Toyoko Inn Sendai Chuo 1Chome 1Ban

There are lots of good places to eat nearby, especially restaurants known for Sendai’s gyutan, which you have to try. The hotel’s close to the station but tucked into a nice, quiet area. It has the amenities you need, and breakfast is delicious.

We were given a smoking room even though we’d booked a non-smoking one through Agoda. The woman with glasses wouldn’t check the reservation details, so we had to call and ask for a room change. The replacement key card didn’t work, which sent us back to the front desk because of their mistake. The service was terrible. Staff first spoke English when we arrived, but when the self check-in machine stopped working, the woman spoke rudely to us in Japanese, apparently assuming we couldn’t understand. Her tone was unfriendly and commanding. While telling us to wait as she went to check with another staff member, she used a word normally used to call dogs. It was very disrespectful. There wasn’t a bathroom trash bin, so we called to ask for one for sanitary pads. At midnight, staff told us to come and get it ourselves. We said we’d leave the used pad at the front desk then. They eventually agreed to bring a bin, but when they arrived, all they handed us was a plastic bag.

The laundry room was a little crowded, but I had a comfortable, affordable stay. Toyoko Inn Sendai Station West Exit Central is very convenient, about a 5-minute walk from the station, with shops and restaurants close by. The free breakfast was a nice extra, especially the Sendai-style miso soup. It seems like a good fit for business trips or sightseeing.

The hotel was clean, the room was tidy, breakfast was good, and it’s very close to the station with plenty of facilities. But my check-in and checkout were both awful. A senior woman on staff raised her voice and shouted at me at reception, even though I was trying to understand and speak with my limited Japanese. It happened again when I was leaving. That was completely unacceptable. I won’t stay here again in Sendai, and I’ll tell friends and colleagues to avoid it. She made me feel like foreigners weren’t welcome at all.