KOKO HOTEL Sapporo Ekimae

The location is great, but I wouldn’t stay here if comfort or laundry matters to you. The beds are okay, though the rooms get far too hot in winter. You can’t control the centrally managed air conditioning, and some rooms have windows that open while others don’t. They say they can’t provide extra pillows. If you keep asking, they may offer extra towels to put under your unusually small pillow instead. The laundry was probably the worst I’ve had at a hotel. I ran three drying cycles for a 2 kg load, gave up, and hung the clothes in my room.

For what they charged during the snow festival, this was very unsatisfactory. The supplied breakfast at the adjoining resturant was just cool coffee, and many food containers were nearly empty or empty. There were no knives. The room was small, as others have mentioned, and the heat was the bigger problem. I turned off the a/c when I arrived and left it off for all three nights. It was mostly 6 to 0 degrees or colder outside, but the room was stifling day and night. You can’t switch to cool in winter: the instructions say the system is set to heat in winter and cool in summer.

I’m here Oct 3-9, after my wife was hospitalized following a fall on a cruise ship. She needs surgery tomorrow, and with very little notice this was the closest place I could find, about 5 to 6 miles from the hospital. I’m American and don’t speak the language. The front desk staff don’t speak English, so communication has been difficult. The location may be handy for some, but it hasn’t suited my needs. The rooms are small, though quiet at night, and the bed is only semi-comfortable with two small pillows. There are about eight TV channels and nothing that connects a traveler to the wider world. The bathroom is tiny, smaller than a cruise ship’s, and reached by an odd 12-inch step. The tub is small and slippery, with a high side to step over. That could be disastrous if you get up at night and forget about the big drop when leaving the bathroom. The restaurant description is misleading. It’s a pizza buffet on the second floor that becomes the breakfast area in the morning. Food was scarce when I went, with nobody refilling the stations, especially the coffee. I ended up with a few pancakes, fried egg yolks, and soda from the machine. Hardly breakfast for any culture. I paid about $10 extra a day for it. Given that letdown, I wouldn’t eat there at night either. Family Mart is a better bet for a reasonably priced sandwich. At this price, I’m sure you can find larger rooms and a much better breakfast setup. Maybe it’s acceptable for local travelers, but it isn’t language, space, or food friendly for American and European travelers.

Koko hotel is near Sapporo’s famous spots, and the small room was okay with me since I think that’s just the Japanese style. I stayed eight days, though, and service was low. They only clean rooms every three days, and on the third day I asked the housekeeper, who was outside our room, to clean. She said she’d do it tomorrow, when it was already our fourth day. I want daily cleaning because that’s what we paid for. As a tourist, I need help getting around, but a woman at the front desk wasn’t very friendly when I asked how to reach a place. The spot is good, but the staff aren’t friendly, so I rated the service low.