We would like to go to Taroko Gorge in August and we are still looking for accomodation. We have already been there twice and each time we stayed in Taroko in the Formosa Regent, which is very very nicely located but unfortunately far too expensive to go there again. ( Besides both times we were pretty disappointed with the service we got there 
)
Now we are looking for a nice and somewhat cheaper hotel in Hualian . Does anybody know a nice place? And is it actually O.K. to stay in a hotel in Hualian if you want to go hiking in Taroko ?
Thanks for your help!
SAMC
Note: The prices given below are for youth hostel membership card holders staying in dormitory-style rooms. You can phone up to ask them what they charge for other kinds of room.
[quote=âA soon-to-be published guidebookâ]Hualian Area
怩焄éćčŽæŽ»ćäžćż Tienhsiang Youth Activity Center (Tianxiang Qingnian Huodong Zhongxin)
No. 30, Tianxiang Rd., Xiulin Xiang, Hualian County 972
Tel: 03-869 1111 Fax: 03-869 1171
DATA
Number of rooms 170
Price NT$250/äșș per person
Payment Cash
The Tienhsiang YAC lies within the bounds of the Taroko National Park, 45 kilometers from Hualian City and 450 meters above sea level. Originally known at Tianhsiang Mountain Villa, it was rebuilt as a Youth Activity Center in 1980. The center was named the best-designed building of 1980 by âThe Architectâ magazine. In the local Atayal aboriginal language, Tianxiang (or Tienhsiang) is called Tabido, meaning Mountain Palm. Tianxiang is the largest, flattest river plain on the Northern Cross-Island Highway east of Dayuling. These conditions have made Tianxiang the hub of tour routes in the Taroko National Park. In-depth excursions into the park start from Tianxiang, and the Youth Activity Center is an ideal place to stay.
Visitors can also stay at two smaller locations run by the Center - the Cien and Guanyun Mountain Villas.
Hualian Area
ç«é§ćźąæŁ§ Lyi-u Hostel (Liwu Kezhan)
No. 242-2, Fushi Rd., Fushi Village, Xiulin Xiang, Hualian County 972
Tel: 03-861 0769 Fax: 03-861 0493
DATA
Number of rooms 104
Price NT$270/äșș per person
Payment Cash
The Lyi-u Hostel is situated at the entrance to the Taroko National Park, at the Suao-Hualian Highway, Taroko entrance and Provincial Highway 9. Besides guest rooms and catering, the hostel has a range of fitness and leisure equipment that can be used by 20 to 40 people at the same time. There is a recreational farm and a pool with playful seals. One can also tour nearby aboriginal villages.
Hualian Area
è±èźç掻èŸČć ŽćééćčŽäč柶 Hualian Farmtastic Hostel (Hualian Shenghuo Nongchang Guoji Qingnian Zhi Jia)
(You must have YH membership or buy a welcome stamp to stay at this hostel.)
No. 19-58, Kangle Village, Xincheng Xiang, Hualian County 971
Tel: 03-826 3672 Fax: 03-826 3659
E-mail: roEXTRALETTERSTOTOPSPAMger4@ms67.hiEXTR ⊠PAMnet.net
DATA
Number of rooms 12
Price NT$400/äșș per person
Payment Cash or credit card
The Farmtastic Hostel lies in the midst of beautiful unsullied surroundings reminiscent of Hokkaido in Japan, while the rustic tranquility brings to mind Provence in France. The owner aims to run the farm in an ecologically friendly way. It is an inviting place for friends from Taiwan and abroad.
How to get there:
Take the Hualian Passenger Transport Company bus from Hualian Train Station in the direction of Taroko and get off at Kangle Village (about 20 minutes from Hualian). Walk about 800 meters toward the Tzu Chi Temple and turn right.[/quote]
Hi Juba,
thanks for the information about the hostels in Tianxiang ! We will give them a call tonight to check out if they also have double rooms and what the prices are!
Are you the author of this soon-to-be published guidebook?
