THE LIVELY HAKATA FUKUOKA - Vacation STAY 82652

We booked a short stay at The Lively Fukuoka Hakata and ended up extending it past three weeks, and counting. The coworking space has been one of the best we've used anywhere: comfortable, thoughtfully designed, and backed by fast, reliable internet that holds up for real work. Free coffee and tea are there too. The staff are consistently around and helpful, and the attached restaurant is genuinely good. The rooms are good as well, and the amenities strike a nice balance between useful and stylish. As full-time travelers, we need somewhere we can settle into a routine. We get a productive day in, then can drift into the daily free happy hour, meet other travelers and nomads, and head out into Fukuoka at night. The happy hour makes it easy to meet people without feeling forced. This feels more like a hub than just a hotel. The bold, modern design runs through the lobby, rooms, and shared areas, and feels made for creative people living and working on the road. The Millennials hostel is attached, but separate. The hotel is right by Ichiran Ramen, convenience stores, pharmacies, and plenty of food options, while still feeling like a comfortable base. We didn't just like it, we kept extending our stay. If you're in Fukuoka as a remote worker or digital nomad, it's an easy choice.

The location is great, and the hotel has a lively feel, but the room's layout and hygiene were really disappointing. There's a lot of dust in the bathroom ventilation duct, right over the shower. The lighting throughout the room and bathroom is extremely dim, and the layout is awkward enough that I kept having to move things to reach the fridge and outlets. There's only one set of outlets by the headboard, so the other person can't use one at night.

The lobby floors, first and second, are quite nice, with lively music playing, and the hotel is close to the main airport subway line. But the room my wife and I got for a few nights was a twin room with barely enough space to move around, which wasn't the accommodation we expected for the price. We'd seen pictures of rooms with a desk and a place to hang clothes, and assumed ours would have those too.

The room made this one of my least favorite stays in Japan, even though the lobby and bar floor felt classy and lively, with music, drinks, and a fancy restaurant. At $150-$180 a night, it was by far the smallest and most cramped room we had on our month-long trip. With two suitcases and two backpacks, there was nowhere to put our luggage without constantly shifting it around. My wife and I felt cramped and claustrophobic and kept wanting to leave the room. The bathroom was also terribly cramped, with a tiny tub, weak water pressure, and a drain that kept clogging. It was so dark that showering with the curtain drawn felt like being in a dungeon, and you couldn't see to shave. The bed was small too, and at 6'2" my feet hung off the end. The AC only had off, low, and high settings. There were good things downstairs. Breakfast, if you buy it with your stay, felt fancy and tasted pretty good. The bar has free drinks from 5:30-6:30 PM, though that's hard to catch if you're out exploring. They have items to rent, including bicycles for the day, but staff never told us and we only found out at checkout. I can't recommend the hotel.