Prince Smart Inn Ebisu

The staff were polite and seemed to want to help, but it felt like their hands were tied. Breakfast was pretty good, and the room size was okay. The plugs by the bed don't work well with wider plugs. The hotel was clean, as you'd expect from a Japanese hotel, but it was a pretty middling experience for us. The neighborhood is nice, not too busy, with lots of food options and easy access to Ebisu Station after a short walk. Just know that the walk back up from the station is uphill. We found the room layout and amenities lacking. There was a lot of bare wall, but few places to hang things to dry or keep them off the limited counter space. Even a 100yen hook from Daiso could have helped. A curtain separates the bathroom area from the bed, which doesn't work well for more than one guest. Not every room has a bathtub, and you can't request one, so this isn't the place if you want to relax in a tub with the bath salts or bath bombs sold around Japan. The room had shampoo, body wash, and conditioner, but no cups, kettle, or toothbrushes. Some basic hotel services were missing too. They only store luggage for guests checking in or already checked in. For pre-check-in storage, there are lockers on a first-come, first-served basis, with limited room for large bags. Ask ahead what happens if the large lockers are full, especially if your bag is bigger than a carry-on. They also won't call a taxi for you and instead point you to an app you can't sign up for without a phone number. Uber works in Japan, but it classifies larger taxis as premium vehicles, which cost noticeably more than calling one directly. Luggage forwarding can help, but getting to the airport with large bags means paying fees, since the suggested services require a phone number. Planning ahead helps with all of this. We'd stayed at four other Japanese hotels, including during extensive travel across multiple countries, and were surprised these services weren't available. They also provide just one free bottle of water on check-in day, even though the hotel's water isn't potable, and there's no kettle. If you need water, buy it at a konbini.

The comfortable beds and room size worked well for one person, and the hotel is in a fairly quiet area. But the lack of luggage storage after checkout made my day stressful and wasted my time. I had a medium and a large suitcase because I was heading to another country after this trip. When I asked staff at checkout to store them, the employee showed me a Google Translate message saying the website stated they don't keep luggage after checkout and I should use the coin lockers at Ebisu station. The lobby lockers are only for guests checking in that day. I felt like I stopped being a customer as soon as I'd checked out. I spent the next couple of hours before my flight trying to work out where to put my bags. One star for the inconvenience. I wish I'd read the Google reviews before booking. On Expedia, I saw a quiet, convenient location and a price within my budget, but I missed the reviews mentioning that luggage isn't stored after checkout. If you stay here, make a plan for your bags unless you're leaving the area right away. For one person, the bathroom setup was fine: the sink is outside, and the small bathroom has only the shower. I mention it in case you're traveling with someone and need privacy while changing.

There are lots of food choices and convenience stores nearby, and I liked the ham and cheese sandwich at breakfast. Ebisu Station is about an eight-minute walk away. A few things didn't work for me: they give each person just one bottle of water on the first day, with no refills each day, and there are no hot water dispensers. I badly wanted hot water for my late-night cup noodles. The curtains aren't blackout ones either, so the sun woke me up at 5 AM.

The location is very good, about six to eight minutes on foot from Ebisu station, where you can get the JR line and Hibiya Subway line. There are plenty of restaurants nearby too. The room was okay for a solo stay, with a good pillow and a roomy shower. Like many newer hotel rooms, the sink is separate from the bathroom. There was decent open space, but almost nowhere for clothes: just a couple of hooks with hangers, not enough for a longer stay. There's no airpot either. It's a self-service hotel. Check-in is quick if you've entered your details in advance: scan your passport, get the key, and you're done. At my check-in, a staff member handed me a bottle of water, but I saw other guests check in when no staff were around and get none. They don't replace the water during room cleaning. Check-out was even faster, just tap the button and drop in your room card. Daily cleaning was okay: they emptied the trash, changed towels, and straightened the sheets and pillow. I did spot little bits on the rug that were there when I arrived. Maybe it looked clean so they skipped vacuuming, no big deal.