The Royal Park Canvas Fukuoka Nakasu

After a year away, I'm back and still impressed. This time I stayed in a river-view corner room, which was bright, spacious, and comfortable. The bed supported me well without being too soft, and the pillows were just the right amount of fluffy. Good sleep makes a relaxing trip so much better. The location is great, less than a five-minute walk to the Airport Line. At night, there are yatai on the corner outside the hotel, and they're worth a try.

This is our Fukuoka home when we visit once or twice a year. It's a nice boutique-style hotel, and the larger rooms work well for families or groups of four. Service is impeccable and the staff are friendly. The location suits shopping and restaurants. The breakfast buffet has a good range, though the coffee could be better. There are washer/dryers on three levels, plus more within a few minutes' walk if the hotel's machines are busy, which can happen during peak periods. If you're arriving by car, there are plenty of parking options nearby.

The staff were friendly and welcoming. Facilities include a public bath and sauna, vending machine, laundromat, ice machine, plus evening DJ or live music shows. There are a bar, restaurant, and hotel lounge, with three breakfast choices: buffet, a la carte, or in-room dining. The buffet was good but nothing special, and the restaurant has limited seating, so it can get crowded at peak times. The location is central, about 30 minutes on foot from the railway station. Lots of shops are within a ten-minute walk, with restaurants and groceries nearby, and you can walk easily to places around the city center. We generally like this hotel chain in Japan for the service and stylish feel. Rooms aren't big by international standards, though they're pretty good for classic Japanese hotels. The room was stylish, the bed comfortable, and there were two types of pillows. The bathroom had a shower and a separate toilet. They supplied the necessities, robes, and slippers for the room and hotel sauna. There was bottled water and a teapot. A safe was available but very small, only fitting a limited amount or size of items.

The room felt poor value for the money. We expected better cleanliness and a larger public bath. The lighting made the dust stand out, and the bath was crowded from 11pm to midnight, so it was hard to relax. We arrived on an afternoon that wasn't very busy and were met by an unfriendly female staff member. I offered my passport for check-in, but she said there was no booking under my name and rudely asked if I'd booked that same day. I had to show her the Agoda confirmation email before she checked again. Check-in was at 3pm, and when we said we'd return at 10pm, she told us we could collect the room keys then. But when we came back that night, staff asked us to hand over our passports again for the procedures. Not ideal at all.