I don't normally write reviews for every hotel I visit (in fact, my TA membership was prompted by a hotel chain asking me to rate an awful hotel of theirs!), but it's unbelievable that this amazing hotel doesn't have a single review in any language!

Stayed one night on an agoda rate of 46 Euros (1850TWD). Location can't be beat, it's 200 metres from the central railway station, with direct MRT links to both high-speed rail (10') and airport (15'). The more touristy parts of the city can also be reached quite quickly by MTR.

The lobby isn't particularly big, but it's airy and has some very comfortable armchairs and sofas. There are 4-5 PCs that are free to use and also a printer that apparently you can also use for free (I only had 3 pages to print, not sure what'd happen if you wanted it to churn out an encyclopedia)! Most staff seem to speak some English, and there's always at least one person available with excellent command of the language (try looking for a Chinese speaker, or even a Spanish speaker, in a British 3-star hotel and come back to tell us how you fared!). Check-in very quick, and the lift whisks you up to your room, and WHAT A ROOM! Admittedly, I am not sure of the exact name of the room category, but agoda seems to classify it as "Double" (with a sizeable premium over the cheapest type which is "Business" and can still sleep 2). However, it certainly was a marvellous place to be in, easily bettering most of the 5-star rooms I've slept in (as far as I can remember, only a suite in the Garden Hotel in Guangzhou was better, and that costs about 350% more). Spotlessly clean, lots of space, big bed (softish for Far Eastern standards, which is a good thing if you're a European!), plenty of natural light, mood lighting, wooden floors, a 40" LCD TV, fridge with 2 complimentary water bottles, kettle, tea and coffee (of course), nice chairs, writing desk AND coffee table, and a fantastic, massive bathroom with comprehensive amenities (incl. toothbrush/paste, razor/cream, and even bath salts), and a full two-person jacuzzi tub facing another LCD TV!

Of course, as 95% of the clientele is Chinese, the breakfast was more Eastern than Western, with cheese nowhere to be found. However, there were quite a few options and, even as somebody who doesn't care much for Chinese breakfasts, it was easy to assemble a dish with a decent amount of decent-tasting stuff.

On checkout, they were happy to hold onto my stuff until it was time for me to leave the city.

If one were to nitpick, the only imperfections of this place would be the lack of a shower separate from the jacuzzi tub, the relative scarcity of Western breakfast options, and perhaps the fact that they called me at 11:40 to remind me that checkout was at 12:00 (I did it at 12:10 without any issues). I'm also not sure about in-room internet- I didn't really have much luck with the wi-fi, maybe there is a LAN cable available, but I didn't ask because I only wanted to check a couple of things, which was done on the lobby PCs. Furthermore, one might like to note that there are a lot of "love hotels" operating in the neighbourhood. I don't think the Shihzuwan is one of them (or, if it is, they do clean and maintain it very thoroughly!!), and Kaohsiung is a very safe city so I didn't feel at all worried.

It will be clear to the reader that the above mini-issues in no way detract from the fact that this hotel is an absolute BARGAIN in every sense of the word. I don't know when I will have the chance to return, but it can't come soon enough!