Home away from home!
I will be honest; I had backup hotel plans just in case if Charles’ place wasn’t up to my standards. But I’m happy to share that after I checked in with Charles, I immediately cancelled my backup hotel reservation.
Charles definitely earned his Superhost status, and it showed. He was very proactively communicative weeks and days before I checked in, and anticipated my needs. He was very flexible and accommodating too. Charles met up with me personally at the time of my late arrival to assist with the checking in process and went over nuances of a Taiwanese residence that is different from typical North American apartments. This was unlike many other places I’ve stayed where an agent was hired to post pictures and deal with communications.
As for the apartment itself, it was well appointed and well kept. I truly felt like Charles was sharing his personal home. The bed was very comfortable with excellent linen. The shower had instant hot water, which is infrequent in Taiwan. The air conditioning unit worked well, not at just keeping the place cool but also removing humidity quickly. As you can see, those are the most important things to me. But there were extra amenities I truly appreciated, such as the clothes washing machine and provided detergent, and a stocked kitchen that is more than capable of letting vacationers fix a quick meal. There is also a public garden on the floor below, which I could see from the apartment balcony; but unfortunately I visited Taiwan during long periods of rain, so I couldn’t enjoy the garden other than admire the view with envy.
I felt very secure in the apartment as well as the building, which has a secured entrance with a doorman 24 hours a day. The location was convenient, which is a couple blocks away from a major subway station serving Green and Blue lines, with a Family Mart and 7-Eleven practically next door.
I believe I have found my future home away from home when I visit Taipei the next time. Great apartment and a great host.