The Friends hotel is an older hotel in a very convenient location. I stayed here previously in 2014 for a week in a 3 person room (1 double bed, 1 single bed) with my parents. This year, I stayed with my husband over a two week period in a 2 person room (1 double bed). Because of the price, location, and breakfast, my parents do not stay anywhere else when they visit Taipei even though they think service and quality could be improved.

The pros:
(1) Budget-friendly price, around ~$50 USD/night
(2) Excellent location: Guting MRT station is right outside the hotel, 7-Eleven and Watsons right across the street
(3) Very good breakfast included: rice porridge and toast/bread rolls, eggs, ham, rotating dishes of vegetables and tofu. Complimentary afternoon tea (tea and packaged crackers) is also offered.
(4) For longer stays (7? cannot recall), they offer complimentary pick-up/drop-off at any location within Taipei City limits, including the airport.

The cons:
(1) Not all the hotel rooms have been refurbished (reflected in the price of each room). Our window screen was stuck and unable to be closed, the walls had black spots (mold)? all over them, the furniture had seen better days. My brother's room had a water leak from the ceiling. My parents room had a clogged drain. Overall, the linens were clean.
(2) Hit and miss service: for the most part, the front desk was courteous and helpful. During our previous stay, we tried to receive outside phone calls from our room phone but was unable to do so (the caller received a continuous busy signal even though the phone line was not in use). The person calling ended up calling the front desk and asking to be transfered. After this happened twice, the front desk became rude to the caller, even though they explained the situation was related to the room phone.
(3) English-only speakers may find communicating with the front desk a little difficult.
(4) The breakfast is good but the ladies cooking and attending the breakfast station can be a force to be reckoned with. A few unwritten rules I've gathered based on being yelled at the breakfast ladies and watching them yell at other guests :)
(a) Eat your breakfast and do not linger. Afternoon tea is for having a leisurely meal and conversation. They will tell you to leave if they see you have finished your breakfast and are just sitting around the table and talking.
(b) Do not talk too loudly! (that one may just be my family...)
(c) Make sure the ladies see you putting your voucher into the basket on the counter. During the previous visit, I was accused of eating without a voucher. Saw another guest be accused of the same thing. Either introduce yourself to them as a guest of the hotel or make sure they see you holding a voucher every morning. Truthfully, they are not too scary. In comparison to my previous stay, the breakfast ladies seemed to have mellowed out a bit (I only saw them yell at some other guests once during my entire stay vs every morning during my previous stay).

All in all, the Friends Hotel is a good choice on a budget. No frills but a clean, convenient place to stay.

Stayed here again after a few years and the hotel seems to be in even worse shape. The room we had on the 10th floor was awful: mold on ceilings and bathrooms, hard mattresses, no a/c so they put a fan in the room, and the mini fridge was gross. I ended up not taking a shower that night and moved out the next day. Also didn't trust to put our water in the fridge. And no wifi! Definitely wouldn't recommend.

This hotel was very competitively priced and centrally located. It was clean and neat and the staff was friendly and helpful. It is right outside the metro station and walking distance to a lot places I needed to be.
The breakfast was very "local" but included in the price. Wifi is only at the reception area not in the rooms.