Kesennuma Plaza Hotel — Hotel in Kesennuma

This hotel must have been something years ago, but it appears to have fallen on hard times. Some of the deferred maintenance must have started before the tsunami to be this bad. The resulting decline in tourists has definitely taken a toll. They appear to be running the hotel with the bare minimum of staff, so don't expect the attention to detail you will find elsewhere in Japan. Almost no English is spoken and this is the only hotel we stayed at that didn't provide information in English about meals, etc., when we checked in. That said, the few staff members they do have are all VERY helpful and do their absolute best to communicate. I never had any problem dealing with the front desk and there was one woman in particular working there who took very good care of us.||||You will have to take a taxi from the JR station to the hotel, but once there you can walk around the harbor area with no problem. The hotel is on top of a hill, but they have an elevator that takes you down to the street. Some shops have already been rebuilt in the vicinity, but there is still much to be done to restore the town. The area near the station wasn't damaged, but it isn't aimed at tourists. You will find a grocery store there if you need supplies.||||The hotel's website says it was recently updated, but by that they must mean 1990. Nothing has been touched since. The lobby looks OK, but there are some filthy draperies along one corridor that were caked in dust. I think there are a couple of closed lounges and restaurants in the hotel. Could be that they open them for special occasions or large tour groups, but I wouldn't count on it. There is one small restaurant where you can get lunch and dinner whether as part of a meal package or separately. The included dinner is a set Japanese meal featuring local seafood. The service was always attentive at dinner and the food was good if you are able to handle food that is still moving when it is brought to the table. We found it quite an adventure, but if you are squeamish you might want to skip the meal package and order from the menu instead. I never could figure out what the hours are for the restaurant. They seemed to close whenever they felt like it.||||We booked a Japanese style room, which is what I would recommend. The Western style rooms are very small with tiny bathrooms. Our room was quite large with a wall of windows overlooking the bay. There is no air conditioning, only heat that is either on or off with no temperature control, but the windows open. The room was a bit musty when we arrived, but it didn't smell of cigarette smoke. Other areas in the hotel didn't smell of smoke until a Chinese bus tour arrived, after which the corridors reeked of smoke. I don't think smoking is allowed in the restaurant or at breakfast. The bathroom was decent size and came with everything we needed. There is tea making equipment in the room and a thermos of ice water was replenished in the morning and when they set up the futons at night. The futons should be replaced...they were very thin. We took extra ones out of the closet and doubled them up, which worked out fine. The room was a tad worn, but it was clean, which is the most important thing. There was wired internet in the room that worked well, but there in no wi-fi except in the lobby (I think).||||Breakfast is served in a huge ballroom that has seen better days. It probably hasn't been updated or thoroughly cleaned in twenty years, but we could tell it was once very grand. The buffet was nice with a lot to choose from with both Western and Japanese dishes. A staff member served the rice and another dished up miso soup, which was odd. At the stroke of 8:30am, the food was whisked away, so don't be late. All of the tables are large round banquet tables that seat eight, but it wasn't crowded so it wasn't necessary to sit with strangers unless you chose to.||||There is a gift shop in the lobby if you need bottled water or typical Japanese souvenirs.||||The hotel is catering to tour groups from China and Korea in order to survive, so there are often people sitting in the lobby smoking. They weren't any problem and they were served dinner in a separate restaurant set aside for groups, but just be aware this isn't an intimate boutique hotel.||||When we checked out, the hotel shuttle bus took us to the station for no extra charge. A staff member came out and waved the hotel's flag until we were out of site. They really are trying to do the best they can with limited resources, which we appreciated.||||There probably isn't much reason for the average tourist to come to Kesennuma for the foreseeable future. Other than showing your support for the town, there isn't anything to do here. The locals are very nice, especially the shopkeepers in the two recovery malls. The Whale Museum has recently re-opened, but it isn't worth a special trip to see on its own (see my separate review). If I returned to Kesennuma, I would probably...

The Plaza Hotel in Kesennuma is one of the few lodging choices in Kesennuma, as many of the traditional inns were washed away in last year’s devastating tsunami. It is an older building, and though the lobby has recently seen some renovations, the hotel still feels dated. Please be aware that the term “non-smoking” doesn’t really exist outside of the major Japanese cities. The hallways of this hotel positively reek of smoke, and our “non-smoking” room was probably the “least smoky” room. The window did open a fair amount so it generally wasn’t a problem, but those who are very averse to smoke may want to reconsider. There are two kinds of rooms at this hotel – “Japanese” and “Western.” Our Western room (to which we were assigned, even though we had reserved a Japanese room) had two double beds and a very small bathroom. I did not see any of the Japanese rooms, but they reportedly have tatami floors, futon-style bedding, and larger bathrooms. There is wired internet access in the rooms, and you can get somewhat spotty wi-fi in the lobby. There is also a desktop computer in the lobby for guests’ use. The buffet breakfast is plentiful and offers many choices, including Japanese foods as well as “Western” fare such as yogurt, sausages, and eggs. Staff generally do not speak English – not an issue for my wife and I since we speak Japanese, but it would be helpful to brush up on some Japanese travel vocabulary before heading out to a remote place such as this – but they are certainly accommodating. Additionally, if you need transportation, they will be happy to call a nearby taxi stand for you and a cab will arrive promptly. The hotel has an onsen (Japanese bath) which provides a relaxing soak with a great view of the harbor – men’s and women’s baths are separate – and the hotel provides guests with robes and towels. The hotel is also located near a small market with shops and restaurants, the ferry terminal to Oshima Island, and a 24/7 convenience store. Under regular circumstances I might not recommend this hotel (mostly for the smokiness), but given that Kesennuma is just beginning to recover after an unimaginable tragedy, this hotel provides visitors with a centrally-located, relatively comfortable place from which to base their...

The Plaza Hotel is modern, clean hotel located fairly centrally, perched upon a hill with commanding views of Kesennuma Harbour. You can gain access to the roof where there can get a 360 degree view which is very impressive. We were given a beautiful room on the top floor. It didn't have the smell of cigarette smoke which one reviewer has alluded to but I can well imagine that we were lucky. The staff are friendly enough and while they don't appear to speak very much English, you can probably make yourself understood. Guests should take advantage of the natural hot spring bath. There is both an indoor and outdoor bath, both with good views out to sea although somewhat obscured by shrubs. The water is very salty. The only meal we had at the hotel was breakfast. The food was fresh and plentiful with both Japanese and western style on offer. It was buffet style, held in an industrial scale...