Hotel Kunimi Odawara

A business hotel at a reasonable price, with a free buffet breakfast.

The entrance takes a bit of finding, and it’s around a seven-minute walk from the station. Inside, the place has a quiet business-hotel feel, and the older gentlemen at the front desk are always pleasant and polite. Breakfast is free and starts at 6:30. There’s also a complimentary late-night snack, so arriving late isn’t a worry.

I came to Tokyo for work but stayed in Odawara to avoid the high prices in the city center. The twin room was larger than I expected and spotlessly clean, and I liked that the window looked out somewhere other than the neighboring building’s wall. It’s about a seven-minute walk from the station. The price was very reasonable, and a simple breakfast is included. They also had free frozen rice balls as a late-night snack, though I didn’t try them. I’m glad I stayed.

The shower water kept changing, which made taking a bath quite a challenge. Aside from that, we had a good stay. The hotel is old and not very modern, but the room was clean and well equipped, and the front desk staff were very helpful. It’s a little removed from the city center, so nights were fairly quiet, though it was also a bit hard to find despite being near Odawara Station. I stayed one night with my kids for business. Free mineral water for each guest was appreciated the next day, and breakfast was free with a generous Japanese and Western selection. I tried the curry I’d heard so much about, and it really was delicious, with just the right amount of spice to get me going in the morning. There’s welcome coffee and a midnight snack too, though I didn’t use either. Even over the holidays, it was under 10,000 yen per person, which is great value these days.