Holiday Inn ANA Miyazaki by IHG

The ocean view from our room was nice, and Aoshima is within walking distance. The hotel sits in a quiet area, far from downtown. There are only a handful of nearby restaurants, so getting to most of Miyazaki’s good restaurants means driving 25 minutes north. The place feels run down as soon as you walk in. There were stains all over the carpets, mold on the bathroom curtain, and nearly everything looked at least a little outdated or damaged. I’m used to staying in two- or three-star hotels and small Airbnbs, so I’m not a snob, but this doesn’t feel like a four-star hotel as Google suggests. It may have been one once. I can’t quite explain it, but the place feels like all the life has been sucked out of it, and I didn’t feel relaxed there.

The five-futon Japanese-style room was small and disappointing. For what we paid, I don’t think it was worth it. After seeing the room and experiencing the lack of service, we regretted booking two nights and couldn’t wait to leave. When my family of four arrived with four large suitcases, nobody came to help us in the lobby. We had to load them onto the trolley and push it to our room ourselves. This was the fourth place we stayed on our trip. The previous three were two- or three-star hotels, but their service, attitude, and cleanliness were far better. This hotel doesn’t live up to its supposed four-star rating. I hope this honest review helps the hotel improve its service and cleanliness.

The rooms have a beautiful sea view, and Aoshima is an easy, short walk away. There’s a direct bus from KMI to the hotel doorstep, but it’s a local public bus with no luggage storage, and weekday and weekend schedules differ. Visitors won’t know that, so the hotel should mention it in its welcome email. It’s hard to hail a taxi, though the hotel can call one for you. The hotel is far from everything else, and restaurants nearby are at tourist prices. The hotel is terribly run down and dirty, and lacked Japanese hospitality or warmth, except for the Japanese concierge on the ground floor. The tall, lanky Japanese man with glasses at reception spoke very basic English and came across as borderline rude. The room only had two toothbrushes and a razor. Other items were self-serve in the lobby or had to be requested at the desk, which was a hassle. The onsen is free, but you have to pay tax. We booked two rooms for three nights. The beds in the room my youngsters used were never made, even though we put the placard out. On the second night, my room had no toothbrushes, and when I accidentally saw the duvet, it had a coffee-brown stain and looked dirty. I slept very uncomfortably. The bed was sunken and worn, there were stains on the ceiling, and used mugs hadn’t been washed. After long days out, we were too tired to bring up these problems. It was a pretty yucky room experience, and I could only stare at the ocean to overlook it. Without the sea view, this is like a motel.

The ocean view from my room was beautiful. The room itself was clean, though not spotless, but the hotel feels very dated. Stains marked the hallway carpets and ceilings. I found the room kettle hadn’t been cleaned, so I asked the front desk for a replacement.