Since we booked our plane tickets a year before the actual travel dates, we had ample amount of time to look for a nice yet affordable place to stay for five days and five nights.
After months of browsing through Agoda deals and Airbnb listings, we came across Kenny’s New York Apartment, conveniently located in Taipei’s Wanhua District–where Ximending is.
It was priced at less than P4,500 per night (for 4 people), looked great on the pictures, had amazing reviews, and seemed to be at a prominent location, so we gave it a go.
Believe us when we say that this place was a jackpot: the listing boasts of a 3-5 minute walking distance from the MRT (Ximen Station), shopping district, cinemas, and restaurants.
And it literally was! We honestly did not expect that the apartment would be in walking distance of almost everything – a quaint little Lego-themed coffee shop, the actual Ximending shopping district and night market, a 3-storey Starbucks, tons of local and international restaurants and cafes, banks, 24-hour convenience stores, a legit Japanese temple, the famous Red House, and most importantly, the MRT–which became our primary mode of transportation for the most part of our stay.
READ: Travel Like a Local: Taking the Taiwan MRT
The whole place was very spacious, with enough room for 3 queen size beds, a sala set, a bathroom, and a kitchen.
Everything was exactly as it was in the pictures, with comfortable beds and cozy comforters perfect for the cold weather.
The bathroom came with lots of clean towels and towellettes, toiletries, and even a hairdryer.
The small kitchen featured a mini refrigerator, mugs and teaspoons, a hefty stack of instant coffee, and a water purifier that provides hot and warm water (which saved us a lot from buying bottled waters).
Kenny, the host, was just wonderful. He was already waiting for us at the apartment building’s lobby the moment we arrived even though it was late at night (we were supposed to arrive at around 9PM but we got there at 10PM because we had a 30-minute delay on our flight and we also kind of got a bit lost around Taipei Main Station looking for the MRT ticketing booths).
Upon welcoming us to the apartment, he gave us map of the Ximending area and showed us good places we could eat at. He also showed us the back entrance of the building which went out to an alleyway that actually leads straight to the Red House and to the MRT, which was why the place was literally just 3-5 minutes away.
He also helped us book a taxi driver for our one day tour around Northern Taiwan, and lent us a pocket wifi (free of charge!), which came very handy for all the times we got lost walking around the city.
All in all it was a delightful experience!
Photos from Airbnb. Download our full, mobile-friendly Taiwan artinerary HERE. (You have to be subscribed to this site to get access to our freebies. Click here if you haven’t.)
