I wasn’t expecting much when I booked myself into Kindness Hotel (Glory Pier Branch), Kaohsiung, Taiwan. It was a work trip and there wasn’t much budget for a higher quality hotel. I’ve always been very sceptical about lower-tier hotels for the simple fact that they are able to offer really low prices often at the expense of comfort. Thankfully, I was proven wrong this time.

The Kindness Hotel is a large 3-star hotel chain in Taiwan with a strong presence in Southern Taiwan. Most of its hotels are located in Kaohsiung and Tainan. My first encounter with the hotel was not that pleasant. I tried booking a room just a couple of days before my trip and all the third-party travel/ hotel sites refused to process my order. When I called the hotel, they told me the hotel was not full and I should proceed to use those sites to reserve my room. When I told them about my situation, they said that they couldn’t help me as they couldn’t take any overseas booking and they do not have their own dedicated booking system. In the end, I had to go through a local agent who charged me nearly double of the listed price!

By the time I arrived in Kaohsiung a couple of days later, all my frustrations were gone. The check-in was very efficient and within a few minutes, I was in my room on the 16^th floor.

I didn’t expect much since the room is selling at about SG$64 on the third-party travel sites. But I was surprised. My first impression is that the room is clean and well maintained. It is not fanciful but it has all the basic amenities. The room is of a decent size (big enough for two persons) and the bathroom is pretty big as well. There is an empty mini fridge which guests can store their purchases and complimentary bottles of water are given daily. Although the toiletries are provided, they are uninspiring. The shampoo, hair conditioner and body wash are the dispenser type that you probably see them more often at common shower areas such as the pool. Other than that, most other in-room amenities are available upon request.

What I particularly like about this hotel is that the internet access is complimentary even in your own room. However, my only complaint is that the speed can be very slow when the hotel is on full occupancy (just when I’m there). It took me ages to logon and even longer time for me to upload any documents. I ended up having to go to the business centre to do some work in the middle of the night.

The hotel has a restaurant on the second floor that serves only breakfast. Don’t expect much if you have a western appetite (eg bread, sausages, eggs, etc). Although the buffet breakfast spread does cater to the western appetite, most of the selection is still mainly catered to a Chinese appetite such as congee and glutinous rice. What I particularly like about Kindness Hotel is that they offer complimentary supper snacks. It’s great if you like some cakes, ice cream, pastries, soup and tea leaves egg (braised herbal hard-boiled eggs). That’s provided you didn’t have enough while touring the night markets around the hotel.

The other aspect that I really like about the hotel is the 24-hour laundromat on the ground floor of the hotel. Since I was on a work trip, I tried to bring fewer clothing and had to wash some of my clothes. The complimentary laundry service really helps to ensure I have fresh clean clothes every day. Washing detergent and softener are provided free of charge too.

This hotel is also conveniently located near to HanShin Departmental Store (just a couple of minutes walk). From there, you can take the complimentary shuttle bus that brings you to Central Park MRT station. Alternatively, the walk to the MRT is about 15 minutes. It’s not bad when the weather is cool. The hotel is also located rather close to the famous Kaohsiung’s tourist attraction, Love Pier. There are several night markets located within the hotel’s vicinity too. There is also a Starbucks just around the corner. On the whole, it’s quite easy to travel around Kaohsiung city when you stay here.

However, there are several aspects of the hotel that I really dislike. First, the pathetically thin bath towels. The texture of the bath towels is far from fluffy and they are rather hoarse and rough on the skin. The weak water pressure when the hotel is running at full occupancy is also another shortcoming. On my last day at the hotel, the hot water pressure was so weak and the temperature was more lukewarm rather than hot. And finally, the bed linens are not the smoothest, at least for me. The thread count is definitely nowhere near the Egyptian cotton.

But other than these limitations, the Kindness Hotel (Glory Pier Branch), on the whole, is commendable. Just don’t expect top-notched stuff, not when you are getting it at a bargain.

Kindness Hotel (Glory Pier Branch), Kaohsiung, Taiwan
No. 169, QingNian 2^nd Road, ‪Lingya District,
Kaohsiung, Taiwan
高雄市苓雅區青年二路169號
Tel:(07) 334-3377
E-mail: h016.hotel@msa.hinet.net
www.kindness-hotel.com.tw