Hotel Route Inn Rifu

There’s a supermarket nearby, with Don Quijote and ÆON mall about a 10-minute walk away. Our room was spacious, and breakfast was nice. It had the usual useful things, including a safe, fridge, and desk, plus complimentary vending machine coins, one per person.

The shower spray came out in a narrow line, and I wish it had been wider. At breakfast, the mapo tofu was cold and served on a medium-sized plate; I would have preferred it kept in a thermal container like the other dishes. The hotel has only been open for a year and a half, so the rooms are still nice and clean. Charging is well catered for, with outlets and USB ports by the sofa and a multi-purpose cable beside the bed. There’s even a chair in the elevator hall. A few things depend on your preferences. For drying my hair, the available outlets are in the unit bath, by the bed, beside the TV stand after moving the humidifier, or near the sofa. You need to use either the folding mirror or the one in the unit bath. There’s a full-length mirror at the entrance, but the outlet by the bed is only just close enough. I’m over 180cm tall, so I had to squat to use it.

The curry area bothered me: there was a lot of thick, sludgy curry collected in the ladle holder, and I thought it might work better to leave the ladle in the pot. Breakfast was surprisingly crowded during my Friday-to-Saturday overnight stay. Guests seem to pick a preferred time slot at check-in, but nobody checked tickets at the entrance, so that arrangement felt more like a precaution. I booked on the official website and got a free vending machine drink. Since the hotel is new, the room and large public bath were very clean and easy to use. The staff were polite and made a good impression.