Grand Prince Hotel Hiroshima

We took a pleasant walk around the island at sunset, which took about 40 minutes. The room had a great view, and a long window ran the length of it. The hotel’s public bath was great too, though there’s an extra charge. We joined the « loyalty program », which brought the fee down to just 500¥. That felt completely reasonable since the hotel itself is very affordable. There’s also a small convenience store in the lobby.

Most rooms have a view, and the restaurants I tried on site were good. Service was good too, and the public path was free for me as a platinum member, though it costs otherwise and isn’t very big. The location is handy for getting the Miyajima ferry right from the hotel, but not very convenient beyond that. The rooms and other fixtures are dated, although they’re kept clean.

The staff were kind and professional, and our room was clean and pleasant. We also had a lovely view over the water, with a speedboat available for trips to some islands. The location was the main drawback for me and my boyfriend. It gave us a great view, but put us far from everything else. Restaurants in the building were also more expensive, except for one that wasn’t part of the hotel. Breakfast was tasty and came with a great view, though at $20 per person I didn’t feel it was worth the price. A 60-minute massage was around $100, which felt expensive to me as an American. The hotel wasn’t tattoo-friendly. I was happy with the stay overall, but the location wasn’t ideal for us.

The views were beautiful, but the hotel felt a long way from the city centre. For what we paid, the stay didn’t match what we got, and unless you book a club room, you’re expected to pay extra to use other facilities. The lobby looks flashy and impressive, but that feeling disappeared when we reached our room. The place had a resort or cruise ship feel, and the rooms seemed at least 50 years out of date. Our TV was tiny. We weren’t given the Wi-Fi details, though we eventually found them in a black folder. The bathroom was cramped, and the bath was so steep that I nearly twisted my foot getting in to use the Fischer Price My First Shower. This was a club-floor room, too. I’d hoped breakfast might make up for it, but it was a sad spread with very limited choices and quantities. The international breakfast included two kinds of pastry, bread, boiled fish paste (that was the wording on the label), chicken, cold potato wedges, rubbery eggs or soup. Tea facilities were limited, and staff threw out the milk we were using without asking. That felt wasteful. This hotel was booked under my partner’s name.