Kindness Hotel, You Really Are Kind!

It's our third night in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. As you readers notice, I don't usually do hotel reviews on my blog, but it will be an exception this time. I just have to talk about Kindness Hotel in Kaohsiung, because it is just that good.

First of all, let me present the fact that this hotel is a chain one, possibly only in Taiwan. There are about 10 Kindness Hotels in Kaohsiung, and the one we currently stay at is located on Juemin Road, Sanmin District, Kaohsiung City. It is not the closest to the main train station of Kaohsiung but no complaint really, as it costs less than 200 NTD (a little over 6 USD) by taxi to get to the location from the main train station.

So.. here goes the list of things I find this hotel quite the steal!

1. Breakfast and dinner buffets are inclusive in the price
Breakfast buffet is a common feature of hotels in East and Southeast Asia. But this is NOT the case with dinner buffet. That said, I didn't expect much from the dinner buffet at Kindness.

The entrance of Kindness dining room

Dinner buffet menu at Kindness Hotel from night to night is quite similar, ranging from noodle and veggie salad, noodle soup with condiments -incl. fish and meat balls, mushroom soup, fruits, tea-flavoured eggs, and a few other meat-based entrees. They go more all out with breakfast buffet, which is expected. I think hotels here put a lot of 3 and 4 star hotels in America to shame. Most common breakfast buffet menu in America are just the continental breakfast. Their hot food usually only involves bacon, sausages, eggs, and  maybe some sauteed potatoes or veggies -and this would be rather rare. Yeah, you'll get cereals, bread, instant oatmeal, fruits, yogurt, waffles, bagels, pancakes, muffins, pastries.. but really, that's about it. And guess what? Those are mostly covered in breakfast buffets in some 3 and I would confidently say, ALL 4-star hotels in Southeast Asia, and also some East Asia countries. On top of that, they serve foods that most people normally eat for lunch -more similar to brunch food perhaps, in America, except that it includes a lot more entrees than in any regular brunch you'll ever come across in the States. I am about to go off tangent here, so let me refocus and just talk about Kindness Hotel. Its breakfast buffet focuses on both local taste and also continental breakfast, which is awesome.

Kindness Hotel lobby

2. Free ice cream, cakes, and drinks -available 24 hours

The variety of cakes at the cake dept

No, I am not kidding. They have the best taro and grape ice cream that you must try if you ever stay there. Inside their big ice cream fridge in the dining hall, you'll find 8 different ice cream flavors that you can help yourself to anytime you want. At the cake department, they have tiramisu, raspbery, and cheese cake, as well as two different types of pudding whose names I can't quite recall. They also have a fancy machine that can dispense hot espresso, latte, cappuccino, cocoa, cocoa milk, milk tea, and milk. In addition, they have 9 different teas you can try. Oh, also a couple of different cereals that you're supposed to eat to complement the ice cream.

Complimentary ice cream. The taro and grape one is my favorite!

3. Free bikes
Pretty cool eh? Most major cities have public bikes to rent, but you can use the hotel's bikes at no additional charge.

4. Free self-service launderette
They have a good number of washing machines and driers available to be used 24/7 at no additional charge! We made use of this convenience to do our laundry on our second day.

5. Reasonable cost
Staying at Kindness Hotel is NOT expensive at all, given the aforementioned perks. We spent an average of 67 USD/night for our stay in non-peak season (this already includes taxes and service charges) -what a steal! Kindness Hotels located in more desirable locations will charge more, but if you shop around and book beforehand you should not spend more than 100 USD/night. Not sure about booking for peak season, though, but it should still be reasonable.

Let me know what you think, and if you have come across hotels with free similar features of Kindness Hotel.

We did a day trip to Cijin Island while in Kaohsiung

Nearly 10 pm here in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Oyasumi nasai for now. Bye now!