Kure First Hotel

I spent a long stay in one of the annex’s weekly type rooms. The hotel felt unusually flexible for these days, and I appreciated being able to send and receive luggage right from my room. It was spacious, with a washing machine, microwave, electric kettle, and full-size fridge, and cost 5,000 yen a night. The main drawback is that every annex room allows smoking. Mine smelled of cigarettes for about two weeks. Since I was there long term, I waited it out until the smell faded, but I wouldn’t recommend the annex for a short visit. I feel like they’d still get customers if they made it non-smoking.

I’ve been booking this place more often lately when I come to Kure for personal reasons. It’s a renovated apartment building, so the rooms are spacious, and the price is reasonable. I was even able to reserve during a long holiday. I travel on foot from the station, so parking didn’t matter to me when I booked. There’s a 7-Eleven and a Lawson nearby for basics, and the internet works well. Even over a long holiday I wasn’t disturbed by neighbors. Hotels close to Kure Station cost more, but walking a little farther gets you cheaper options here. The annex is about a 3-minute walk away and isn’t much different from the main building.

For one person, the room felt quite spacious compared with other hotels, and the value for money is very good. The station is a bit of a walk, but there’s a convenience store right nearby and a shopping street full of restaurants and izakayas close by too. The toilet and bath share one room. The toilet felt a little tight, though the bathroom itself was a normal size. Taller people might find it cramped.

The building’s old, but it’s reasonably maintained and not dirty. The rooms are roomy and comfortable, without that cramped business hotel feeling. The unit bathroom is small, but it has a bidet and does the job. The tub is on the small side, though fine if you mostly shower, and hot water comes through right away. The shopping arcade is a three-minute walk and there’s an Eleven next door. For cost-performance, this is my pick, and I’ll stay again next time.