I came back to Hsinchu for National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University’s fifth anniversary celebration. At the banquet that evening, a classmate who serves as secretary-general of the Chiao Tung Taipei Friends Club had paid for a table for us. As a textbook introvert, I normally do not attend this kind of event, and I was not especially close with my college classmates either, but I still signed up to show my support. Since I was planning to stay one night after dinner and head back to Taipei the next day, I booked The Ho Hotel near the campus gate.

Back when I was in college, this area looked nothing like this. I checked Google Street View and confirmed my hunch: it seems to have been built around 2013 to 2014. Google Street View is a wonderful thing.

I was worried the anniversary event would make parking difficult, so we set out after lunch on Saturday and reached the hotel around 1:00 PM. The parking entrance is not very obvious, so once you turn onto Daxue Road you need to keep an eye on the right side. I expected the lot to be packed, but there were actually plenty of spaces left. Guest parking is on B1, and B2 looked like long-term parking. B1 had about 4 to 6 EV charging spaces, very close to the elevator entrance. I wish I could drive a Tesla too, but I cannot afford one.

Check-in at The Ho Hotel is at 3:00 PM and check-out is at 11:00 AM. I arrived early and wanted to leave my luggage first, but the front desk told me the room was already ready, so they let me check in early and even upgraded me. I had originally booked a Standard Room, 1 King Bed, and was upgraded to an Executive Room, 1 King Bed, so the room was twice as large.

The first area after the entrance is the living room, with a sofa, TV, and desk. Only after opening the door on the right do you reach the bedroom. There is a small refrigerator under the cabinet on the left side of the entrance, and it contained two complimentary drinks from the hotel. There were no bottled waters, but there was a water dispenser in the lobby.

My daughter did not see a bed when she first came in, and she was briefly puzzled about where she was supposed to sleep.

The bathtub worked well, and you could fill it quite high so the water stayed warm for longer. There was also a handheld shower, which made it easier to bathe a child. The hair dryer was a standard one. For a middle-aged man with very little hair, that was fine, but it would be less convenient for women. We usually bring our own hair dryer when we travel, but I forgot it on the last two trips.

The hotel has a spa and a gym on the 12th floor. Ever since my daughter went to a public bath with her aunt during our trip to Japan, she has become very interested in public bathing areas. She wanted to go to the spa with her mom, but the hotel only allows guests 12 and older. I was too full after the banquet to try it myself.

At around 4:00 PM, when I was about to leave for the event venue, I went back to the car to get something and noticed there were still plenty of empty spaces in the parking lot. I had expected many alumni to be staying here, but apparently not.

Breakfast the next day was fairly standard.

The only minor shortcomings were:

• The room’s smell reminded me of the Zhiyuan Hall Guesthouse at National Chung Cheng University, the kind of place that probably has a low occupancy rate and feels a little lifeless.
• I stayed on the 15th floor, which should have been a relatively dry room, but my wife felt it was humid. I did not personally notice that, and there was no dehumidifier.

I suspect most families visiting Hsinchu with children probably stay at Lakeshore Hotel Hsinchu. After all, it has so many children’s play facilities. For parents of NYCU students, though, this place is quite convenient, since you can walk straight into the campus.

Note: This article is translated from Traditional Chinese.