Way before I learned to travel hack, I remember staying in a hotel in New York City somewhere in the Upper West Side, and I thought we stayed in the smallest room ever. There was a bed, a door, a little closet, and a TV (the one where you push the buttons to change the channel). Upon checking in to our room, I noticed there was no remote for the TV. I looked around and didn’t find the remote. I laid down and my foot was able to touch the TV. I guess that was the reason why there was no remote. My foot was the remote!
Thankfully, our room at Hotel 73 in Taipei was not that small. My wife and I traveled to Taiwan for the very first time.
(SEE ALSO: Sheraton Grand Taipei – I’m reminded once again why I hate “nice” hotels)
I looked forward to our stay because I knew that my points go a long way in Asia. It was just me and her and there was no need to splurge when it came to our hotel stay. We knew we’d be outside exploring during the day and evening, so finding a place to sleep and shower were the key things we cared about. I did a quick research on Hotel 73, located in the Zhong Zheng District. It received many favorable reviews on TripAdvisor. So I gave it a shot and so glad I did.
The cost using points
My good friend, Tim Chen, a Taiwanese local, recommended quite a few local boutique hotels. Thankfully, the Chase Portal offered Hotel 73 as one of the options. It’s friendly on your wallet using cash. and for those of us in the miles/points world, friendly on your points budget, just around 4,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards. We booked 4 nights and used just over 19,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards for our stay, which averaged 4,700 Ultimate Rewards per night. I checked the other day, and there were rooms available as low as 3,293 points per night which I think is a pretty good deal. If you’re paying in cash and not with points, the hotel is still quite inexpensive. I decided to use my points since I had quite a few Ultimate Rewards to use for this trip.
You can check rates for your upcoming stays here via Hotels Combined
Front Desk
Lobby
Little art gallery in the lobby
Our room
We booked a standard room, and we were given an Elite Room. Again, it wasn’t the biggest room, but it was just perfect for our needs. Inside the room
- Bed
- TV
- Safe
- Workspace
- Phone
- Alarm Clock
- Coffee maker
- Bathtub/Shower
- Toilet
- Sink
- In-room A/C Unit
Additional perks
- Free Asian breakfast buffet
- Nearby public transportation
- Free Wi-Fi
- Free use of laundry facilities
Free self-service washer/dryer
Yes, laundry facilities were at no cost. (SEE ALSO: 4 laundry hacks when you’re doing long-term travel). Soap was included, too. I couldn’t complain. We were just too happy to have stayed here. The hotel and our room were always kept very clean, and I couldn’t think of anything that went wrong with our stay.
The original world-famous Din Tai Fung was just a few minutes walk away
Hotel 73 was also a few minutes walk away from the very first Din Tai Fung Restaurant in the world. We had our fair share of Xiao Long Bao or pork soup dumplings that kicked off our Taiwan vacation. It was centrally located near many of the attractions that we visited. The nearest train (Dongmen Station) was just a few minutes walk from the hotel, and we felt very safe walking around the area.
Lobby/Sitting area
Delicious Asian breakfast buffet
One of the things that surprised me was the array of food selection that was included with our stay. There was a Breakfast Buffet room located one level below the main lobby. It wasn’t your typical continental breakfast, it was a party of Asian-inspired dishes – from congee, to noodles, to different veggies, and meat selection. Each day had a different selection that was served so that kept our visit interesting. We looked forward to waking up knowing that we had a great breakfast waiting for us.
Breakfast buffet room
Besides Western food, there’s an array of Asian-inspired dishes (included with our stay)
Final thoughts
If you’re not looking for a super swanky accommodations, I think you’ll be very pleased with Hotel 73. Our days were spent outdoors as we explored Taipei and beyond. Our room, while it was pretty small, was good enough for the kind of stay or visit we had in Taipei. From our very clean room, the excellent breakfast buffet, the free use of laundry facilities, the accessibility to public transportation, and the very helpful staff, we could not have been any more pleased with our stay.
I wish I made a note of all the names of the helpful staff. They communicated well in English (both in writing and spoken English). They provided tips and helpful directions to our tourist inquiries. We really felt at home at Hotel 73, and without hesitation, I highly recommend this boutique hotel to all of you budget conscious travelers.
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
Nice review. It’s always good to see some alternative to Vendome level hotels.
Thanks for the feedback. Lately, I’ve been finding ourselves in “functional” places. As long as we have a roof over our head, hot shower, and Wi-Fi, we’re good.
love the Chinese breakfast buffets. so much better than say, Hyatt Place.
Yep. It was really good. It was presented nicely. I was also able to ask for eggs to be cooked separately. Overall, a great deal.