Fujian-Guangdong style, striving for hotel-grade cleanliness — GreenVille Homestay goes green without needing government recognition

▲GreenVille Homestay (Photo / Reporter Yan Xintong)

ReporterYan Xintong/ Green Island Report

GreenVille Homestay is located on Green Island, with its exterior surrounded by lush flower beds and vibrantly hand-painted walls. Owner Mr. Wang says,“This is Fujian-Guangdong style design!”When asked why he opened the homestay here, Mr. Wang joked, “I was tricked here by my wife!”

Mr. Wang, who is very humorous and personable, often interacts warmly with guests who come to book rooms. “For location, we’re very close to the port; for renting vehicles, we have that here too; we also offer services beyond just accommodation, including booking boat tickets and travel planning.” His attention to detail doesn’t stop there — even the quality of the scooters provided is top-notch, with the newest and cleanest vehicles offered to guests.

▲GreenVille Homestay (Photo / Reporter Yan Xintong)

GreenVille Homestay is a renovated house left behind by the owner’s elders. It offers family-style rooms that are clean, tidy, and bright. Painted walls can be seen everywhere inside and out. Mr. Wang says these were painted by two students who stayed in exchange for work: “We told them they could paint whatever they wanted, so we just let them go for it. We thought painting would be a quiet activity, so the two of them quietly started painting in the hallway with buckets of paint. They usually painted at night or in the early hours of the morning, so as not to disturb anyone. Sometimes guests would wake up the next morning, step outside, and find the walls had become so beautiful. Other times guests would come out at night and stand to the side watching the two of them paint.”

“What if they painted something ugly?” I asked.
 “Then we’d just repaint over it all with white paint!” “But we didn’t expect it to turn out so nice!” the boss said with a laugh.

▲GreenVille Homestay (Photo / Reporter Yan Xintong)

▲GreenVille Homestay (Photo / Reporter Yan Xintong)

Inside and outside GreenVille Homestay, you’ll find many flower pots, garden beds, wooden-framed designs, teddy bears in the display windows, and green potted plants — all echoing the homestay’s lush green theme. The floor-to-ceiling potted plants in the hallway, Mr. Wang says, were planted by his wife. With these plant decorations and the natural daylight streaming into the rooms, the whole homestay feels bright and full of energy.

The first-floor reception hall features a black-and-white style. Whether it’s the ceiling or the lighting fixtures, the boss made and installed them himself. The paintings on the wall are all framed by frames that Mr. Wang personally carved from wood — he had never learned wood carving before, but he taught himself in order to create these pieces. Mr. Wang says that he actually didn’t know how to do many things before, but ever since he started running this homestay, he’s had to learn to do a lot of things himself. “Like when a scooter breaks down, you can’t always call someone to fix it, and sometimes you can’t even find anyone — so I just had to learn how to fix it myself.”

▲GreenVille Homestay (Photo / Reporter Yan Xintong)

In its modern design, you can also find details of Fujian-Guangdong style, such as Taiwan-style ornaments and couplets. The wall stickers on the walls aren’t part of the Fujian-Guangdong style per se, but they still integrate into the modern aesthetic, highlighting a sense of family warmth. The tables and chairs you see are also all handcrafted and designed by the boss.

▲GreenVille Homestay (Photo / Reporter Yan Xintong)

Although GreenVille Homestay is not listed as a low-carbon homestay, eco-friendly and low-carbon elements can be seen everywhere. The unassuming Mr. Wang says,“Those on the ceiling are all eco-friendly LED lights.”“The flower pots outdoors were all planted by us ourselves.” This shows off his straightforward personality of “going green without needing government recognition.”

▲GreenVille Homestay (Photo / Reporter Yan Xintong)

Mr. Wang said that when he was young, he worked in the hotel industry. He explained that homestays used to be simply “a home for outsiders to stay in,” but he never expected that homestay facilities would need to be so high-end, with management standards — including equipment — on par with hotels. He was once asked by the government to provide quilted mattress pads like those in hotels: “But Green Island is above 28°C all year round — even in winter it’s not cold. Who needs thick quilts? And many thick quilts only have their outer covers changed — the inner layers are never washed!”

In order to provide guests with good quality, Mr. Wang doesn’t blindly follow the government but bravely does what he believes in and takes responsibility. He holds his own standards high: “Behind this counter,this entire large room is our laundry area. Few places go to the trouble of setting aside such a large space not for guest rooms but just for washing sheets and linens.”Although he runs a homestay, he tries to align his standards with “hotel-grade” as much as possible.

▲GreenVille Homestay (Photo / Reporter Yan Xintong)

▲A 4-person scenic room with excellent lighting, offering views of Green Island. (Photo / Reposted from the official Facebook page of Luye Luyi Homestay)

▲4-person scenic room (Photo / Reposted from the official Facebook page of Luye Luyi Homestay)

▲Luyi Homestay (Photo / Taken by reporter Yan Xintong)

Owner Wang mentioned that sometimes when booking tickets for guests, he also helps plan their itinerary. However, he occasionally encounters guests who are unsure how to best arrange their schedule, so he offers suggestions. He once dealt with a case where a guest wanted to pack too much into their itinerary when booking ferry tickets. Drawing on his experience arranging trips for other travelers, Wang advised the guest to adjust their plans, hoping they could fully enjoy their trip. “Luyi Homestay” welcomes everyone to visit Green Island with the warm hospitality and local expertise of its owners.

Luye Luyi Homestay
Address: No. 5-2, Yugang, Nanliao Village, Luye Township, Taitung County
Phone: 089-671151
Website:http://luyi.ludao.tw/index.html
Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/luyi433
Room types: Offers double rooms, four-person rooms, and other options. Please call for detailed pricing.
Services: Accommodation, car, scooter, and bicycle rentals, island loop tours, airport and hot spring area transfers.