Although Taiwan has a national no-smoking policy for hotels, many smaller hotels ignore this. The Hua Tai Hotel is essentially a "love hotel" - the room came with two condoms and three porn channels on the TV! However it looked nice on its website and was well situated in Hsinchu - not far from the train station and the centre of the town.
The air in the hotel is foul - the air conditioning seems to circulate cigarette smoke from room to room - my room's air was far worse than that in the corridor. Turning off the air con and opening the windows alleviated the problem a little. The 2nd night I asked to be moved to a less smokey room. Once someone lit up in an adjacent room it smelt like I had been smoking in my room. Bed linen is thin and has holes. On the plus side: the staff is polite, the rooms are quite big, and there is breakfast - mainly typical Chinese dishes, but also toast. And you get a couple of free condoms!
There is much better on offer in Hsinchu although the most desirable hotels are not conveniently situated for the train or downtown.More
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