Nagasaki Hotel Seifu

At $200 per night, I couldn’t find a reason to return. The hotel sits on a hill and is hard to reach on your own. There’s no Wi-Fi in the room, no complimentary water in the fridge, and staff never reply to emails with requests. There’s no English-speaking staff or proper room service. The 3rd-floor onsen is miserable, and they didn’t make the bed in the evening while I was away for dinner. Nothing about the property stands out in a good way.

The staff were very nice and accommodating, and the view from the hotel is beautiful. I also liked the outdoor Onsen, while the clean public areas have been updated to create an Onsen feel. There’s a store in the lobby for water, soft drinks, beer, and snacks, but no lounge serving drinks. The room and the upper floors and hallways felt very tired, as if they were decorated in the 70’s. Our clean Japanese-style room was old too, and one chair had a hole in its fabric. The shower-room faucet had a tiny pinhole leak and looked like it might date from the 70’s. You get one towel for both the Onsen and bathing in the room. They also provide a robe for the Onsen, but there’s no way to tie it around your waist. The restaurant is tightly controlled. You can have alcoholic drinks only if they’re included in your drink plan, which you must buy for one hour with dinner. I was surprised Wi-Fi was only available on the 3rd floor. Some basic amenities were sparse or missing, so I probably wouldn’t return or recommend this Onsen/hotel.

The views are stunning, especially from the onsen, and there are bus stops on both sides of the hotel parking lot for getting down to the station. Depending on the time of day, though, you may need to call a cab. It’s a long way from central Nagasaki, and even the nearest kombini is a decent walk. With nowhere nearby, beer at the hotel costs what you’d expect when you’re a captive audience. Wi-Fi is only on the 3rd floor, not in the rooms, and the hotel pretty much shuts down in the middle of the day. I’d recommend staying across the bay where the town is, since there are lots of good options there.

The hot tub area looks out over the city and harbor, with an amazing view. Dinner and breakfast were decent. The drawback is the tight time limit: once your time is up, they rush you out of the restaurant.