Hotel Cycle

The hotel sits right by the water in a beautifully renovated warehouse, making it a convenient base for cycling the Shimanami Kaido. Being able to park your bike right outside your room is a real plus when you’re heading out again the next morning. The rooms are spacious and modern, though a bit dark, with limited space to store clothes. We rented the racing bikes with Shimano 105 groupsets through the hotel. They’re dated but worked fine, although the rim brakes didn’t feel as reassuring as modern disc brakes. The staff were friendly, but couldn’t find us a practical way to get back from Imabari with the bikes. The options were expensive or complicated, so we turned around before reaching Imabari and took the ferry from Setoda instead. Breakfast looked nice but was fairly basic for a full day on the bike. There were only a few orange slices for fruit, and the choices were Western style, with no rice or other Asian dishes. They did provide gluten-free bread when we asked. A stylish, distinctive stay for cyclists, with some room to improve the service and breakfast variety.

We visited around sunset and enjoyed strolling along the seaside docks with coffee and snacks. It’s a pleasant compound with several tenants, including accommodation, and shops selling various local goods. There’s also a two-story parking building nearby, so it’s easy to reach by car.

The location is great, and it’s convenient to keep your bike in the room. But we left early because the mold smell made us cough. The bedroom has no windows, and poor bathroom ventilation leaves the room very humid after you use it. The toilet also has no privacy unless you close the curtain, which blocks the light source. The room looks cool in Instagram photos, and many of its elements are high quality, but the lack of a window and ventilation make it smell awful. Best avoided.

It’s a cool building to spend time in, and the room was nice, though not spacious. Breakfast was good, but there wasn’t much choice in coffee. Service was okay. It felt a little pricey for what you get, so they could lower the price or improve the offering.