Hamilton Hotel Blue

The room was tiny, and my window looked directly at a wall, so there was no natural light. The walls were so thin I could hear both neighboring guests coughing and people in the hall. The shower leaked and sprayed everywhere, then twisted sideways when switched on so it didn’t even spray on you. The toilet bidet didn’t work, and there was only one power outlet in the room. The kitchen light was sensor-activated and switched on when I went to the toilet at night, with no way to turn it off. There was just one elevator, and I had to wait for it. The staff looked pretty depressed, and after my first conversation I didn’t bother speaking to them again because they didn’t seem hospitable. The onsen is only for men, with none for women. When I asked the receptionist where I could go for one, they said, “nowhere. Only your rooms bath.” My partner said the onsen had missing tiles and was pretty sad anyway. Breakfast was average. I’ve travelled around Japan for months, and this was the worst hotel I’ve stayed at. Don’t waste your money, especially if you’re a woman. They also removed the option on booking.com for me to review my stay, which was weird as.

We stayed three nights with a friend in a Japanese-style room intended for three. It felt quite spacious for the two of us, though it might be small with three people. Staff were kind and really helpful, and the place had lots of free amenities, along with free drinks and ice cream each night. The bus and train stations weren’t too far away. We had a pleasant stay.

The area is quiet and not crowded, but still easy to get around. There’s a DonKi about a five-minute walk away, and Nagoya Station is roughly 1 km from the hotel. If you’ve got a lot of luggage, an Uber may cost less than 500Yen. Staff were friendly, and breakfast was great, with soup and drink bars. You can take an onigiri and coffee to go if you’re rushing off on an early tour. We didn’t get to try happy hour, but that’s free too. : )

I was really angry about spending $1,000 for four nights. The room was tiny and looked straight onto a wall, and the onsen was for men only. I’d booked because I thought there would be baths for both women and men. I wouldn’t recommend this place to women.