Thanks again!
SAMC :thanks:
The Catholic hostel does have double rooms. Rough and ready (read âshoddyâ) but kind of funky and I like them. Each has a/c and a small bathroom. Canât remember how much they cost but its cheap.
The Catholic hostel does have double rooms. Rough and ready (read âshoddyâ) but kind of funky and I like them. Each has a/c and a small bathroom. Canât remember how much they cost but its cheap.[/quote]Stayed in a twin room (two beds) there last year. 300 for the room so 150 per person. No A/C but a fan and wonderfully garish 70s wallpaper.
The tranlsator.
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Do bear in mind that five people have vanished without trace in the Tianxiang area in the last two years alone.
Is that guide book done? Can we get it electronically somewhere? I would love to have it!
Which of those above was the Catholic hostel?
The guide book, as far as I know, is printed only. The website has some info, but it wasnât working last time I tried to use it.
The address for the main office that has the guidebooks:
CTYHA Head Office
12F-10, No. 50, Section 1, ZhongXiao West Rd.
Taipei City, Taiwan 100
(R.O.C.)
Phone: (02) 2311-5067
I went there and got a membership card and guidebook back in January. Small office, one staff member as far as I could tell. They had a set procedure for selling the membership cards, but seemed puzzled by my request for a guidebook. The office manager dug around here and there, finally located one, and gave it to me.
Seeker4
Which of those above was the Catholic hostel?[/quote]I think the number for the Catholic Hostel is 03 869 1122.
Hey Forumosians. To clear about any confusion (because I was certainly confused when I rolled into Tienshiang) there seem to be two Catholic hostels. Iâm not positive that the first one is Catholic but it is in a church. You get there by heading down the road after stumbling off the bus (away from the Grand Forumosa with its fancy-pants rooftop pool and too-expensive-for-your-budget room rates). Then you head up the first (very steep) road that branches off. Eventually, youâll get to the church where you can rent dorm-syle accomodation for $300. They may have private rooms there too but the guy in charge didnât speak any English so we couldnât really ask him.
To get to the next hostel, which is definitely Catholic, walk a little father down the main road. Turn up another road when you see the sign for the Tienshiang Youth Activity Center. As you walk down that road, keep your eyes peeled for some stairs and a sign that says something to the effect of âVisitors Welcomeâ. This is not the Youth Activity Center but itâs a pretty good place to stay. My boyfriend and I got a room with a private bathroom and A.C. for 1000NT. The decor was nothing to write home about but everything was pretty clean. The best part was the fact that we got our own patio with a great view of the mountains.
If you do want to check out the Tienshiang Youth Activity Center, which is also a hostel, keep heading down the same road that the prevoius hostel is on. The Activity Center is at the very end of the road. As far as I could tell, this was the extent of the lodgings in Tienshiang, which is not the bustling hive of activity that my guidebook had led me to believe it would be.
A WORD OF WARNING: Tienshiang is a beautiful spot to relax but there are very few eating options there. As far as I could tell, these consisted of:
- vendors with heaps of open air (vile looking) buffet
- the Activity Centerâs cafeteria, which was open limited hours and had no English menu
- the Grand Forumosaâs restaurant
There seemed to be food facilities up near the Buddist sites too but these were not open when we were there. My boyfriend and I ended up eating all our meals at the Grand Forumosaâs restaurant, which is quite expensive. We moved on from Tienshiang just because we couldnât afford to feed ourselves there! So packing up some food to take with you is definitely advised.
[quote=âzealflyerâ]Hey Forumosians. To clear about any confusion (because I was certainly confused when I rolled into Tienshiang) there seem to be two Catholic hostels. Iâm not positive that the first one is Catholic but it is in a church. You get there by heading down the road after stumbling off the bus (away from the Grand Forumosa with its fancy-pants rooftop pool and too-expensive-for-your-budget room rates). Then you head up the first (very steep) road that branches off. Eventually, youâll get to the church where you can rent dorm-syle accomodation for $300. They may have private rooms there too but the guy in charge didnât speak any English so we couldnât really ask him.[/quote]This first one you mentioned is I think the âChristianâ (Jidujiao) hostel, not the Catholic (Tianzhujiao) one. (Of course Catholics are Christians as well but thatâs been discussed elsewhere.)
