Zonk Hotel Tenjin-Watanabedori

During a Japanese long weekend, this was the best room I could find. It's an unmanned hotel on a small street, suited to people who just want a place to sleep and don't expect service, with shopping and meals conveniently nearby. The self check-in and checkout were the best part: I registered in advance, then got the door code on the tablet in just a minute. The toilet and bath area was quite small, with nowhere to put toiletries and no hooks for clothes or towels. If you're driving, there are several parking lots around. We used a multi-storey one just a one-minute walk away.

The location was great, but this was the dirtiest place I've seen in Japan. At check-in, our code didn't work, though staff helped us with it. Then we found the toilet clogged and full of paper and someone else's hair. The area around it and under the seat looked untouched. We reported it and the blockage was fixed that evening, but they left the other dirt around the toilet. There was grime on the table, hair everywhere, dust on furniture at eye level, and the extractor was clogged with dust. We saw cleaners around, so management needs to fix the whole cleaning system. They gave us just ¥1000 for the trouble. It's cheap, but cleanliness shouldn't be the trade-off.

I booked this place after being fooled by the photos. It may look alright at night, and could suit budget travelers who don't care about tidiness. The room supplies are cheap stuff. It was my first time booking a hotel in Fukuoka, so I wasn't sure what I was getting. It's an unmanned hotel, with tablet self check-in on the 2F. That may be inconvenient for some people. I saw guests staring at the screen, unable to get through the process. Be careful about what you want from a stay.

The room was clean and the TV was big, which I liked, but the amenities were just the bare essentials. I was on the first floor next to an izakaya, and the laughter carried in really loudly. Put plainly, it was noisy. A hotel is a place to rest, so I wondered if that was okay.