Tabist Hotel Florida Ikebukuro

The room had more space than I expected. Staff kept to themselves, but were available if you needed help. There are at least two supermarkets nearby, and the shopping mall is less than a 10-minute walk away.

The location is about the only thing that deserves a star, and even then it didn’t seem much better than other places nearby. I wouldn’t recommend staying here. My room may have been one of the cheaper ones, but the rooms we glimpsed while staff were cleaning didn’t look much better. Paying more also seems hard to justify, since the cost gets close to much better hotels in the area. The rooms felt old and neglected, and there weren’t any amenities in them. Those were kept in the lobby, where you had to pour them into cups and carry them upstairs. In the last few days of my stay, there were used tissues in a corner that looked as if nobody had cleaned there since we arrived on the first day. Check the photos. It was the worst experience I’ve had in Japan.

The room didn’t match the pictures, and several listed amenities weren’t there. The toilet was broken and wouldn’t flush, wall sockets were broken, and the wallpaper was stained and peeling. There was also a strange smell, and the room felt outdated and musty. The TV screen had already been damaged before we arrived. Our room was downstairs in the basement, where a loud rumble came through whenever someone showered upstairs. The front desk advertised free Wi-Fi, but it didn’t reach our room. It’s cheap and near the station, but I was very disappointed and didn’t feel it was worth it.

The room is small, but comfortable enough for sleeping, and they brought us welcome water after check-in. There’s no bidet in the toilet. The price is affordable, and the hotel is tourist-friendly, with a handy location close to Ikebukuro Station. If you’re Muslim and looking for halal food, there are lots of halal restaurants around.