A Horrible Hostel in Taipei ... Where I Had a Great Night's Sleep

As Sunny led me in the front door, a feeling of dread filled me to the core.

“Really? Is this really happening? I have to sleep here?! OMG, this is pretty much the worst place ever!”

Yet there I was; in a dirty, dark and stinky room with at least 16 beds separated only by curtains.

The “hallway” of the one room at the Taipei Ximen MRT Teacher Hostel

Why is it Called the Taipei Ximen MRT Teacher Hostel?

I have no idea. There were no teachers there… just a British guy who worked in construction and was looking for employment in Singapore, Hong Kong and now Taiwan.

He slept in the bottom right bed. Mine was the bottom left.

Dorm beds at the Taipei Ximen MRT Teacher Hostel in Taiwan — My bed was the one in the lower left of the photograph

The ‘Ole Bait and Switch

I should have known better before booking, as the Taipei Ximen MRT Teacher Hostel only got a 64% rating from HostelWorld. While some reviews mentioned a friendly owner, clean rooms and a nice common area, others said things like,

“This isn’t a hotel … it is a room turned into a “hostel.” It is dirty, small and stinks”

“This is mixed shared room – If all you need is a bed and a bathroom and you don’t particularly mind odd smells and a room with the feel of a tree-house-come-pillow-fort then this is the place for you!”

“This hostel has 2 locations in the same block. I ended up in a small office room shared with 12 other people. Because of only one toilet, it made it hard to get ready in the morning. No kitchen, no balcony. Lots of cockroaches, no cleaners. Ventilation was also quite poor.”

I guess I got the second location.

My little bed on the bottom bunk of the Taipei Ximen MRT Teacher Hostel

So Why Did I Stay at the Taipei Ximen MRT Teacher Hostel?

Simple. My other hostel – the beautiful, clean and friendly place I had stayed for five nights – was full on Saturday night.

After an extensive search, this was the “best” place I could find. Plus, I didn’t know what I was getting myself into.

The dirty bathroom at the Taipei Ximen MRT Teacher Hostel in Taiwan — I had no interest in going to the bathroom barefoot

No Photos Can Do This Place Justice

So instead, check out the following video walkthrough of the hostel.

12 Hours of Glorious Sleep!

In spite of the awful condition of the hostel, I still managed to get a solid 12 hours of wonderful sleep. In fact, it was such a solid sleep that I even considered staying in Taipei for another night.

Fortunately, reason overtook my sleep-clouded brain and I immediately packed my bag, headed for the door and began my journey to southern Taiwan.