ホテルリリーフ小倉ANNEX — Hotel in Kitakyushu

We stayed in a double room: more spacious than the usual budget Japanese rooms. Our plan came without housekeeping but amenities were provided daily. The free flow drinks, bread and curry were a treat. We really liked the croissants and pain au chocolat! WiFi was fairly strong too :)

The service, however, was below satisfactory. Most of the staffs were courteous with the exception of a few. During check-in, the concierge did not attempt to communicate at all; no greetings and did not bother to speak (even in Japanese). Merely pointed to the name column for us to fill in, said “passport” so she could copy it and gave us a piece of guest information sheet. Very disappointed as we have stayed in multiple hotels in Japan and this was our first bad encounter. Overall, did not feel welcome to stay during check-in; better off using a machine for check-in 😥

We also extended our check-out time to 11am and paid 1,500 yen for an extra hour because my partner was not well and not ready to travel. In hindsight, we should have checked-out at 12pm (the latest time). 10 minutes past 11, we were sitting at the lobby so my partner could feel well enough to walk out of the hotel (visibly he was not well and resting on the table, we planned to leave at 11:30am; we were not eating the “free” food at the lobby and lobby was empty). The staff reminded us that we were not allowed to stay because we already checked-out. We understand the policy but very disappointed by the lack of understanding and compassion even after I pointed out that my partner was unwell…didn’t realize human sympathy should be bought. So we left to recuperate at a cafe.

Overall, value for value. Great for our wallet, bad for...

Traveled in October with friends and we arrived midnight. We did not expect the check-in to be such a breeze of course, because of the language barrier. But the staff maintained their smiles up until all of us were given the keys.||||The room is clean. Bathroom is small but okay, too. Plus they use Shisheido products (hehe!). They have bathrobes, towels, slippers and everything else you might need. Just don't forget to put the make-up room sign at the door knob before you leave for your tour--or else you will come back to a messy room. Apparently, they do not automatically just clean the rooms, unlike other hotels.||||The rates do not include breakfast - they would only serve you with corn cereals, hot/iced coffee, or fruit juice. But the hotel is across Family Mart to you can just grab something in there. :) For dinner, there is also a nice Ramen House beside the hotel with serves really nice ramen and karaage combo meal.||||What I love the most about this hotel is the location--it is in Konyamachi which is walking distance from the the train station, the Tanga night market, the Kokura Castle and the Riverwalk Kitakyushu.||||Overall, the hotel is...

Traveled in October with friends and we arrived midnight. We did not expect the check-in to be such a breeze of course, because of the language barrier. But the staff maintained their smiles up until all of us were given the keys.||||The room is clean. Bathroom is small but okay, too. Plus they use Shisheido products (hehe!). They have bathrobes, towels, slippers and everything else you might need. Just don't forget to put the make-up room sign at the door knob before you leave for your tour--or else you will come back to a messy room. Apparently, they do not automatically just clean the rooms, unlike other hotels.||||The rates do not include breakfast - they would only serve you with corn cereals, hot/iced coffee, or fruit juice. But the hotel is across Family Mart to you can just grab something in there. :) For dinner, there is also a nice Ramen House beside the hotel with serves really nice ramen and karaage combo meal.||||What I love the most about this hotel is the location--it is in Konyamachi which is walking distance from the the train station, the Tanga night market, the Kokura Castle and the Riverwalk Kitakyushu.||||Overall, the hotel is...