Hotel Miyajima Villa — Hotel in Hatsukaichi

Out of all the hotels I've stayed at during my 1 month trip in Japan, this place left a sour taste in my mouth. The service was great, rooms were decent - bathroom ceiling corners appeared to have very small dead bugs/dirt of some sort. Regardless, for the cost, I'd expect the place to be pristine (mostly was).

I hated the hanging blinds that covered nearly half the room to block the sunlight/window by the bed. Pulling it down was a workout because it's so slow. The "ocean view" is mostly the ferry dock and table areas with the water on the sides. Located slight left when exiting the ferry area, first hotel you'll see, which was very convenient.

Now, the problem is the sketchy aspects, practically shady/scammy. The cost was fixed on third party sites but the older gentleman (manager/owner?) asks if it is ok for a new, increased price, so pretty much got blindsided because he/they wanted to squeeze more money despite listing it "lower" to attract customers, perhaps.

In addition, the cost of dinner was enormous (maybe they added the difference to the total when they changed the price of the hotel in-person because they couldn't deny/refund the initial booking due to the price being already set/final/paid for. The "cost" was enough for 2 people to have premium, A5 wagyu courses at Yakiniku/JBBQ, which would have been so much better than the buffet style dinner (never trust buffet styles). Lesson learned, just get food from Lawson's down the street.

But, it was on me for not asking the price of dinner I suppose because I thought it would be reasonable - lo and behold. Be careful, especially if you are a tourist/outsider/gaijin because they will try to pull a fast one. For instance, although the difference in change I received after paying was missing less than 1k yen (which I knew), I didn't say anything because in my mind was disappointment "Ah, so this is the type of place to does that," or maybe there was tax, but Japan is tax free, normally? However, he did not state a tax was included. Hmm.

Overall, it was a nice place, convenient, close, but I'd probably choose another hotel if I were to come back to explore more of the island. I'm not one to do business with shady folks who treat their customers like that, just because they think you don't know any better. I get the hustle but you don't expect it here. By the way, It is illegal to alter the price of a room when it's already booked and paid for, but they'll try to get it from you in other ways.

Treat Japan as any other country even though people seem very nice (they have to be because work which is why service is spectacular throughout the country, mostly). If you think someone is talking bad about you in Japanese, know that they are, guaranteed. Unfortunately, most will have a smile on their face while thinking negatively of you if you aren't native. It's funny because tourism gives a big chunk of money to their economy, which they very much need.

If money isn't an issue, disregard. Thanks...

I wasn't sure what to expect but I felt that this accomodation over delivered. It's not as boutique as some and is, due to it's location, in less of a "character " area however it's also opposite there Ferry which makes it easy to deposit your bags. We arrived before checkin time and there was definitely no early checking however we were welcomed and 'pre checked" so that we could go out and enjoy the town.||We stayed 2 nights and we could have easily stayed three. If you are an active tourist there is plenty to do on this wee island.||Our room had great air con; comfortable futon style beds and a good massage chair. When you "really" check in there are pyjamas and slippers to choose from and you are welcome to wear these within the facility. I enjoyed doing this..no everyone does.||The hotel has a lovely public bath. Evening meals are buffet - but certainly not low quality. We prefer to eat later and not was sometimes a challenge to be able to secure a later reservation. On our second night we were serviced a "special" meal given that we had reserved for 2 nights. We appreciated this attention to detail.||There is a nice lounge for guests with tea and coffee and a bar /small kitchen for snacks and drinks. As non Japanese we felt that there was enough information what allowed us to understand how to behave a(so as not to offend) and to enjoy ourselves and the facility. This isn't a full "Ryokan" experience but it was a good "in between" opportunity for us. I certainly would recommend this as an option for anyone wanting a night or more...

The location is great, rooms are comfortable, but food is below average. Booked a suite for two nights and a twin room for one night. The suite is amazing for two people! The shower room is very large with a soaking tub and double vanity in the bathroom. Large windows provide views of the forest. Both the suite and twin room had massage chairs, a wonderful bonus. The smaller twin room was a definite downgrade from the suite but still adequate.

Mattresses in the suite are cheap and hard and the twin room has soft futon type mattresses. I would have actually preferred the beds in the twin room more but they need to be thicker as you can feel the platform underneath. The hotel needs to upgrade to pillow-top mattresses and preferably Tempur-Pedic for the price of the suites!

Location is great, right in front of the port and Hiroshima is easy to get to via ferry and train.

Staff is friendly but English needs improvement.

My only real complaint is about the food quality, something I ate at dinner made me sick!! Both breakfast and dinner are buffet style with a mix of western and Japanese dishes. Breakfast is standard such as cereal, fruit, omelettes, miso soup, rice, veggies, juice, coffee etc. The dinner menu for both days was the exact same and many of the dishes were cold and bland. Dishes consisted of sashimi, oysters, rice, soup, salad, pasta dishes, fries, fried chicken, beef, wine, liquor, beer, juice. In my opinion, the dinner buffet should be eliminated and replaced with a menu of higher quality items the chef is passionate about...