For our one night in Taipei we booked a room at the Flip Flop Hostel. I picked a room on the fourth floor which is the girls only dormitory and also a private room since we’d be getting in late and leaving early. The Flip Flop Hostel is located within walking distance of Taipei Main Station, which was perfect for us, since we were arriving from Taichung via bus and for leaving the following morning on a different bus to the airport. It was also a short walk from a lot of downtown shopping and restaurants and several night markets.
The check in time is a bit odd, being from 3pm until 9:30pm, though you can drop off your luggage and check in later if you arrive too early. We instead stored our stuff in a locker at Taipei Main station so that we could go straight to Jiufen and check in when we got back.
The hostel has two entrances. One big gate which is used when it isn’t check-in time that requires a card to enter, or during check-in time a big comfortable gallery. When we arrived we sat down in the gallery to check-in, and to drink tea and eat cookies that they gave us while we waited.
The Flip Flop Hostel seems like a lot of fun. With plenty of communal spaces, an art gallery open only to their guests, a kitchen (where they warn you to mark all your food or else their hungry staff will eat it) and breakfast on the first floor from 8am till 9:30 am with the idea of everyone eating together.
We had a small room on the girls dormitory floor, a bit cramped but fine for one night. Our key was needed to access the bathroom, a series of private stalls for showering and toilets, with a line of hair dryers and sinks as well. Our card was also needed to get on the floor, since it was girls only. I’m not sure how the other rooms work out, but ours was neat and clean and of course came with flip-flops for us to wear around the hostel.
They also offer laundry and the staff is helpful and happy to give suggestions on things to do and places to visit in the area. The atmosphere they seem to promote is a shared space, where you can come and meet people, enjoy art and your time in Taipei. Sadly we weren’t there long enough to meet anyone let alone enjoy the majority of their facilities. We didn’t even stay for breakfast, since our flight left in the morning and we had to catch the 4am bus to the airport.