My family (2 adults and 3 children -- aged 4, 9, and 11) spent almost three months at D&B's Ximen apartment. We therefore know the property extremely well, and hope this review is helpful to future guests.
SUMMARY:
Extremely well-located apartment ideal for families touring Taipei. Having spent many months in the property as AirBnB guests, we recommend it.
PROS:
• Insanely well located. Within a four-block radius, you could literally get everything in Taipei you would ever need or want. Notably, the MRT station right next door; the Carrefour [like a Target + a supermarket] a few blocks south; and Taipei bike share [Ubike] at the front door.
• Responsive host. David and his assistant reply immediately.
• Enormous Apartment (by Taipei standards). Four truly independent bedrooms, and two truly full bathrooms with showers.
• Safe, clean building. Located on a major, clean, safe street; helmed 24/7 by a security guard.
• Reliable, strong, effective air conditioning in every bedroom. This is important in Taipei.
STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW:
• No vistors' policy. To be courteous to other tenants in the building, the host requests that only those on the AirBnB guest list should be in the apartment. For some, this may be overly restrictive.
• The master bedroom faces a major street. With the doors and windows shut, I found the ambient sound level fine; however, you do hear outside traffic [particularly when a traffic light changes from red to green].
• You should not expect to prepare meals in the kitchen -- which is actually quite large by Taipei standards, but sparse by US standards. Given that there are probably 1000 places from which you can takeout in a 4 block radius, for most people this should not be an issue.