Hotel Sanrakuso

The view from the hotel was very good, but I wasn't happy with the hygiene, and the place felt very old. We first booked a tatami room and found a spider and another dangerous insect inside, so they moved us to another room after we complained. Breakfast had only local dishes, with no English breakfast option, which is difficult for foreigners.

The breakfast really stood out: the Wakayama rice bowl with salmon, small fish and grated yam was simple and tasty, and I also loved the bowl of soba infused with ume. Dinner was an all-you-can-eat buffet rather than the proper kaiseki course I was hoping for, but the food was still awesome, especially the ramen. The desserts were refreshing and nicely sized. The hotel is right by famous Shirarahama Beach, and the view from a beachside room looked straight out of a travel magazine. The facilities were generous, from the onsen and karaoke room to the brilliant space-themed massage chairs. I'd love to come back and enjoy it all again.

Dinner and breakfast were mediocre, and the room and lobby felt dated. The carpet in the room smelled bad, the lobby had only a souvenir shop, and the second floor had very few amenities, just a kids' play area and awful coffee. What made the stay from Feb 23 to Feb 24 so unpleasant was the noise. There was a loud banging from the bathroom, seemingly water pipes hitting the floor, every couple of minutes through the night. We called reception several times, but close to 1 a.m. all they suggested was buying earplugs at a nearby convenience store. The staff didn't help us get any. Eventually they offered a room that was out of service and still needed cleaning, in case we wanted to move. We were exhausted and it was too late, so we stayed put. At checkout, nobody apologized or acted as if anything had happened. When we complained and asked for a discount, one staff member said she couldn't do anything. Another who spoke English came over and said harshly, “sorry we cannot do that. There is nothing we can do”. I was angry. We asked for the manager, and after briefly going away, the staff member said the manager wasn't available. We insisted, and 15 minutes later the manager arrived, despite having been standing right by the front desk the whole time. The manager didn't apologize either and only agreed to a 10% discount. It felt like they don't care about customer service, perhaps because they're beside tourist spots and most guests are overseas visitors anyway.

The onsen was roomy and comfortable, and my room opened onto a full sea view. The staff were amazingly helpful. I only stayed one night before heading to kumano kodo, and it was a lovely stay. I'll come back.