Hotel Kurume Hills

Maybe fine for business, but the rooms are extremely tiny even by Japanese standards. There's barely room for the bed and about 30 cm around it. You can't even put your luggage down and open it. I wouldn't recommend it for anyone traveling with family.

The breakfast was shockingly good for a free meal. It was clearly pre-made food, but the chicken came with Japonais sauce on the side, and the curry had generous chunks of potato and carrot. It was filling, though a salad would have made it even better. Welcome coffee, lots of tea choices, chocolates, and bicycle rentals for exploring the neighborhood were nice touches, too. The large public bath was a relief, with good water pressure and temperature. The in-room bath was the exception to an otherwise lovely hotel. The public bath seemed suited to someone around 172 cm and 62 kg, and the water pressure felt weak, so it may not work well for larger people. The women's bath is only open from 3:00 PM to 7:30 PM, which makes the hotel feel more geared toward men. The desk and chair in the room didn't feel like the right height, making the setup awkward for desk work and for women. I'd still recommend this hotel to men.

The breakfast buffet seemed to have dozens of side dishes, and for the price I thought it was very good value. The selection changes often, so you might get tired of it if you go every time... lol. The front desk and restaurant staff looked Southeast Asian, spoke Japanese very well, and were very friendly, though their Japanese was a little broken. There are bars nearby, but the closest convenience store is a bit of a walk. The hotel is within walking distance of Nishitetsu Kurume Station, though it's a little farther than other hotels. Even on weekends, a non-smoking room with breakfast buffet costs around 5,000-6,000 yen, so the value is good. Rooms are small but clean, and the toilets are newer, Western-style. The tub has separate hot and cold water and is easy to adjust, without suddenly getting too hot. The shower curtain is too short, though, and the floor gets wet when you shower. lol. Towels are in the room, but you need to get other amenities from the front desk. The walls are thin, so you can hear next door, which is a downside. I based my rating on the good price, basic cleanliness, breakfast buffet, and the friendly foreign staff at the front desk who spoke good Japanese, even if it was a little broken.

The free breakfast was surprisingly tasty and good. There are several parking spaces, but they were full when I arrived, so I used the coin parking lot the staff recommended. The parking area next to the hotel belongs to another nearby hotel and can't be used. The name sounds fancy, but this is an old business hotel. The rooms are clean, though the facilities are dated and the doors don't lock automatically. The bathtub in my room didn't drain well. The large public bath switches between men and women at different times. Its artificial hot spring water is nice, but the tub and washing area are small, comfortable for only about three people.