Close to Juifen and nestled away in a secluded, scenic setting, Adagio Jinguashi 緩慢民宿 金瓜石 is a relaxing and ultimately unique retreat in Taiwan.
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One of our most rewarding stays and a world away from the busy and bustling Jiufen Old Street, Adagio Jinguashi is all about slow travel and local experiences – from the evening tasting menu that harks back to the local history of Jinguashi to the welcoming staff and attention to detail, this is one memorable stay.
If you like to escape the hustle and bustle and be close to nature and trails, this is a unique hotel for you – and wait until you see the views…
Here is our review of Adagio Jinguashi 緩慢民宿 金瓜石 (near Jiufen) – we stayed in early February 2026.
Disclosure – our stay at Adagio Jinguashi was complimentary.
Adagio Jinguashi overview
Located amongst the hills of an old gold mining town, this is a relaxing retreat from the moment you arrive – surrounded by greenery and mountain / sea views, there are no distractions or annoyances here.
By day, you can walk to nearby temples, old streets or the coast and by night, you can sit in silence looking up at the stars in the evening sky.
This is a pleasant way to escape Taipei and spend some time in one of Taiwan’s most beautiful and underrated settings – Jiufen is very popular but Jinguashi has so much to offer from the historic old street to numerous hikes and trails.
With an onsite bar and restaurant plus well thought out ways to relax and stay like the library space, a wide range of instant ramen/drinks to buy and honesty box, you could easily just stay in Adagio Jinguashi for a day or two without leaving – although the trails and walks nearby are well worth a try.
For moments of reflection and a local experience like no other, time to head to the hills and stay at Adagio Jinguashi.
How to get to Adagio Jinguashi
The beauty of this property is its remote location – however, it is surprisingly easy to get to from Jiufen or Ruifang train station.
We arrived at Adagio Jinguashi from another hotel in Jiufen and took an Uber XL taxi for NT$286.
Taxis from Ruifang Station to Jinguashi are also common and cost a fixed fee of NT$285 to Jinguashi (or NT$220 to Juifen).
Free onsite parking is also available at Adagio Jinguashi 緩慢民宿 金瓜石 – the parking is a small section below the hotel with 48 steps to climb up once your car is parked.
There are local bus services in the area some of which are regular and some less frequent – we used a taxi to and from Adagio Jinguashi but then walked everywhere during our two nights there including to Jinguashi Gold Mine Museum, the remains of the 13 Levels and Qitang Old Street.
First impressions
As soon as we arrived, we knew we were in for a treat as the Adagio Jinguashi is quite remote, a much needed respite and the antithesis of a busy Taiwan city break.
We walked past the long lawn outside with relaxing chairs and dropped our bags at reception – this was the last strenuous thing we did our whole stay.
As we checked in, we were warmly greeted by Guan Xun, one of the hotel team who helped us throughout our stay. We were the only international / non Chinese speaking guests here during our stay but Guan Xun went out his way to explain things to us in English and all the staff were helpful.
During check-in, all guests are treated to a small platter of local snacks and tea – guests can also choose which fragrance to have in their in-room humidifier and which icon to have on their door, a nice touch.
Guests are requested to leave their outdoor shoes on level two before they enter their room and change to indoor shoes which are provided.
Note there are no elevators / lifts on site (the property has a ground floor where reception and the restaurant / lounge are and three floors of rooms).
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Our Adagio Jinguashi room
We stayed here for two nights in early February 2026 in a Deluxe Room with a queen bed (click to book directly on their website or on booking.com) – the first thing we have to say is that the view and outside terrace is absolutely stunning.
We arrived on a beautiful sunny afternoon and the view from our room and terrace was incredible – lush mountainscapes unfurled before us, we could hear a nearby waterfall plus we could see the blue sea to our left. We also had a great view across the valley of Chuen Ji Hall and its huge Guan Gong statue.
Our deluxe room had a private terrace balcony, ample space (23m²) and lots of windows to showcase the nature all around us – the room has a TV, DVD and CD player plus coffee making station complete with fresh beans and a grinder. You can borrow DVDs from a small library on the second floor.
A second lounger is also set up in the room, complete with an easel and canvas bag to help you explore the local area, containing an umbrella, map and flashlight.
