Hotel Pearl Garden

There was a dead mosquito in the bed when I went to sleep, but after everything that happened earlier, that barely registered. The room smelled damp and moldy, which I know can happen in older hotels. What I hadn't experienced before in Japan was finding a fly in a hotel bathroom. A white-haired staff member handed me pesticide and told me to deal with it myself. Their “sorry” didn't feel sincere. I tried spraying the fly, but it kept buzzing around, and the small bathroom filled with too much toxic spray. I got angry and went to the front desk for help. The white-haired staff member didn't respond. Another girl, who said she wasn't hotel staff, was doing some kind of business with them. They talked and laughed together about me being afraid of a little fly. They were speaking Japanese, apparently assuming I couldn't understand, but I could. Then the girl looked right at me and laughed. The older staff member stayed silent. It was astonishing and unbelievable. This shouldn't happen at any hotel anywhere. It seemed that at least that staff member thought a fly in a guest room was normal and that complaining about it wasn't. Fortunately, another staff member eventually helped and killed the fly. I'm grateful, although he swatted it directly into the bathtub and apparently didn't think anything more was needed for sanitation. At least he was polite and willing to do his job. He gets the second star. That evening's whole experience was terrible.

I’m giving five stars for customer satisfaction, not saying the hotel itself is five-star. The restaurant was great, parking was plentiful and free, and the location made the hotel easy to find and convenient. The rooms were a reasonable size, the WiFi was strong, and the front desk was helpful and professional. The room lighting is bright, though figuring out the switches took some effort. It felt a bit high-tech for an older couple like us. A gem of a hotel, highly recommend staying here.

We were only there for one night, but had a fabulous experience. The price was among the best I've ever found for a place to stay, and the amenities, attention to detail, and service were all top notch. Highly recommended!

Breakfast was quite tasty, and we could enjoy it with a lovely view of the garden waterfall and koi pond. The location was quiet and convenient. Our first night we had a single bed, which wasn't comfortable enough for both of us, so we upgraded to a room with two. Staff were helpful and easy to deal with, and the room was a nice size and fairly clean.