Oval Tokyo Yotsuya

Room for clothes was limited, and leaving a big suitcase open made it hard to move around. That’s why I’m giving four stars, even though we had a great stay. The room was quiet and the bed comfortable. Staff were welcoming, and two spacious elevators served the guest floors. They also kept our luggage after checkout. The buffet breakfast downstairs was great, with different things to choose from. Several JR and Tokyo Metro lines are nearby, and Shinjuku was an easy trip of under 20 minutes.

There’s a train station nearby and the location is good. Rooms are relatively spacious, which is a real plus when hotels in Japan are often tiny. One tip: skip breakfast. After three weeks of travel around Japan, it was the worst hotel breakfast I’d had. There’s a nearby 7-Eleven, plus plenty of neighborhood cafés.

Yotsuya Station is easy to reach, and there’s a konbini open 24/7 within walking distance. The room is fairly small. I was disappointed by the bathroom: instead of a shower screen, there’s only a see-through glass door. That might be fine if you’re staying alone, but it doesn’t work well when travelling with others. A proper shower screen would make a big difference.

The breakfast spread was good, but going downstairs for an evening meal was a terrible experience. I was staying at the hotel and only wanted a quick meal, yet waited 15 minutes before anyone attended to me. The service staff seemed unable to handle the crowd. It looked like Ms Eliza was the only person handling guests, and she didn’t seem to know how to attend to people. I’m very sorry to say the service was terribly disappointing. After being served so badly in Japan, I’ll have to reconsider staying here again. I regret it and feel so bad about it.