Hotel Livemax Premium Hiroshima

The top-floor onsen was a relaxing highlight, with one large indoor hot mineral bath and an open-air bath, both overlooking the city. The rooms were comfortable, and the railway station is only a short walk away.

The main issue was how different the women's and men's hot spring areas were. The women's bath is tiny, about the size of one room, and the tub is a small square that looks like it would fit only around four people at a time. There are just two places to do makeup and dry your hair, plus three showers. The men's area, by comparison, is large, with up to 6-7 makeup spots and 10 showers. If that's not gender inequality, I don't know what is. They could at least switch the sign outside each day so both sides get to use the big hot spring. Our room was very small. We asked for a room for three people with two SINGLE beds, but it smelled of smoke even though we'd requested non-smoking. The women's facilities are so limited that I wouldn't trust the pictures.

The best part was the hot springs on the top floor, with hot water and a sauna. Breakfast came as a bento box with a bottle of green tea. Check-in starts only after 15:00 h, and checkout is by 10:00 am. Room 601 had a good view and was quiet. The room was clean and odorless, with a good mattress and pillows, a large LCD TV, and free WiFi. It also had a new toilet, decent toiletries, good air conditioning, and an extra air purifier humidifier. The staff were friendly, and Hiroshima station wasn't far away.

After a long day of travel, the onsen was a welcome place to unwind. The rest of the stay was disappointing: our room was small and smelled of smoke, and a large bag of mine containing expensive colognes and toiletries was thrown away. When I asked reception about it, they showed no concern and said the cleaners had disposed of it. I don't understand why anyone would discard a guest's bag with valuable things inside.