Livemax Resort Aki Miyajima

We only had one night and wished we could have stayed longer to try everything. There’s a regular pool, private baths, public baths with great views, and western hot tubs. Our room had a private onsen and a view of the city and bay, which was amazing. The staff were very helpful, and they kept our bags after checkout until we left the island that evening. Arigatou gozaimasu!

Checkout was the worst part. We couldn’t find one of our two keys and immediately offered to pay because we had to catch a ferry. Reception quoted 9,000 yen. When I calmly said that seemed excessive, the man became confrontational and threatened to call the police. He had a ponytail and was shockingly rude. A woman standing beside him tried to help find a reasonable solution, but he wouldn’t let her speak. I’ve never been treated that way at a hotel anywhere, and it was especially disappointing after all my stays in Japan, where hospitality has usually been the opposite. The trouble started earlier. We asked politely about booking breakfast for the next morning and were told it was fully booked, in an unnecessarily rude way. We’d booked a Japanese-style room, but no one mentioned that we’d have to move four extremely heavy wooden chairs and a large table ourselves to lay out the futons, then put everything back in the morning. That’s absurd for a hotel room. The building felt old and run-down and smelled terrible. The common areas reeked of food, and even the fifth floor was unbearable. The rooms were poorly soundproofed, and we couldn’t sleep because the guests next door partied loudly all night. This experience was unacceptable from start to finish. Someone with that attitude in a front-facing role is damaging to the hotel’s reputation. I’d strongly recommend avoiding this place; there are better, kinder, cleaner options nearby.

The room was spacious and clean, with wonderful views, a private shower, and an onsen on the terrace. We appreciated the welcome gifts, including sake and beauty sets. Staff who spoke enough English made check-in quick and easy. We’d booked the Ocean suite, expecting real luxury for the very high price, and had some concerns after reading reviews posted later. A few things fell short. Several lights didn’t work, leaving the room dark. Reception checked and confirmed the problem, but said replacement bulbs weren’t in stock and would have to be ordered, so it couldn’t be fixed for some time. The terrace lighting was very minimal too. The sofa was fairly comfortable but worn and damaged in places. There were bits floating on the surface of the onsen that looked like other people’s skin, which put me off getting in and made me wonder if it had been properly cleaned after the last guests. The mattress and pillows were very hard and uncomfortable, and there was no pillow menu. The hotel has few facilities. Its shop mainly sells sweets and was rarely staffed. Since most island shops and restaurants close around 5:30, an evening bar or cafe at the hotel would be nice. We skipped the restaurant buffet because of other guests’ comments, ate dinner at a wonderful nearby okonomiyaki restaurant open until 10pm, and had breakfast at Machikado coffee shop down the road. We enjoyed our stay, but probably wouldn’t return because it didn’t feel like good value. Management should put more into basics like proper lighting, clean onsens, better furniture, softer pillows, and more comfortable mattresses. Five kinds of moisturizer in one room, fancy holders for hair tools, extra slippers everywhere, and phone charger boxes that don’t work seem less necessary.

The public onsen had a cold bath and sauna, and the private onsen was reasonably priced and a nice experience. The location was beautiful, the staff friendly, and having a washing machine was useful. In the public men's onsen with a view, there were flies in the water and the water wasn’t running; I’m not sure if that was intentional. Be careful around the lift doors, as they tried to close on me and my partner several times.