悠閒 慢活 怡然居

My experience in Errantry Lodge

It was a big headache to me when I was
choosing the room for reservation. I couldn’t choose the Cartoon Room because
it’s for 4 people. Other than that room, all the other rooms look attractive.
Since it’s my first trial, let’s start with the Aborigin Room!

When I arrived Errantry Lodge, the first
thing I saw was a wide garden. After I got into the house, there was a big
eye-catching bar in the living room which is painted with Greek sea view
colored drawing. Walking up the stairs and to my left, it’s my Aborigine Room.
I was shocked after I opened the door because the room is so big!!!There were
also a king-size bed and a large LCD TV! This room is even bigger than my own
bedroom. It is more 360 square feet. For people who live in a crowded city, it
is a real luxury to have a chance to stay in a room big like this. On top of
the clean white bed sheet is the craft with black and red stripe, it matches
the Rome-styled curtain on the window. There are a chic-styled wooden chair and
a bamboo floor lamp at the left hand corner of the room. There are also a
rectangular desk and a wooden decoration on the right hand side of the bed. I
had another surprise after I walked into the bathroom.  There was a little lovely bamboo curtain at the
door of the bathroom. I felt really good when I walked on the stone on the
floor in the bathroom barefoot. The bathroom is surrounded by the colorful
Mosaic, which looks brighter under the contrast of the grey floor.

After I went back to the living room, I
asked Arthur about the origin of the Aborigine Room. He told me that the
biggest aborigine in Hualien is Amei Aborigine, followed by Taroko Aborigine.
Once he visited Amei aborigine, he was amazed by the art and craft of the
Aborigine. So when he built the Aborigine Room, he decided to use a lot of hand
crafts of Amei Aborigine such as the bed sheet, curtain and the bamboo curtain
in the bathroom that I love the most are all hand-made products of Amei
Aborigine. To match the detailed crafts, most of the furniture in the room is
made by wood, such as the wooden bed and hangers which made by pomelo trees and
camphor trees. They all show the careful thoughts of humanity and chic style of
the Aborigine Room.

The Aborigine Room is already so
special, I was really curious about what kind of impression the other rooms
would give me. So after all the other customers left, Arthur lead me to visit
other guest rooms. The first one is Japanese-style room. It is even bigger than
the Aborigine room, which contains a Japanese-style desk and it allows people
to have a cup of tea and a relaxing chat there. The king size bed which is made
by pomelo trees was so clean and tidy. In the bathroom, other than an area and
equipment for showering, there is also a big tub for hot spring bath. After I
opened the window of the bathroom, I could see a little Japanese-style garden,
which people can enjoy the view outside without worrying about their privacy
when having hot spring bath.

Then I visited the Greek Room, the first
thing I saw was 3 statues of the Greek Goddess. Even though I had already known
that the rooms in Errantry Lodge are all very big, I was still shocked when I
saw the Greek Room. This warm-colored room is almost 2 times bigger than the
Aborigine Room. It is so big that the 37-inches LCD TV seems to be smaller when
hanging on the wall of this big room. Unlike the Greek sea view style in the
living room, Greek room has an Island view style. I felt like sitting under the
sun in Mediterranean Sea when I was staying in the room. I love the sofa in the
room the most. I felt like I could see the great philosopher Socrates
discussing about the meaning of life with the others in the street. It’s a real
pleasure to stay in the room, or open the window to enjoy the wind in Hualien,
or even just switch on the air-conditioner in the room to stay away from the
summer heat.

After I arrived the Bali Room, I was
immediately attracted by the four-poster bed. The texture of the Pomelo wood
and the romantic white bed curtain are the biggest features of the Bali Room.
When I closed my eyes lying on the four-poster bed, I could almost feel the sea
wind blowing. Other than this charming big bed, there are also lots of
furniture made by wood and cane such as the wooden bed, floor, curtained
window, desk and cane chair. I thought only people who are building their own
home would be that thoughtful. Even the little hangers could be that special.
Walking on the wooden floor with bare-foot, lying on the cane chair, looking at
the great view of the Central Mountain Range outside the window, both my body
and soul were relaxed. Before going to bed, don’t forget to enjoy a hot spring
bath to end the perfect day!

