GLAMROSE -Adult Only-

A quirky place, but affordable and fun for couples. The staff were really friendly, and communicating with them was easy.

Being close to the outlet mall is a real plus. The room did have some drawbacks, though: there were cigarette ends and other bits of rubbish behind the control panel beside the bed. There’s no welcome drink or complimentary breakfast, and the only outlet I found was under the TV, more than three meters from the bed. Having no outlet near the headboard was inconvenient.

The bathroom wall tiles are chipped, which seems dangerous. I meant to book a four-hour rest at the front desk panel, but accidentally chose an overnight stay. When I called to ask if it could be changed, an older man at reception told me sarcastically that it couldn’t be done. I know the mistake was mine and that changing it might not be possible, but he could have said so more considerately. I was charged even though I left after just two hours, and the whole thing left a bad taste. I won’t return. A year ago, a reply to a comment said staff would be retrained. Was that just talk?

We only managed to get through that night thanks to this hotel, and I’m really grateful. My wife is pregnant, and we’d planned one last trip while she could still travel: one night at a hot spring inn in Shuzenji, then Sawayaka at Gotemba Outlet the next day before taking a limited express back to Tokyo. The trip started going wrong when strong winds stopped the limited express from Tokyo to Shuzenji. We scrambled onto a Shinkansen and a local train and just made it there. Then we saw the supposedly cancelled limited express still at Shuzenji Station. If we’d waited a little longer and stayed on it, we would’ve got there normally. After checking out the next day, we headed for Sawayaka. On the train I checked the website, and reservations at the Gotemba Outlet branch were already closed. The nearby Gotemba Station branch was still taking names, but the wait at 3:30 pm was 360 minutes. We finished dinner after 10 pm, missed our chance to get home, and my wife had really wanted to eat there. I called every hotel I could find, but none could take a same-day booking. We decided to take our chances with a love hotel, though the ones near the outlet mall were filling up fast as couples decided to stay overnight after shopping. That was happening while we waited for our turn at Sawayaka. My phone was nearly dead, so I switched it off and figured I’d search again after dinner. Once we’d eaten and missed the last train, I started looking again with nowhere to go. This place was available through a booking site called Couples, and we managed to reserve one of the few rooms left. Somehow, we had somewhere to spend the night!!