舞衣新宿

Mai is a Japanese name, pronounced Mah-EE, but the investment group that owns the chain is not. I did notice quite a few Japanese clienteles. It's a bit of a hole-in-the-wall from the outside, but its location is at the dead center of downtown Taipei and tourist maps, just a block away from the new Songjiang-Nanjing MRT station. Super convenient! Price is affordable at around $75 US including taxes. That's important given I am staying for 2 weeks and cost can really add up.

That said, inside each room's got a luxurious feel. Even the electronic room number plate next to the door felt upscale. The decors are modern, the bathroom walls sided with the rest of the room are made of high quality frosted glass. And there's a super pampering bidet on the toilet. I've used bidets in Japan and parts of Europe, but I've never used one that had heated seat. Felt so good! And the weird feeling of the massaging water jet is, well, let me just say, sensational! I'd love to get one installed on my own toilet back home.

There's a pair of power switches next to the bed. One can shut off all power sources with one press, the other can cycle through each light in the room to turn on or shut off. TIP: it turns out that if the "master" switch is used to turn off the lights, then all the power outlets are also cut off. I learned the lesson when my phone didn't get charged over night.

There's a small gym with 3 machines but I have to walk so much everyday it's really not needed :) There's free Wi-Fi of course. Two bottles of water and 4 packs of snacks are also included each day. And oh, there are two sets of washer/dryer that are also free to use. So next time I can really pack light, doing laundry everyday if I have to...jk!

Excuse my ranting, but that's what happens when you're jet-lagged and is up in the middle of the night having nothing else to do...

I still have over another week of stay, so I might have some updates but when I do it'd probably be negative, so hopefully I've had my last word on Mai.