Finally I arrived the Cartoon room. The
pink room was so eye-catching to me that I felt like stepping in the princess’s
room in the fairy tales. On the wall, there was a painting done by Chan Mei
Yin, a great cartoonist in Taiwan. Arthur said that he likes Ms Chan’s works so
much. He contacted Ms Chan to see if he could be authorized to use her works.
Ms Chan agreed happily because she knew that her work was appreciated. In the
Cartoon room, I felt that I could hear the girls chatting and laughing sweetly.
I’m sure all the girls would love this room. To fulfill the needs of the girls
who usually spend much time on putting on make-up, Arthur and Theresa specially
put one extra mirror by the side of the bed. Then, all the girls can make up
themselves easily before they go travelling in Hualien.

After visiting all the rooms in Errantry
Lodge, my view is that Arthur and Theresa have really done their best to run
their hostel, which in turns enable all the guests here to relax and take a
rest. To build up different styles, they had discussed with the designer for
many times. They had also added some elements of Hualien in those different-styled
rooms. For example, the painter of the color drawing in the bar of the living
room is a good friend of Arthur and Theresa; all the wooden furniture in the
rooms were hand-made by local carpenters Arbula San and Tak; and those bamboo
products and crafts in the Aborigine room were all made by the aborigine.
Besides, there are lots of photos in all the rooms. Some were taken by Arthur
while some were contributed by his friends who also love taking photos. Staying
in Errantry Lodge has given me a multiple experience with a fusion of the sense
of sight and touch. Oh, I almost forgot, there is one more experience related
to the sense of tasting! I started to love eating congee even though I don’t
usually eat much. It started when I first tasted the breakfast cooked by
Theresa. It may look simple but it is not easy to cook without adding any extra
seasonings and it can still be so tasty that people can’t forgot its taste. I’m
sure you will be touched by the simple but special odor of rice if you have a
spoon of the white and thick congee.

To me, the experience of staying in
Errantry Lodge is the taste of happiness.

By April, a customer in Errantry Lodge

在怡然居選擇客房時, 著實傷了一下腦筋, 除了繪本房是四人房之外, 其他客房在網站上的照片實在都很吸引人, 既然是初體驗, 那我就先從原住民房開始吧!

到了怡然居門口, 看到的是一個寬敞的庭園, 進了大門後首先映入眼簾的是交誼廳, 最顯目的, 是一個希臘海景彩繪的大吧台. 走上樓梯後的左手邊, 就是我的原住民房啦. 打開房門後嚇了一跳, 因為, 好大的房間、好大的床、和好大的液晶電視! 這個客房比我自己的卧房還大, 大概有十多坪, 這對生活在寸土寸金的都市人來說, 能夠有這麼大的房間, 真是奢侈的享受. 潔白的床單上鋪著黑紅相間的條紋織品, 和窗戶的羅馬簾相呼應, 房間右邊的角落有一張造形簡約的木製椅子, 和一個竹簍子立燈, 床的左邊有一個長形的寫字桌和一座木彫. 走到浴室一看, 又是一個驚喜, 浴室的門口有著一片竹簾, 非常的小巧可愛, 赤腳走入浴室, 地上的石板踏起來的觸感真好. 浴室的四週還有彩色的馬賽克, 在灰黑色的石板浴室中顯得更加明亮.

下樓後, 問Arthur原住民房的由來, Arthur說, 花蓮最多的原住民部落是阿美族, 其次是太魯閣族. 有次他到阿美族部落參觀, 對阿美族的編織和竹藝作品讚歎不已, 在建造原住民房時, 就決定大量採用阿美族的手工藝品, 像床上的織品、窗簾、以及令我愛不釋手的浴室竹簾等, 都是阿美族族人親手製作. 為了搭配精緻的工藝品, 房內的大家俱都是使用原木, 例如柚木和樟木組成的原木床、掛衣架等, 讓整個原住民房的粗獷風格中帶有人文的細膩和用心.

原住民房的空間都已經這麼特別, 我實在很好奇其他客房會帶來什麼樣的感受, 等到其他房客退房後, Arthur就帶我參觀其他客房. 首先是日本房, 日本房比原住民房還要大, 還有一個和式桌, 可以品茖談心, 簡潔舒適的King size大床就放在手工訂製的柚木床架上. 走進浴室一看, 除了乾濕分離的淋浴設備之外, 還有一個大大的泡湯池, 推開浴室窗戶, 可以看到一個專屬日本房的日式小庭園, 泡湯時可以安心地欣賞窗外的風景, 也不用擔心沒有隱私.

