We walked up to their "check-in counter" which doubles up as the breakfast/hangout area. As with Pig Home, we paid the our remaining fees (CASH only) when we checked in.
The lady boss is a vivacious and you can see that she loves running the minsu and meeting people. As the story goes, couple went on holiday in Jiu Fen, fell in love with the place, bought a plot and made it their own. The owners are very DIY. Many wooden furniture were either made or restored by the husband and the lady boss is a painter. So the result was a bohemian, no frills, homey sort of place.
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| We found a mini penny farthing! |
When the lady boss passed us our key, she inquired about our plans after check in. We told her that we thought of heading Pingxi (平溪) for sky lanterns. She pulled out a train schedule from a cupboard behind her and started to pore over it. Wow, talk about leaving a great impression!
She advised that it would be better to go to Shi Fen (十分) instead as she felt Pingxi was getting a little too over commercialised (plus she said that the price of a sky lantern was more expensive there). As she ran her finger down the train schedule, she advised us on how to use the train ticketing machine at Rui Fang train station (瑞芳車站). Apparently it is quite confusing, as we later found out. It was also thanks to her that we realised Rui Fang is a great place to eat! The fried oyster omelette or 'oh chien' in the food court is just plain yums!
After getting the train timings from her, we pet her dogs and made our way to our room. *dogs? what dogs?! Did you say room? As in a singular word? But there are 5 of you!*
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| Pretty plants along the window sill |
I'll show you the photos of the dogs in a bit. Such sociable adorable critters.
The room is actually a double story studio-ish apartment sort of thing. Sun Room caters for different groups of people by offering different room sizes (each with its own theme) on their website. Since I was assured that the guys and girls would have separate sleeping arrangements event though within the same studio apartment, it was easier to place everyone in the same place. Not to mention the killer view that this place offered! I booked this place mainly because of the view. Heh~ ^^
We booked the 歇角room (literal translation: Rest Angle). On Sun Room's website, its called Nap Time.
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| Workable decorations in the room |
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| Girls room upstairs |
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| Common living area which coincidentally is the girls room |
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| Day view from the balcony |
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| Great place to sit and look out towards the ocean |
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| Night view from the balcony |
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| Faucet at the balcony |
The boys's living quarters and bathroom were not in its pristine state by the time I came back down. So I couldn't get any good photos which did not involve having their clothes strewn all over.
There is only one bathroom and it is quite long in size. Floors are made of stones so it's really cold when you step on it, especially at night when you are taking your shower. One thing which was a major inconvenience to us, was the lack of hooks in the bathroom for our towels and clothes! We had to take innovative measures to prevent our clothes from falling onto the wet cold stone floor while showering. Maybe people like to parade their wet bodies dressed only in a towel but I rather not see my comrades out of shape bodies... TMI!
There is no partition between the sink and shower area so the floor would get wet after one is done showering.
The beds are comfy plus the girls each get to hug a bear! The guys thought it was unmanly to sleep with their own bear (although I think they do at home), so the bear decided the chicks were way cooler bed mates. We had a good sleep in Sun Room, or maybe we were just bone tired and cold.
When morning came to Sun Room, it is clear how the owners came up with the name.
We headed to the complimentary breakfast where lady boss' husband made wonderful sandwiches topped off with fruit and a nice hot cup of java.
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| Waiting for breakfast |
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| Sandwiched filled with cheese, egg, veges and meat floss ^_^ |
An amazing feeling of calmness descended as I sipped coffee while gazing at the awesome cobalt blue sea. I could see why the owners decided to make a life for themselves here. Heck, if I lived in Taipei, I wouldn't mind heading here every month to rest my inner demons. It was so peaceful that the dogs sun themselves on the deck.
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| That's a dachshund, with a red bow tie, sleeping on a deck chair |
After we checked out, the owners graciously let us keep our bags there at no charge while we visited areas around Jiu Fen. They even asked how did our sightseeing go when we returned. The genuine interest makes them feel like long time friends whom you visit over the weekends.
Ok, here is a list of what you can find in Sun Room:
- Fridge
- Utensils
- Plates and cups
- Electric kettle
- Towels. We brought our own again, just in case.
- Cable TV
- Free Wifi. I love Taiwan and free wifi
- Hairdryer
- Bears to hug
- Indoor slippers. These are not bathroom slippers!
- Communal shampoo and shower gel
- Super tame sleepy dogs
- Coffee and tea
As for the house rules, it's generally the same everywhere. Don't trash the room or you lose your deposit! Smoking is only allowed on the balcony. NOT IN THE ROOM. The smoker in the group has to trapsaise
through the girls room in order to reach the balcony.
This place is value for money. It is cheaper than those up on the hill, you get great hosts and lovely rooms. Plus the view? Definitely.
Sun Room Taiwan (陽光味宿)
Address: No.56 Shuqi Rd. Ruifang Dist., Xinbei 22448, Taiwan
Tel: +886 2 2497 0956
The whole site is in Chinese without English translation. Any contact with Sun Room has to be in Chinese
Price:$$-$$$ a night per room (depends on room size)
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