Tokyo Guest House 2020

We needed somewhere urgently and had no real alternative, so we paid a lot for two nights. Agoda said meals were included in what I paid for my child and me. When I asked the hosts, they told us to buy our own food at a convenience store. To me, that was false advertising. It took more than a week and many messages to get our money back, and I still haven't received compensation for the inconvenience. The male owner made his political views known to guests in an aggressive way. When I disagreed, he became unkind and off-putting, and I felt unwelcome and poorly treated. His treatment of guests seemed uneven. His wife offered some guests coffee or tea in the morning, but I wasn't offered any. Two guests from China checked in with us, and he made disrespectful, rude comments about China's president. It was unnecessary and unprofessional. I'm not Chinese, but I felt I was treated badly for not agreeing with his politics. The shower was boiling hot and there was no way to adjust the temperature, so my child couldn't take a proper shower. The female owner said a bath would cost 300 yen, so we couldn't use that option. If bathing had been included in the price, which was supposed to include meals that weren't provided, I could have filled the very small half tub and let the water cool enough for my child. The mattress was sunken. These owners went out of their way to help a foreign male guest buy a Japanese phone. I guess he pleased their political bias enough to get that kindness. If kindness is conditional, it isn't kindness. I hope they treat other guests better than they treated us.

We'd booked and paid for four nights in advance, but when we arrived the owner said the place was overbooked and there was no room for us. We'd spent 24 hours on our feet with very little sleep, then traveled an hour from the airport, only to find out at the property. The owner offered an alternative hostel for one night, another hour away and more than an hour and a half from central Tokio. That made no sense to us. We had to find somewhere else at the last minute on a Saturday afternoon during a long weekend, when there weren't many choices. The new place cost us an extra 27 000 yen, and we lost two hours for no reason. Our plans for that first evening in Tokio had to be canceled. Why couldn't he have canceled our booking earlier? It felt very unfair. It took over a week and a lot of messages to get our money back. To this day, there's been no compensation for the trouble he caused us.

We stayed three nights and were very happy. Friendly old uncle Tom and auntie were so welcoming, and the place was well equipped. We'd definitely stay again on a visit.

The owners are so friendly and clearly know how to run a business. They live right there, too. It’s a quiet, nice part of town, with plenty of rooms and a welcoming host, and the basics are covered. Just don’t expect Ritz-Carlton looks or service.