REF Kumamoto by VESSEL HOTELS — Hotel in Kumamoto

I don’t think this is a 4-star hotel, more like an upgraded version of a hostel. The cleanness of the room does not reach to standard Japanese hotel level. On my check-in day, there are water stains on the mirror of my shower room, so are the mugs, plastic cups and glasses(and they looked old and scratched). And I must say I am extremely disappointed to see the limescale at the bottom of the electric kettle. The housekeeping service needs to be booked in advance is such a inconvenience at all, certainly not what a 4-star hotel would lack of. Hopefully this hotel will have “DO NOT DISTURB” and “Please Make up the room” signs in the future. Failed to provide extra duvet is also not acceptable, for guests who doesn’t use to sleep on a firm mattress, it would be a disaster. The layout design for the single room is not very smart. Hanging out hairdryer, hangers and pajamas on the walls of the hallway does not make the room spacious but narrower and smaller. The wall space of the bed space should be utilized instead. Also, I have found few huge stains on the carpet (room803) and for that, I definitely don’t want to put my luggage under my bed(god knows if it’s clean or not). Also, I found a hole on my bedsheet after requesting for change on the second day. Also, I think there are many things for the housekeeping staff to learn, like stop turning off the power of the refrigerator, no one would turn on the power of it if there is no food stored in it. Aside from the location, having a water station at the third floor is a plus. This is the only few things I like about this hotel. Also a suggestion, I don’t think using the withered plants as decor is pleasing…(for example, the leaves above...

Really impressed by this hotel. Room is small but is well thought out. #1 is having under bed storage space - it's really disappointing when this isn't available in a small room, so I was happy to see it here. Bathroom is a little smaller with no tub (which I don't need) but doesn't feel cramped because the sink is outside the bathroom. There are a number of super useful little shelves. The TV can't be moved so it's difficult to access the HDMI port on the back but then I noticed there is an HDMI port under the TV in wall unit! Wow, I was so happy! Also the TV is mounted on a swing panel for angle adjustment. The chair has a back and is comfortable. There's no wall desk counter, instead a round table which could be moved which was adequate for me. Also the bathroom floor is level with the room floor which is great.

It's a well thought out room but I had one problem. For some reason the blackout curtain rail doesn't extend to the window edge! (It really should extend beyond) So it won't be able to block the light as planned but luckily I had some tape and was able to put up the curtain the last inch to block the morning light.

Location in the shopping arcade just across the street from Sakuramachi and walking distance to the castle is suberb, and yet the room is quiet. Breakfast looked pretty good but I did not opt for it. I really liked stairway access so don't have to wait for the...

I must say the location of the hotel is really good. It's about 4 mins walk from Sakuramachi, the bus terminal if you are coming by the highway bus. If you are coming from the Kumamoto train station, it will take you about 6 stops to reach by Tram. If you are visiting the Kumamoto castle you can even walk there and there are plenty to shop and eat around the area.

The style of the hotel is very minimalistic, you can check in check out, have a breakfast, have a drink and read mangas at level 2. You can take the public bath (which they have a security system put in place to access the female bath), use the massage chair, do your laundry, access to more vending machines at level 3. There is even vending machine and microwave at the level I am staying. The staff were also so friendly that I really can't think of anything else but to recommend this place to people who are visiting Kumamoto. Thank you Ref Kumamoto for the hospitality and i...