走進希臘房, 首先看到的是三座希臘女神的壁飾, 雖然我已經知道怡然居的客房都很大, 但是看到希臘房時我還是忍不住驚呼一聲, 暖色系的希臘房幾乎是原住民房的兩倍大, 大到連掛在牆上的37吋液晶電視都顯小. 和怡然居交誼廳吧台的希腦海洋風不同, 希臘房走的是島嶼人文風, 待在房中有種地中海陽光照在身上的溫暖. 而我的最愛就是這張可以拉開的躺椅, 坐在躺椅上, 似乎可以看見希腦哲學家蘇格拉底, 在街頭和路人討論人生的意義; 不論是打開窗戶吹吹花蓮的風, 或是打開變頻空調避避暑氣, 單單只是待在希臘房裏, 就是身心的一大享受.

到了峇里島房, 我就馬上被布幔大床給吸引住, 柚木的質感和浪漫的白色布幔,

是峇里島房的最大特色, 躺在布幔床閉上眼睛, 似乎可以感受到徐徐海風吹來. 除了這張迷人的大床外, 峇里島房用了大量的木製及籐製傢俱, 不管是柚木床、地板、百頁窗、寫字桌、籐椅等, 這樣的質感, 我想, 只有在為自己打造溫馨的家時, 才會如此用心吧, 連小小的吊衣架都可以很有特色. 赤腳走在木質地板, 斜靠在躺椅上, 打開窗戶看著窗外的中央山脈, 覺得自己的身體和心靈都放鬆了起來. 睡前, 別忘了泡個舒服的熱水澡, 讓一天畫下完美的句點.

最後我來到繪本房, 打開房間, 滿室的粉紅讓眼睛亮了起來, 好像踏入童畫故事中公主的房間. 在牆上掛了一幅國內的繪本作家陳美燕的大幅作品. Arthur說, 他很喜歡 陳 小姐的作品, 特地與 陳 小姐聯絡詢問是否可以授權. 遇到知音, 陳小姐也很開心的答應. 在繪本房中, 我彷彿聽到女孩子們講悄悄話, 和不時發出的銀鈴般笑聲, 如果家中的孩子都是女生的話, 一定會愛死這個房間. 為了體貼女孩子需要比較多的時間打扮, Arthur和Theresa特別多放了一面鏡子在床邊, 這樣女生們就可以從容地把自己弄的美美地, 去遊花蓮了.

參觀完所有的客房後, 我的感想是, Arthur和Theresa真的把全部的心力投入怡然居, 好讓怡然居的客人能真正的放鬆和休息. 為了營造不同的風格, Arthur和Theresa與設計師討論了無數次, 但卻也不忘在各種風格中, 融入花蓮在地的巧思, 例如, 交誼廳吧台彩繪的作者, 是Arthur的夫妻檔好友, 所有房間的木製傢俱都是在地師父阿不拉桑和阿德親手打造的, 還有原住民房的竹製品及織品等. 此外, 每個房間中都有許多的攝影作品, 這些作品有的是Arthur拍的, 有些則是Arthur的攝影同好熱情提供. 在怡然居的生活是融合了視覺和觸覺等的多重體驗. 差點忘了, 還有一個不能錯過的體驗就是味覺. 很少吃稀飯的我, 會開始愛上稀飯, 就是從Theresa的早餐開始, 看似簡單的稀飯, 不加調味料, 要煮到讓人難忘, 還真是不簡單. 放一口潔白、濃稠的稀飯在嘴裏, 那單純的米香, 就可以讓你感到說不出話來.

對我來說, 在怡然居的體驗, 就是幸福的味道.

By怡然居房客 April

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For guests arriving before the end of 2011,
Arthur will offer you a free photo shoots of 10 sets
in Errantry Lodge’s professional studio,lounge, garden or guestrooms.

Errantry Lodge will provide photo CD
Please fill in your email and mailing address during registration,
We will mail the CD to you upon completion.

德古拉公爵