Hotel Varkin Annex

The room had a huge TV and really cool speakers, and there were tons of amenities. The bathroom facilities were amazing too.

I was on a non-smoking floor, but the room still smelled like old cigarettes, and housekeeping couldn't get rid of it. They didn't have another room for me to move to. The bed and pillows were too firm, and I woke up with a sore head and neck. Based on the room I got, I wouldn't recommend it. And yes, it is a love hotel, so you'll see guests coming and going.

Room 503 is a king room with an open-air tub. I'd requested non-smoking well ahead of check-in, and the hotel accommodated me. It was very clean, just as I'd hoped, and the bed was comfortable. Lighting could be adjusted from a panel by the bed, and there was even a disco ball in the ceiling. The bathroom layout worked well. The toilet was in its own space, separate from the sink, and the shower and tub were behind a glass door in another spacious area. The toilet was one of the newer Japanese models, with an automatic lid and other familiar features. There were lots of personal care items in both bathroom areas, including bath salts, several shampoos and conditioners, liquid soaps, mouthwash, and facial products. Both tubs had water jets and mood lighting. The outdoor shower also had a handheld wand, rainfall setting, and jets, and was very nice to use. Housekeeping left a couple of airline-sized ice creams in the freezer each day. Towels came wrapped in plastic, stored under the sink and by the folding glass door to the outdoor tub and shower. You could request partial or full cleaning by hanging the right sign on the door handle when heading out. The large smart TV connected to YouTube through a smartphone, Wi-Fi was good, and there was karaoke with speakers mounted high in the room. An electric massage chair was another nice extra. The AC had its own remote on the coffee table, but keeping the room at a steady temperature was tricky. It would get too hot or too cold, so I kept switching it on and off until things settled. There might have been a setting to make that easier, but I didn't spend time translating the Japanese buttons. The hotel is convenient for restaurants and shopping on both sides of Ikebukuro station. There's a Donki and a kombini nearby, and a pedestrian overpass makes it easy to get across the tracks and to the station's east side. By my standards, this was like a luxury hotel. It wasn't cheap, but as a vacation splurge and an occasional stay, it was more comfortable and enjoyable than an econo hotel room. I'm looking forward to coming back to Tokyo and staying here again. Since it's an adult hotel, you leave your key at the front desk when you go out and pick it up on return. Each time I collected it, I showed the guest invoice with the room number through the slot. Staff interaction is through a small counter slot for privacy. If you don't speak Japanese well, it's handy to have Google Translate ready on your phone. Thanks for the excellent service!

The location worked really well for getting around Tokyo, since Ikebukuro station is nearby. There are also four free parking spaces right in front of the hotel. The room was spacious, clean and comfortable, with a large bathtub bathroom and amenities. It had a sofa, fridge and hot water pot, and they welcomed us with complimentary ice cream. Everything was great.