Hotel Olympia Nagano

The nearest convenience store is a bit of a walk, but finding a meal nearby is easy. There's a chain Chinese restaurant right beside the property, a chain rice bowl place next to it, and a soba shop across the street. A good ramen restaurant is about 300 meters away, with another farther along. Breakfast was a highlight for me. The fruit and salads were fresh, and the side dishes tasted homemade. The check-in was courteous, and check-out was easy since I only had to return the card key. There are lots of decorations around the property, including dinosaurs. It looks like the owner's collection, and even with all that stuff, everything seemed thoroughly dust-free and clean.

The breakfast was really good, especially if you're into Japanese food. I liked the sashimi and salted squid, and I thought it was better than breakfast at The Business Hotel's Route Inn. If you'd rather have Western food like bread, though, you might find yourself choosing between here and Route Inn. At the first-floor restaurant, there were lots of potted plants along the windows, but the trays under them were dirty and not great to look at while eating. For dinner, there's a supermarket a short walk north, and the Nagano-based Chinese chain Tenhou is right next door. It's the sort of place that gets featured on Kenmin Show, and its gyoza, stir-fried vegetables, tantanmen, and Tenhoumen make for easy conversation. I was in a single smoking room with breakfast included, so the usual smoke smell was there. The facilities are a little old, but they were maintained well. There's no public bath, and the card key locks the door automatically. The room felt dim to me, with one ceiling light, one over the desk mirror, and one by the bed. I would've liked another overhead light. The 24-inch TV was average, which seemed about right. The toilet has a washlet but no heated seat, and its loud bang when flushing bothered me. I wondered if the neighbors could hear it too. The pillow was too high for me, and it seemed to push my body down toward my feet. I'm 180 cm tall, and felt like I was sliding toward the foot of the bed. The ceiling AC is remote-controlled. WiFi was disappointing, with slow video and stuttering on 2.4 GHz. Maybe it depends on the room. Hot water in the bath and sink came on quickly every time during my few-day stay, and the sudden rush of it surprised me. The microwave and ice maker are on the second floor, at the back right after you get off the elevator. The washing machine is also there, through the door on the left. The lights are normally off, and you turn them on with a cord hanging from the ceiling, like a fluorescent light.

I don't want to give this place even one star. The man calling himself the assistant manager was arrogant and had a terrible attitude, and the whole stay was unpleasant. The parking arrangement wasn't what had been discussed beforehand. When I said I couldn't get out because other cars were parked there, the staff insisted I could. I ended up squeezing out along a narrow stretch and scraping tree branches against my vehicle. I asked them to call the manager, but was told to wait until he arrived. He never showed up.

The breakfast really was delicious, like other people have said. But the man who checked me in on October 5th was very rude and made me uncomfortable.