Hotel Crown Hills Kokura

The free bike rental was probably the best thing here. The beds looked clean and the air conditioning worked, but the bathroom had an odor and I think the ventilation in my room was broken. It’s an older hotel mainly set up for Japanese business clients, and would need a major update to suit tourists. If you’re used to more modern, cleaner business hotels like smile hotel, comfort Hotel, or hotel wing, you may find the little issues in this older place hard to put up with.

Avoid this place. The room heater didn’t work, so it was freezing, and the front desk had to give me a blanket because there wasn’t one in the room. Both reading lights by the bed were out, the mini fridge was broken, the carpet was torn, and the bath soap dispenser didn’t work. There was no phone in the room, no cable TV, and no view. The lobby looked awful too. Worst hotel of my life, really bad.

The staff member at the desk was rude about my simple request for another pillow. There was only one, and it was very thin, but he didn’t try to explain or find a solution. The hotel says it has English-speaking staff, but that wasn’t my experience. From the start he seemed arrogant toward foreign guests and made very little effort to help. What a shame. The bathrobe was too small, and the slippers didn’t fit either. The hot spring bath looked nice, but the temperature was so out of control that people were shouting and could only get in for a few seconds. I regularly bathe at 42-44°, and this water was unbearably hot. Not worth it.

I checked in last Saturday, January 11, 2020, and I’m having a great stay. The room is modest, as business hotels tend to be, but I have nothing to complain about. The staff are helpful, and the woman at the front desk sorted out a small check-in problem for me. Hotel Crown Hills Kokura is fantastic. Best of all, I love the FREE rice every night!!!