in total.
Bottomline: The apause inn is one of many similar properties in Taipei that occupy a floor or two in a commercial building, offering a few rooms with windows and number without. The location a 5 minute walk from the airport express train and the metro station is a winner. Our room was modern, clean and efficient, as well as quiet, yet very small. The included breakfast was tasty, despite not offering a choice. Overall, the apause inn is very comparable to the Eastern Taipei I stayed at previously, and good value on regular days. I’d rather stay at the excellent CitizenM down the road for a little more, but in a pinch or on a budget, the apause inn will do!