Nagoya Garden Palace

The front desk staff were good. Shout-out to Yokoi-san, who helped us in English once my Japanese ran out, haha. I was there over the F1 weekend, and the location made it easy to get around from either Sakae or Fushimi station. At night you're straight into the action. The rooms are pretty standard and do the job.

This was my worst experience with parking fees in Japan. I drove to the hotel for a meeting on the 3rd floor and didn't see any information about parking charges or a warning about the maximum fee, but I was given a parking ticket. After nearly a full day at the meeting, the charge came to 5100JPY (32USD). I asked the front desk staff for a discount because I'd used the hotel facilities for a business trip, and they said there was no discount. I felt cheated by the hotel.

I was in Nagoya for three nights during the second week of May and booked just the bed, since I planned to eat out and go sightseeing. The hotel was beautiful, with a great room and a coffee machine for early starts. It was good value, central for the sights, and handy for public transport. The staff were very helpful when I needed to send a couple of boxes of gear to Chiba. Highly recommended.

The firm bed suited me, and we were given a top-floor room with a great view. They also had good toiletries for the stay, so I'd definitely come back and recommend it to anyone who prefers a firm mattress. The hotel is about a six-minute walk from the train station, and just one stop from Nagoya Station, which worked well for me. There are several restaurants and shops nearby. One tip: there's no English name outside, so compare the Japanese characters. Google Maps had the right spot.