Meitetsu Grand Hotel

The biggest draw is the value for the price. Rooms are a decent size for at least two people, the bed was comfortable and clean, and the bath was clean and working okay. The city view was nice, but nothing special. Soundproofing isn’t great, so a noisy neighbor could affect your sleep. The furniture is decent, though it shows wear from age. The location is hard to beat, right above Nagoya Main train station, with restaurants, a department store, shops, and a supermarket below. There are brighter, newer malls just a short walk away, though the whole building here feels dated. The hotel itself has an 80s or 90s look, with dim lighting and a musky smell in the corridors and reception. Some of the upkeep looks poor, though that may be down to the aging interior rather than a lack of maintenance. It seems like it could use a major renovation to keep up with modern times. Security is almost nonexistent. The lift can reach every floor, including the room floors, without passing reception, and there’s no card security for it. The rooms use a very old card access system, and I’m not sure how secure that is.

The rooms I could book were smoking rooms, and they smelled awful. I left the windows wide open for eight hours while I was out, and that eventually helped clear the smell. I kept them open overnight too. You can hear trains going past during the night, which could be a problem for light sleepers, though it’s part of the Nagoya meitetsu vibe. Service was the usual amazing Japanese standard, even across language barriers. The central Nagoya location is great, but finding the hotel at first was tricky. It’s reached by a discreet elevator among the shopping area and street and department store entrances, though there are plenty of signs. Make sure you don’t confuse it with meitetsu inn, which is on the other side of Nagoya station.

We had a large family room, which was great. The two rooms we used didn’t connect internally, though, so keeping track of the kids between them was tricky. The rooms seemed fairly spacious for a Japanese city hotel. We came from NZ and have stayed twice; the location is hard to beat.

The room lighting was really dim, which was my only complaint. The bed and pillow were good quality, though, and the location made getting around easy. Rooms are on floors 12 through 18, with the bus center on the third floor and a food court, supermarket, and different restaurants downstairs. The subway station is in the next building, and JR is on the other side of this one.