Ryoushi Minpaku CHOUTA

I'd put it at about 3.5 stars. The room itself was clean and bigger than I expected, and could work well for a family. When I called, I was confused by a recording saying an email had been sent and I should check it, but the email didn't arrive for 1.5 hours. The staff member did call back promptly and explained everything in detail. It was cold in winter, or maybe that's just me at 53. Even with the heater set to 30 degrees and both heaters on, I still felt cold. The heater also switched off now and then. The shower water was a reasonable temperature, but not hot enough to fill a bath I'd want to get into. I ended up opening the bathroom door and running the bathroom dryer to warm things up. I expected the dry air to bother my throat, but it wasn't too bad. Maybe being near the sea has something to do with it. I was glad to have a washing machine, but Hitachi's Beat Wash was a letdown. It dries sideways, and my clothes tangled and wrinkled in the spin cycle. Seeing my shirts afterward made me sad, like they'd been ruined. The convenience store run by an older local couple closes at 7:00 PM and opens at 9:00 AM. The prepared food I wanted was already gone even when I went around 6:00 PM. The nearby seafood bowl restaurant closes at 6:30 PM, so if I missed buying food, dinner and breakfast could both be out of reach. The place is quite a walk downhill from Awaji Interchange, making it hard to manage with a large suitcase. I wouldn't recommend it without a car. The toilet's small flush worked, but the large flush did. That was a bit scary, and the washlet was broken.

Getting the BBQ up to the roof was a stressful job. The stairs are so steep that we had to pass everything carefully in a bucket brigade. We paid 3,000 yen to rent a BBQ set, but it was in terrible condition, as the picture shows. The bath water also doesn't reheat, as other reviews have mentioned. The parking entrance was very narrow, and it took effort to find the lot. The nearby roads were stressful too, since local residents were parking along them and blocking the way despite how tight they are. This stay left me wishing I'd paid more for a better villa.

The place was clean and well looked after, and they'd already turned on the air conditioning when we arrived. That was a considerate touch. A couple of things could be better: the parking entrance is so narrow that I doubt a family car would fit, and the stairs to the rooftop BBQ area are cramped. If those two issues were addressed, I think guests would be satisfied.

The room was clean, but the lantern they supplied was broken. There's no street lighting at night, so bring your own if you plan to barbecue on the roof. It's basically impossible to get through by phone, so communication is by email. When I asked whether the lantern could be replaced, they said it wasn't included and couldn't be exchanged. Maybe I should learn how to turn things down properly? I wasn't angry, but the response left me uneasy. They felt too cold.