Hotel Taisei Annex — Hotel in Kagoshima

I stayed for two nights in a single/semi-double room. The first thing I noticed was that the room was HUGE - actually, I was in a room which appeared to be a twin room with one of the beds removed. The ensuite wasn't huge, but I thought it was quite big by Japanese hotel standards. Big solid (metal) doors on the room mean you don't hear people coming in and out either.||||Service was quite friendly, and there were some good free services - access to a very good public bath (men only - women are given free amenity items) and free late night udon service from 10-11pm were two I took full advantage of. Other amenities include a couple of restaurants in the hotel itself, access to a coin laundry (short walk across the street to building 2) and ample vending machines for noodles, drinks, alcohol and cigarettes.||||The location was also fantastic - only a few minutes walk from the central train station for the Shinkansen and also for the express bus to/from the airport. I quite literally walked anywhere I wanted to go in Kagoshima...

I stayed for two nights in a single/semi-double room. The first thing I noticed was that the room was HUGE - actually, I was in a room which appeared to be a twin room with one of the beds removed. The ensuite wasn't huge, but I thought it was quite big by Japanese hotel standards. Big solid (metal) doors on the room mean you don't hear people coming in and out either.||||Service was quite friendly, and there were some good free services - access to a very good public bath (men only - women are given free amenity items) and free late night udon service from 10-11pm were two I took full advantage of. Other amenities include a couple of restaurants in the hotel itself, access to a coin laundry (short walk across the street to building 2) and ample vending machines for noodles, drinks, alcohol and cigarettes.||||The location was also fantastic - only a few minutes walk from the central train station for the Shinkansen and also for the express bus to/from the airport. I quite literally walked anywhere I wanted to go in Kagoshima...

Though inexpensive, this is a terrible hotel. We made a reservation 4 months prior to arrival and were quoted a rate of 8400 Yen. When we arrived, the reception quoted me the rate of 10,500 Yen. They charged me the correct rate when I made a fuss but it was an unpleasant beginning to our experience at the hotel. Upon entering our room, I was overwhelmed by the smell of stale smoke and God knows what else. I immediately called reception to request a nonsmoking room but was told that they were sold out. I am pretty sure that a nonsmoking room was requested when the reservation was made originally. The staff was unapologetic and unhelpful. We would have canceled our reservation if we were notified that there were only smoking rooms. The bedding had disgusting stains and the bathroom was tiny. The only thing that prevented me from losing my mind entirely was finding Fabreeze at the convenience store, with which we drenched the entire room. I would never stay at this...