The number for the Christian hostel is 03 869 1203. As you say, they have dormitory tatami-style rooms. I would be wary, though, if you try to book one of these rooms for the sole use of you and your friends.
I booked myself and two other people in a group room there. I think the room was for 6 and I made it absolutely clear that we would be paying for all 6 spaces. I was told that this would be no problem. When we got there, we were shunted around various rooms and other people were also being invited to stay in the same rooms. We left and stayed somewhere else.
The owners/managers seemed nice enough but perhaps not terribly organised. If you book there, Iâm pretty sure youâll be able to sleep there but, from my experience, the exact details of who youâre sharing with may vary.
The CYC hostel, while pricier, would seem to be better organised. It books up quickly though. Tel. 03 869 1111
There are also various âminsuâ places. After giving up on the Christian hostel we got a reasonable couple of rooms in one of these. The owners were friendly and helpful. The place seemed a bit rickety and I was concerned about fire safety but apart from that we had a nice stay.
I totally agree on the food. There really should be something between the poor cafeteria food and the expensive Grand Hotel food. Maybe itâs due to planning regulations that places havenât opened to fill the gap.
Here is a nice new hotel in Hualien. I think this is what you were looking for. I also usually stay at the Formosa Regent in TienHsiang in Toroko but I will stay here the next time I go.
entry.hit.edu.tw/~wuchang/bellevista/index.html
Here are a couple of phots that you can see at the link.
Here is the hotelâs website bellevista.com.tw/
If you decide to stay in the city, the Azure Hotel (è怩éșæ± éŁŻćș) is probably the best value. http://www.azurehotel.com.tw/
There might be two threads on this topic, but I got a tip for a hotel in Hualien downtown and stayed there recently.
This place has an odd name because it was originally government-owned or sponsored. The name is something like âHualien Labor Entertainment Centerâ.
The place is old, but suitable. Some stains on the carpet, old furniture, etc. On a holiday weekend, the rates were $1,200 for a room for four people. Not bad. However, that room had some problems. It could have been cleaner, but the biggest drawback was the A/C. They turn off the A/C at 7am automatically and leave it off until 5pm. Some cost-saving measure that they failed to advertise before we checked in. However, a bit of complaining and persuading allowed us to move to a much more suitable room. The second room was much more modern, even had a small refrigerator, no A/C limit, and was $1,300 a night. They have bicycles to rent very inexpensively for checking out the city and nearby ocean parks. All in all, Iâd stay there again as long as I could pick one of the non-Communist A/C rooms.
It is very close to the train station. The address is 199 Fu An Rd. The phone number is 03-8563461 (through 64).
East Coast Hotel
No. 128 Jian Gwo Road
Hualien
Telephone: 03-8332889
Fax: 03-8322231
********* email and website may not work*********
email: service@ec-hotel.com.tw
web: www.ec-hotel.com.tw
Website didnât work at the time of posting and they did have internet problems when i was there.
single room $3,300 NT
Business room $3,600 NT
Honeymoon room $3,800 NT
3 person room $4,300 NT
they have more rooms with better quality.
They also have these Motel style rooms where you park your car into a carport and you walk the stairs to your room on the second floor.
This hotel is fairly new and I thought it was a good place to stay at. Seemed very high class and they have plenty of parking too across the street with a closed gate and video camera on the parking lot. A nice touch. However, try to remember their phone number if you want them to open the gate and you donât want to walk back. 
They are located on the west side of Jung Shan road(before the busy area of the street) near an Aurora electronics store and a 7-11.
They also have breakfast included at the SarLee Euro sandwich place across the street.