Taiwan 2011 - Windsor B&B

I had read much about Jiufen and its beauty, how it had apparently inspired movies like Spirited Away (my fave anime!) and City of Sadness. So once again guided by Ash Woo's blog, I decided to see Jiufen for myself and stay at the highly recommended Windsor B&B.

Windsor B&B (温莎堡景观民宿)
Website: http://windsor.idv.tw/index.asp
Address: No.282, Qingbian Rd., Ruifang Dist., Xinbei 22448, Taiwan
Email: service[at]windsor.idv.tw  (can email in English)

Review: The place is absolutely beautiful! I stayed in 溫莎堡涵館1 where there is a balcony for you to admire the gorgeous view from. It is located at one of three minshus owned by Mr and Mrs Hsu. Even the bathroom is tastefully spruced up country-style with wooden floor panels, pebbles and stepping stones in the shower area. You can look out of the prettily framed window as you bathe. There is a hot and warm water dispenser for the late night cup noddles, cable tv to while the hours away, a fridge to store your perishables and even a little tea corner for cosy gatherings. The bed is a little hard though so travellers who like their beds soft may find it slightly uncomfortable. Delicious breakfast is provided at the cafe located upstairs from my room by the very warm Mrs Hsu every morning. You can have your meal at the balcony that overlooks the beautiful town of Jiufen but unfortunately due to the rainy weather back then, all I could see was fog. =/

Jiufen is like a maze with lots of stairs intersecting it so I'll advise you not to bring any heavy luggage should you choose to stay here. The stairs are rather steep at times and can be quite treacherous at some points.

The slightly uncomfortable bed in Windsor

Gorgeous view from the room

Cosy tea corner with handy hot/warm water dispenser

One of many treacherous flights of stairs that
almost did me in

How to get there: Take the TRA train to Ruifang station and take either the bus or cab to Jiufen. Train tickets can be booked online or purchased on the day of departure. Online bookings (if you pay via credit card) may be made 2 weeks in advance and collected on the day of departure, at least 30 minutes before the train is due to leave. Most people would advise you to make an online booking for popular dates on weekends. If you're paying in cash, then you'll have to collect your tickets the next day or they will be voided. For detailed instructions on how to book your tickets online, read this. Don't forget to get there on time because the trains are extremely punctual!

The sign you'll see the moment you come down the stairs
after you alighted from the train

Ruifang Station from the outside

The bus stop is across the road from this square. If you want
to take a cab, they are parked at the road to the left of the station.

The bus numbers you can take, this was taken at the bus stop
opposite the correct bus stop to be at if you want to go to Jiufen.

Bus fares to Jiufen may be paid using the EasyCard (the equivalent of the Ezlink card in Singapore) while cabs run at a fixed rate of 180NT (correct at the time of this post). If however you wish to take the bus, there is the bus option to consider:

From Taipei, take the Jiufen bus no. 1062 (bus company is Keelung Bus) from the Adventist Hospital bus stop on Bade Road, east of the intersection with Fuxing Road. Alternatively, take the same bus from Songshan station or Zhongxiao Fuxing MRT station Exit #1. Cost: 102 NT$ (make sure to have the exact change or an easycard.) The journey takes a little more than 1 hour. There are great views of the valleys below on the left hand side of the bus as it ascends to Jiufen.

Source: Wikitravel

How to book: You can email them with your name, number of guests, number of days you'll be staying, dates of stay and the type of room you prefer. The minshu will then email you the necessary details/confirmation and maps to get there. A 50% deposit is required and Paypal is accepted.

Hotel amenities provided: Yes

Rating: *****

Conclusion: There are quite a few minshus in Jiufen but Windsor looks to be one of the more beautifully furnished ones. Light on the wallet, it is definitely a must-stay for anyone looking to spend the night in Jiufen.