Wow, that’s a long drive. Hope you get back faster!
Checked the calendar and they should be returning in a few months 
Hualien WOW Hostel
With Taroko National Park closed indefinitely, visitor numbers to Hualien have apparently plummetted. On the positive side, this means perhaps that decent hotels nearby can now be found relatively late.
I did this with a last minute trip to Hualien over new year’s eve, and stayed at the recently renovated JUST SLEEP HUALIEN ZHONGZHENG located within walking distance of good eats and other useful amenities in Hualien City, although still quite a walk from the train station. This hotel offers a nice clean minimalist decor, a passable breakfast arrangement (lots for vegetarians though so that could be a plus), and very good tea and coffee and ice cream (brought in from New Zealand) made available to guests. These guys are part of the Regent Group and they know what they are doing. I was very pleased to find this place.
Guy