M/W Hotel

The rooftop terrace attached to our room was a lovely place to sit and enjoy the breeze. We were on the fifth floor and had been told beforehand that the stairs only go up to the third, so that caused no trouble. There’s no luggage storage after checkout, but coin lockers nearby let us leave our bags and start sightseeing straight away. We came as a family and would like to try a different room next time we’re in Tokyo.

We liked the neighborhood restaurants and the subway was a seven-minute walk away, so we’d stay here again. Our 4F room had two bedrooms with sliding doors, a small living area with a dining table and TV, plus a window-side room with a little table and two chairs. That setup made the space seem larger than it was. The elevator stops at the third floor, so there’s a narrow flight of stairs to the fourth. There also seems to be a water pump on that floor, and it makes some noise when water is running. It didn’t ruin our stay.

Once we were settled, the location worked well: the train station and a konbini are about seven minutes away. But we rented the fifth floor for six people with lots of luggage, and getting there and leaving was a frustrating ordeal. There’s no staff member at the property. Help is mainly by Skype, and there’s no way to send bags directly there. The nearest Yamato courier is about seven minutes away. The elevator only reaches the third floor, so late arrivals have to carry luggage upstairs quietly or risk a noise complaint and a fine. The room itself was okay and generally clean, though there was some trash behind the headboards. We had two double beds and two mattresses for six people, but couldn’t find blankets for those using the mattresses. We stayed five nights and didn’t know how to take out the rubbish. The washing machine meant clean towels weren’t much of an issue. The bathroom was mostly clean too, apart from a rust stain near the mini heater. You have to shower in a particular way to avoid flooding it, something we found out the hard way. For our trip to the airport, Yamato needed two days’ notice and we’d missed that deadline. The help desk didn’t offer a useful alternative. We ended up taking a taxi using the gotaxi app, with one person and half the luggage, which cost $160, while we carried the rest to the airport ourselves.

The stay was unpleasant, and given the poor cleanliness and hospitality, I’d spend my money elsewhere. It was also noisy on the ground floor. The toilet leaked badly. There was a sign telling us how to shower, but water still spread across the bathroom and took a long time to drain. The floor felt dirty, and the toilet paper was lying on the wet floor. The room was listed for up to six people, but our group was three adults and a toddler. We used the extra bed, yet there were only two blankets, so one person had to sleep without one. The mattress had a terrible stain. The owner sent a long message asking us to put things back in order, warning there’d be a charge if the room wasn’t left as it had been. We were also told to sort the rubbish before checkout or face a charge. Those requirements should have been stated in the policies or booking listings before we booked, rather than after we’d checked in. Checkout was at 10 a.m. We hadn’t read the fine print, where it apparently says that, and asked the owner if we could leave at 11. The request was rejected right away, before we could explain. I don’t usually leave bad reviews, but this felt worth mentioning.