Takatsuki Sun Hotel

The staff were incredibly accommodating throughout my two-week business stay. Guests have to hand in the key whenever they leave, and they remembered my face and which key was mine. At the end of her shift, one staff member even walked a teammate to a store to get a new hanko and helped translate for him. The hotel is a three-minute walk from a Hankyu Line station, although the location feels off the beaten track. My room smelled terribly of smoke. It’s a smoking hotel, but the smell seemed to be pumped back through the ventilation every third or fourth day. I sprayed as much Febreze as I could, but it kept coming back. The washing machines were good, though not cheap. There was no wet room in the bathroom, but we could stream to the smart TV, and the free Wi-Fi had an excellent signal.

I was put in a non-smoking room, but after it was cleaned, my bathroom smelled of cigarettes. I suspected someone had been smoking in there while I was away during the day. This was the hotel my company booked for training, so our schedules were predictable. There were also strands of hair on my bed. When I complained, I was told to wait for the manager, who comes at 9am. I couldn’t talk to them because I had to leave first thing in the morning and didn’t get back until after 8pm.

The room has a TV with very limited channels, hair dryer, mini fridge, water boiler, air purifier, AC, clothes hangers, a robe (yukata), and slippers. I’m here for about two weeks for work. The double bed room is quite small, especially with my suitcases open, though I appreciate that they try to make it cozier. My company arranged for rooms to be cleaned every other day during our stay. I appreciate the service, but wonder if it’s really needed that often when the room isn’t very dirty, given the environmental impact. There are washers and dryers on the 3rd and 7th floors. Detergent is included, and a small wash-and-dry load costs 400 yen. There’s also a microwave in the laundry room and free coffee in the lobby. My main dislike is that the hotel has smoking and non-smoking rooms. When I first entered, mine smelled of smoke, probably from the previous tenant. The provided air freshener helped a lot after I sprayed the whole room, but people can still smoke in the lobby.

There was always complimentary coffee available, and the rooms were nice. The staff were very helpful, with one person even coming along to show me the way.