Akasaka Granbell Hotel

I checked out after one night and asked for a refund for the rest of our week. They didn’t ask any questions, which made me think they knew there was a problem. There are lots of hotels on this street, and the one we moved to was only a few minutes farther down and not much more expensive. The extra few dollars a night were worth it. The photo of the sticker was taken in our room after it had been turned for the day, before we picked up our luggage and moved. I’d never felt compelled to write a review before, but the other bad reviews are right. The staff were super friendly, and I don’t mind an older hotel, but it still needs to be clean. The lobby offered free water, and afterward I wondered why. This was the dirtiest hotel I’ve ever stayed in. Strange white dust lined both edges of the hallways and puffed up when you scuffed your feet. The tops of the wooden room-number signs were thick with dust. The elevator lights barely worked, and most of the hallway lighting came from sunlight. The room was tiny and smelled musty and moldy. There was nowhere for more than two pieces of luggage. We put two open on the table and chairs, leaving just enough space to walk around, and by the middle of the first night I had a bad headache. I opened the blinds in the morning to see whether a window could be opened, but it couldn’t. The sills were full of black mold. The rug edges were horribly dirty and dusty, and it had suspicious dots around the refrigerator that I’m convinced may have been mold. The fridge was full of sticky yellow liquid. The walls had suspicious specks and scuffs that could easily have been cleaned. There was black mold between the shower tiles. You could tell because it wasn’t present in some areas. That morning, while still in the room, we chose a new hotel without knowing whether they’d let us check out early.