Where to Stay in Taipei: Eight Elephants and Dreaming Dragons Hostel

Although our first trip to Taipei was a short one, we instantly felt like locals as we traversed around that city. We stayed at Eight Elephants and Dreaming Dragons in Shida, one of the less touristy parts of the city. I love cities and I love living like the locals do and this hostel gave me the chance to do that. We had an amazing stay there, and here’s why!

Location

This is what we loved most about our hostel- it was in the perfect location. When I’m in cities, I’d much rather live in cute, studenty areas that have all the good restaurants where the locals eat. For me, this gives me a much better feel for a city than staying slap bang in the middle of the centre.
The area around Eight Elephants and Dreaming Dragons was full of great places to eat, an awesome night market and nice green areas where we could run in the morning. It’s somewhere we could both see ourselves living and really contributed to our love of Taipei.

Not only that, we were surprisingly central. With an underground just a few minutes walk away, we could travel anywhere in the city in under 20 minutes. We were actually only 2 stops away from the main station so you can imagine just how central we were.

Atmosphere

Eight Elephants and Dreaming Dragons is split into 2 separate buildings and the concept behind it is quite cool. Eight elephants is where dorm beds are. (Get it, 8 dorm beds?) While Dreaming Dragons is just a couple of doors down and where you’ll find the double rooms.

As a budget travelling couple, we appreciate a bit of alone time when we’re on the go. It was cool that they segregated the two. Sometimes hostels can be noisy so having a separate, quieter building for the private rooms was a nice touch. We could jump into Eight Elephants as we pleased to use their common area and meet backpackers so we had the best of both worlds really.

The hostel is thoughtfully decorated with cute little nitbits from all over the world. We love staying in hostels because of the chilled out, homely atmosphere and we felt right at home at Eight Elephants and Dreaming Dragons.

Bonus: they also offer co-working spaces for digital nomads in Taipei!

The Staff

We were well looked after by Karen, the hostel manager, on our stay. As soon as we arrived, she made sure that we knew where everything was, offered us sightseeing advice and gave us a map with recommendations for all the best restaurants in the local area. She was a great host and we felt like we were guests in her home. Thanks so much, Karen, for making our trip so special!

Facilities

Eight Elephants and Dreaming Dragons has all the amenities that a traveller will need on their trip to Taipei. There’s access to a full kitchen, a well-stocked bookshelf that travellers can borrow books from, a washing machine for laundry, hot water, air conditioning and quick, reliable WiFi. We were also pleasantly surprised to be given some towels in our double room. I’m not sure if dorm guests have to hire but they are included in the room rate for private guests.

Eco-Rating

I’m always keeping my eye out to see how green my accommodation is and Eight Elephants and Dreaming Dragons get a big high-five on this front! Not only did they have free filter water available to guests (something that all hostels should offer), they had little reminders around to turn off the lights, use less air-con and they went out their way to make recycling easily accessible to their guests. Nice one!

Value for Money

Eight Elephants and Dreaming Dragons has double rooms, single rooms and dorms available. We stayed in a double room and, at 1320 TWD per night, we thought that it was fantastic value for money. Our room was homely, cosy and had everything that we needed. Plus, we were in a great area with lots of shops and restaurants around. Dorm rooms come in at 450 NTD which is great for anyone looking to see Taipei on a budget!

For anyone who is travelling to Taipei and looking to see a more local and authentic side to the city, Eight Elephants and Dreaming Dragons is a great shout. It’s located in a charming part of the city which few tourists get the chance to the see. Trust me, you’ll feel like a local in just a few days. Plus, it’s extremely eco-friendly and budget friendly so, as always, it gets my rating!

To make a booking, follow this link.

Disclaimer: I was a guest of Eight Elephants and Dreaming Dragons. However, as always, all opinions are my own. Thanks again to Karen for hosting us on our stay!