Hotel Sonia Otaru

The lobby has a pleasant feel, and the hotel sits in a lovely part of town that's easy to explore on foot. Parking was effortless thanks to a very attentive attendant, and the staff were kind and helpful. We got a great last-minute room deal and stayed on the third floor of the south building. It was busy with lots of tourists, and the room was a bit chilly.

The onsen looked poorly maintained: the tiles were yellow and visibly dirty, and the water was cloudy. The room was extremely old and fell short of basic hotel standards, while the reception staff acted unprofessionally throughout our stay. We asked several times about upgrading and said we were happy to pay, but were repeatedly told the hotel was fully booked. We checked other booking platforms and could still see rooms available, which felt misleading and unacceptable. This was by far the worst hotel I've stayed at. The service lacked honesty and professionalism, and the whole experience was deeply disappointing. I strongly disliked both the service and the hotel, and wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

Getting to the shopping street took about five minutes on foot, and Otaru canal is just across the road, so the location worked really well. We stayed in a large room in the north building (cafe building), with all the amenities provided. The canal view wasn't anything special to me, so I don't think it's worth paying extra for. The lobby has drip coffee bags to pick up, along with things like shower towels, lotion, and cream. There are indoor and outdoor onsens in the main building, but they don't seem large enough for guests from all three buildings. There were lots of people bathing, not enough air, and a queue for the showers.

The stay itself was fine, but the payment handling left a bad impression. I booked two nights through an app using points, with the remaining balance due at the hotel. After missing the first night, I arrived on the second day. I understand that a no-show fee for that first night is standard and was willing to pay it. The hotel said it had asked the app to return my points, but also required me to pay again at the hotel. The refund hasn't reached my account yet, so I ended up paying the hotel fee out of pocket as well as the no-show penalty. That meant covering both amounts at once while the original points payment was still being refunded. I understand the policy, but the process was unnecessarily complicated and not customer-friendly. It made me wonder whether the customer experience had been considered in this situation. Please be careful when booking here.