New Star Ikebukuro Hotel

The staff were good, the rooms had air conditioning, and it was close to the station. But both the rooms and hallways smelled of smoke.

The bathtub was the one thing that really bothered me. When I filled it, black stuff floated in the water. I'm not sure if it was from poor cleaning, since everything else looked properly clean. It cleared after about three days, but it grossed me out at first. I stayed around 10 nights in the smallest smoking room they offer. It did smell strongly of smoke, as expected, though I didn't mind. Opening the window during the day helped, and the air conditioning worked fine. The room had outlets, a TV, kettle, hair dryer, and fridge, but no microwave, so keep that in mind. It was my first trip to Japan, and I was comfortable here. The staff were really polite and friendly. Google Translate made the language barrier easy to manage, and one employee spoke some English. For what I paid for the length of my stay, it was a really good deal, so I won't nitpick the small things. Thanks for having me!

A handy, affordable place less than a 10-minute walk from Ikebukuro station. The staff are friendly, the rooms get cleaned daily, and there's a bathroom and WiFi. The website says there's breakfast, but there wasn't any. That's not a big deal, though, with so many places to eat nearby.

The second time I stayed here was the worst hotel experience I've ever had. It was another smoking room, but it looked like it hadn't been cleaned properly in a long time. Stains covered the chairs, bedsheet, lampshade, and area above the window. Smoke from another room kept coming through the bathroom vent, and the ceiling vent in the room was almost black. The bathroom smelled moldy, and the taps were a mess: some didn't work, one only ran while held slightly, and another was full blast and splashed everywhere. There were cobwebs and dust hanging from the ceiling, the wallpaper was peeling all over, and I was sneezing constantly. They also told us the air conditioning had been switched off and was only heating. It was a 25 degree day, the room was stuffy, and opening the window barely helped. After a few nights, I gave up, found another hotel, and left. My first stay was just okay. The service was friendly, and the smoking room was okay, even though we don't smoke. I've stayed in smoking rooms elsewhere that weren't bad. But having to leave the physical room key at the hotel all day was really annoying.