The bathroom had a bath-tub, Japanese style toilet and bidet, wet-room shower and nice toiletry products.
We found our Deluxe Adagio Jinguashi room very relaxing, especially on the second day when it rained a lot – we chilled drinking coffee watching the world go by outside (kinda magical really). We also slept really well as there are no sounds outside other than the soft flow of water in the distance.
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Food and drink / slow dining at Adagio Jinguashi
The experience is all about slow travel / dining and savouring local landscapes and what they have to offer – incidentally given the remote location, most guests will eat and drink onsite although there are several cafes down the hill about a 20 minute walk away including a small pizza shop with a super friendly cat.
On our first night, we were treated to a sumptuous 8 course slow dining experience, carefully curated using seasonal produce and giving you a taste of the mountains and sea.
As each course was presented, one of the staff would explain the significance of it and link it back to the local history of Jinguashi (we were given handy cue cards in English given we don’t speak Mandarin).
There was also a hands-on element later in the dinner where we got to roll our own rice balls and slow poach seasonal greens to our very own liking.
Our tasting menu consisted of these local dishes:
- Golden tomato vinegar – served in a golden glass, a nod to the mining heritage of the area
- Smoked squid salad
- Grilled fourfinger threadfin fish with spring onion salt
- Slow steamed pork rib soup
- Duck breast with kumquat and red wine sauce.
- Miners rice ball (DIY)
- Seasonal greens cooked to your own liking (by you) served with braised pork
- Taro and sweet potato with roasted peanuts, served with lavender comfort.
In the mornings, a traditional style (and very Instagrammable) breakfast was also served in the restaurant, guests can choose to dine at 8am, 8.30am or 9am.
Served in small portions and shared between us, we got to try small portions of dishes like tofu, mackerel, mushroom egg, pork floss, burdock salad, wood ear mushrooms and edamame, as well as porridge and miso soup.
The breakfast varied slightly each day and you can also help yourself to fresh juice, tea and coffee.
PS If you want snacks, the hotel has a ramen library where you can buy instant noodle bowls for around NT$40 to NT$60 a time, plus several fridges with soft drinks – both operate on an honesty box payment policy.
You may want to bring some snacks too, otherwise the nearest convenience store (FamilyMart by Jinguashi Gold Mine) is a 25 minute walk away (but the walk is really cool, taking you past the nearby old bridge and tranquil temples).
The local area
On our afternoon after check-in, we spent a lot of time soaking up the scenery on our private terrace before going for dinner at 6pm.
Afterwards, our host Guan Xun took guests from dinner on an optional evening walk of the local area explaining the history and legend of Jinguashi – one of the highlights was walking up to an area with no lights at all, so we could see the night sky in all its glory – breathtaking!
On day two of our stay, it was raining non-stop until mid afternoon so we made good use of the room relaxing and looking out before going on a short hike to Jinguashi Gold Museum and onto Qitang Old Street 祈堂老街.
Closer to the hotel, you can do a short hike to the nearby Jin Fu Temple 金福宮 or the 外九份溪圳橋三層橋（黃金橋、三層橋）bridge.
On our final day after check-out, the weather cleared so we stored our luggage at reception and did a much longer walk to the famous Golden Waterfall (around 25 minutes walk away) then a steep walk up to the upper part of the 水湳洞選煉廠遺址 (Remains of the 13 Levels) a former smelter plant which dominates the skyline.
To finish our walk, we then walked to the Yinyang Sea 陰陽海 before walking back up the hotel to Adagio Jinguashi – in essence, you can easily spend a few days here combining a relaxing stay with lots of nature walks and historic hikes.
Summary / Adagio Jinguashi 緩慢民宿 金瓜石
An excellent place to unwind in a beautiful location, Adagio Jinguashi is a memorable stay, from the slow pace of travel and close proximity to nature – and boy, our private balcony terrace view will be hard to beat!
A way to get close to lesser explored Jinguashi and escape Jiufen’s tourist hordes, here you can totally relax or combine it with nature hikes and scenic strolls.
We also think staying a night or two at Adagio Jinguashi is an easy way to enjoy the local area and learn more about its rich history – so escape Taipei and a joyful Jinguashi retreat awaits!
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