Hotel Forza Hakataeki Chikushi - GuchiⅠ

The location is convenient and the room was comfortable, but a strong smell, like cooking oil or food, made this stay very unpleasant. I was exhausted after a red-eye flight on the first day and didn’t notice it at first. It became much more obvious when I came back on the second day. I initially wondered if housekeeping had eaten something strongly scented in the room, and thought the air conditioning might clear it up. I also suspected the AC could be causing the smell, so I turned it on to see if that helped. By the third day, I was sure the odor was coming from the air conditioning. When I told the front desk, their first response was to ask whether I wanted to change rooms since it was my last day. They went into a small room near the counter and came back with a restroom-scented air freshener, saying there were no other rooms and I could put it in mine. I felt the staff weren’t properly trained. Shouldn’t they have come to check the room first? It felt like they were brushing the problem aside because I was leaving the next day, and the air freshener wasn’t a real solution. Only after I raised it a second time did they bring in a deodorizing machine. The whole response was disappointing and unacceptable.

The room had a massage chair and a running machine, and there was enough space, though it was a bit dusty and seemed as if nobody had stayed there for a while. Hakata Station and the metro are just a few steps away. Check-in and check-out were described as self-service, but that wasn’t very clear. Staff helped us, though I would have preferred the usual hotel check-in process.

The king-size bed was comfortable, and I liked having different kinds of pillows to choose from. The room was small but very clean, with even a clothes steamer to freshen things up. The hotel is very handy for Hakata Station. Use the back exit, which is less chaotic than the front.

The rooms felt quite dated, and we found bugs in ours. There was also a foul, overpowering smell by the back entrance, and the staff came across as unprofessional. The convenient location doesn’t make up for the poor cleanliness and service, so I can’t recommend staying here.