I am just finishing a 3 night stay here in Nara and if I had reviewed the hotel when I first checked in I would have given it a 1 or 2 star maximum. In my view the hotel has 2 things going for it: the staff is moderately good and the price is cheap. However, the rooms are very small as noted and as I happily travel solo and am not large I have no idea how two people manage in this space. I did see some couples here but mostly for the time here it was solo business travelers or other solo travelers. I left my suitcase at my hotel in Kyoto so only came here with a small bag which was good as there is no space for clothes or luggage. |The rooms are characterless and as noted have a prefabricated bathroom and for me even the color scheme is grating. The reason I booked this hotel is that on TA 75-80% of people gave it 4 or 5 stars. If true it seems to me these are people who don't travel much!! However, for a quick overnight business trip it would be adequate.|The breakfast is passable and I admit that it is nice to have a breakfast included in the price. Overall I have warmed to the hotel somewhat.|Despite the above I have given it 3 stars as I have enjoyed Nara very much and the hotel did the trick. And did I mention it is cheap (!!!) which helped offset my more expensive choices in Kyoto and Osaka so overall it worked out well.|Would I stay here again? Probably not in this lifetime! (Unless it was renovated.)|Lastly as travelers to Japan know this hotel will not allow you to check in before 3pm even if the room is empty and has been cleaned (as I experienced when I asked to see the room before I paid because I was wary of the hotel) and check out is 10am and not even 11am as it is generally in Japan even if in the world it is mostly 12noon. Late check out incurs 1000...
Read moreI am just finishing a 3 night stay here in Nara and if I had reviewed the hotel when I first checked in I would have given it a 1 or 2 star maximum. In my view the hotel has 2 things going for it: the staff is moderately good and the price is cheap. However, the rooms are very small as noted and as I happily travel solo and am not large I have no idea how two people manage in this space. I did see some couples here but mostly for the time here it was solo business travelers or other solo travelers. I left my suitcase at my hotel in Kyoto so only came here with a small bag which was good as there is no space for clothes or luggage. |The rooms are characterless and as noted have a prefabricated bathroom and for me even the color scheme is grating. The reason I booked this hotel is that on TA 75-80% of people gave it 4 or 5 stars. If true it seems to me these are people who don't travel much!! However, for a quick overnight business trip it would be adequate.|The breakfast is passable and I admit that it is nice to have a breakfast included in the price. Overall I have warmed to the hotel somewhat.|Despite the above I have given it 3 stars as I have enjoyed Nara very much and the hotel did the trick. And did I mention it is cheap (!!!) which helped offset my more expensive choices in Kyoto and Osaka so overall it worked out well.|Would I stay here again? Probably not in this lifetime! (Unless it was renovated.)|Lastly as travelers to Japan know this hotel will not allow you to check in before 3pm even if the room is empty and has been cleaned (as I experienced when I asked to see the room before I paid because I was wary of the hotel) and check out is 10am and not even 11am as it is generally in Japan even if in the world it is mostly 12noon. Late check out incurs 1000...
Read moreAverage hotel with very small rooms. The TV is the size of a computer screen, really small and located on the side of the bed which is impossible to watch while you are in bed. Why not have it on the wall towards the foot of the bed so that one can see it lying down, like you see flat screen tvs in other hotels (see attached pic). Stayed here for 3 nights. Checkin was fine although you get the impression the front office staff is faking being busy as they seem to be always playing on their computer key boards. They have computer terminals for guest use in their small lobby which only show Japanese and no English - what about the guests who cannot read or understand Japanese? The breakfast buffet was good and plentiful. Location is very close to the JR Station, where you can get things to eat from many stores. Every thing else is...
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