APA Hotel & Resort Tokyo Bay Makuhari — Hotel in Chiba

ARRIVAL: Got to the hotel by car after it was dark (18:30?). There was no clear indication of where the entrance to the hotel grounds was from the street; we tried to enter the grounds, drove around the area in front a nice looking obby and were not able to find anything indicating that this was the APA hotel (it was dark). The entrance/lobby looked very nice (actually much better than we expected) and we thought we were at the wrong hotel so drove out of the area, back to the street. The GPS made us go around the block once more and took us back to the same hotel entrance; we went in again and finally saw that what we had in front of us was the lobby/ntrance of the hotel we were looking for (=not first-time friendly). We had a wheelchair, so were able to park the car right in front of the entrance, which was great. The wife did the check'in and I joined her with the luggage and wheelchair; our room was in the eastern wing. ROOM: It was our first to use an APA hotel; the room was TINY, there was almost no space for breathable air. The space between the beds and the wall is 5cm, and the space between the 2 beds, about 60-70 cm. At the foot of the bed, there's some space but that's mostly taken by the desk, fridge, chair and stool; overall, very little breathing room. However, the room is well thought of and if one does not mind the minimal space available, the whole experience is bearable. HOWEVER, the toilet/bath room area was terrible. The MAJOR problem was that there is a 20cm step to enter the toilet/bath. My wife and I have bad knees and can manage a few steps up and down but here, no handrail when going in or going out of the toilet/bath area. I don't know if universal (or partly barrier-free) rooms are available at that APA but I would definitely request one if and when we stay again. REAL BUMMER! We did not use any of the restaurants so can't evaluate. The beds were too soft and pillows too hard for my taste, but that's bearable. Overall, the hotel is well above average, price/quality ratio is OK, location is great but next time, we'll try to find a room that suits better our needs. Parking in front of the entrance was a life...

March 25th, 2024:

Hotel staff, location, view, things to do, make this a great place to stay.

Rooms, rate, decor, all need improvement.

Stayed an entire week, center tower, 31st floor and corner view; $840.66 USD. Compared to what you can get throughout Japan for the price, this place was not worth it.

Room was small, despite being a large area, reason is, nearly 50% of the room was an entrance, hallway and a massive useless walk in closet. The two beds and washroom, were crammed into the remaining 13 SQM. In need of a serious redesign, there is enough space for a complete washroom upgrade and larger seating area if you minimized the size of the in suite hallway and closet.

Washroom was also among the worst I’ve seen. Cramped, dated, yellowing interior, speckled with various black and pink molds, real disappointment. Functional and clean otherwise, but surprisingly low quality washroom for a Japanese hotel.

What I loved: location, beautiful beachside, with awesome views especially from the corner suites in the center tower. Explore the top floor dining (fair but nothing special) for an even better view. Stroll along the beach, visit the many places surrounding Chiba, catch a baseball game at Lotto Chiba Marine stadium, train station and short walk away.

Staff throughout the entire resort hotel were professional and accommodating, very well done. Lawsons, two of them, located right on the lobby was sweet, open 24 Hrs too 👌 Always crowded though. Restaurants are ok, but I’d recommend eating outside the resort, amazing food to be found in the city or even in Tokyo which is not too far away.

Overall, spent most of my time outside the hotel, but during my stay, I was comfortable enough that I’d recommend it to those only in urgent need of a last minute place. If you have time to search, way better hotels out there to stay in for...

My husband and I were booked into this hotel by an events company, as he was involved in the running of an event at the nearby convention centre. There is nothing worse than feeling unwelcome in your accommodation, and I felt incredibly unwelcome the entire time.

It’s outlined pretty explicitly that tattooed people are not welcome. It’s on the website, it’s on the the terms of use sign in your hotel room, and it’s on a GIANT sign outside the bath house (and note - the showers in the rooms are pathetic. I guess because you’re supposed to use the onsen).

Also of note for summer travellers - you can’t use the pool if you’ve got tattoos that aren’t covered by your swimsuit.

There’s even size restrictions on waterproof bandages used to cover tattoos - so having one entire upper arm tattooed, I could not use the hotel facilities (and I suspect it’s why I was blatantly ignored waiting outside a hotel restaurant). Perhaps it would have been easier if I’d been able to cover up, but when it’s 36c and humid the last thing you want to be wearing is sleeves.

It’s 2019 and this sort of discrimination in a large international hotel is completely unacceptable. As a blonde western woman I’m clearly not Yakuza, tattoos are not unclean (as I’ve heard expressed - I’m no more dirty than anyone else bathing), and my tattoos are not offensive or explicit in nature (they’re native birds and flowers).

Many foreigners are tattooed (more than 20% in my country), and many people are tattooed for reasons that aren’t entirely aesthetic. So again - this discrimination is gross, ugly, and totally illegal where I come from.

If you need to be in the Makuhari Bay Area find somewhere more tolerant and respectful to stay. Or better yet - stay in Tokyo and get the train in. That’s what I’ll be suggesting to the company that booked...