Kurenai Hotel

During my nearly nine days here, my room was cleaned and I was greeted with a smile. The place was clean and peaceful, and the staff were so kind that I was really glad I stayed. The man at reception was nice too. My Japanese isn’t very good, so he tried speaking with me in English to help me understand, even though he wasn’t fluent. Thank you so much. I’ll definitely come back and recommend this hotel to my friends.

I was surprised by how nice this business hotel was. From the name, I’d expected something with a Showa-era feel, but it was the best hotel I’ve stayed at recently. I had a spacious twin room with a table and closet, and liked having the bath and toilet in separate rooms. The sink was separate too, and there was bath additive, perhaps as a complimentary extra. There’s a convenience store almost directly across the street, and a supermarket about five minutes away on foot. The hotel has a yakiniku restaurant downstairs, with Yayoiken, a ramen restaurant, and Hotto Motto nearby. The front desk staff were very polite and left a great impression. The private parking lot is roomy and easy to use if you’re driving. It’s a little way from the city center, about 15 minutes by car, and the roads get very congested in the morning, so I’d arrive early. I’ll stay here again on my next trip to Kumamoto.

There’s a Japanese-style room, so families with small children can stay here as well as couples or solo travelers. The bathroom, toilet, and sink are all separate, and the laundry and ice maker area is tidy and easy to use. The location is handy, with a Lawson right in front and three large supermarkets, DAISO, Seria, and Yayoi-ken, within a three-minute walk. Yamada Denki and Round 1 are next door. You probably won’t run into any problems staying here.

Even though the other services were excellent, the smoke smell ruined too much of the experience for me. My room was right by the smoking area, although I asked the owner to address it, and smoke from other rooms kept drifting in. I coughed constantly. I really can’t stand smoky places, so I had no choice but to give it two stars. If you smoke, it probably won’t bother you.