Staff were friendly and helpful, didn’t speak a lot of English, but spoke fluent Japanese. Rooms were clean and spacious (bed in the single room was actually a semi-double bed). Location was great, about 5 minutes walk from the ferry terminal, and a 10 minute walk to the main train station. Fantastic and cheap Korean Barbeque restaurant up the road (ask the staff). Free internet and breakfast were a great plus.
Accommodation Reviews
J-Hoppers Hiroshima Trad Guesthouse (Hiroshima, Japan)
We found the staff at the hostel to be very friendly, and willing to help us find our way around. The hostel was very close to the peace park, tram stops etc. The twin that we stayed in was a traditional Japanese room (tatami mats, futons etc). Plenty of food options nearby as well, including a great place that does Hiroshima okonomiyaki (the staff at the hostel directed us to it).
The InterContinental (Manila, Philippines)
We stayed here for a few days on a stopover, and enjoyed ourselves despite the typhoon that arrived on our second day.
The staff were quick and pleasant – we ordered room service a few times and were impressed with the speed that it reached us. The hotel was in a great location: close to the airport and close to the malls – a 1 minute walk to the closest (Glorietta) malls and from there most malls interconnect though walk ways. We were able to borrow huge umbrellas from the concierge when the typhoon hit, we just had to give our room details. The onsite spa was fantastic, we had a number of massages and treatments and our room was large and clean.
On the other hand, the buffet breakfast incredibly expensive (not included in the room rate), however there is a small restaurant opposite the hotel that does a buffet breakfast for less than a quarter of the price. Internet was available in the room, however it was expensive and slow.
We booked through their website direct, with a fantastic deal, so it was well worth the money. We completely enjoyed being pampered for a few days!
Business Hotel Hakata Seagull (Fukuoka, Japan)
This was the cheapest hotel we could find in Fukuoka, and believe me, we looked.
Rooms were spacious and clean – we stayed in two different twins whilst here. The first one was larger, with a small couch. The second was a little smaller, but without the couch it was actually more spacious. Both had tv’s, aircon and private bathrooms (small tub/shower and toilet). On the fourth floor there is a large (traditional) bathroom that you can lock, so you can have a shower in a larger room. Free wireless internet.
The checkin staff didn’t speak much English, but was more than willing to help us, and made checkin very smooth. Also helped us book another room. Attached to the hotel is a great Korean/Filipino restaurant with a Pirate theme – fantastic food, and the guy there spoke great English (we managed to get vegetarian food, a reasonably hard feat in Japan).
Shanghai Airlines Travel Hotel (Shanghai, China)
This hotels main redeeming feature is that it is extremely close to the South Railway station (about 5 mins by taxi). Prices includes breakfast and the room price is quite reasonable. There are good options for dinner nearby and the room has free broadband internet (the cable is in the drawer).
However, the beds were really hard. Really really hard. The breakfast wasn’t so good – toast wasn’t hot, there was no juice or cold water (there was hot orange tang), some of the dishes were ok, but most were just mediocre. Breakfast was served on the 8th floor, to get there, you had to take the elevator to the 7th floor, then walk a flight of steps to the 8th floor, not suitable for someone who has trouble walking. The wiring in the rooms was bad – when you sat on the bed, the lamp flickered on and off, scary! In the middle of the night, someone tried to enter our room, they had a card that worked, all that stopped them was the bar that we put across the door from our side.
Overall? It’s really close to the train station, so if you’re coming in really late/leaving really early, it’s an ok option, but the beds were hard, the wiring scary, and the overall feel of the place not too clean. Plus the incident with someone trying to break in to the room left an unpleasant feeling.