Tokyo Sakurako Hatchobori

The staff were friendly, changed the bedding, and offered clean towels and bathroom amenities at reception. I appreciated those gestures, but they didn’t make up for the condition of the room. Dust covered the corners, and there were stains on the carpet and walls. The bathroom had a strong urine smell, with hair and other unpleasant things around the toilet. It looked like it hadn’t been cleaned properly in a long time. I asked to check out because I wanted to leave, but reception said there would be no refund. I reported the bathroom problem and was told it would be handled. Nine days later, nothing had changed. My stay at Hatchobori Hotel was a huge letdown, and I won’t return. If cleanliness and comfort matter to you, I’d look elsewhere.

We spent four nights here and regretted booking it. The construction at the neighboring building caused constant noise and tremors from 8 am to 6 pm. Before check-in we’d received an email warning of daytime construction from 10 am to 6 pm. The manager said it was 9 am to 6 pm, but when we raised the mismatch, he became defensive. He responded with “what do you want?” again. We asked about leaving early and possibly getting a partial refund. He seemed pleased and said we could leave, but he wouldn’t refund anything. Later, he asked why we hadn’t left. The room also wasn’t clean. There was dust and tiny debris on the wooden seat by the window, something sticky like glue on the toilet seat, and hair in the refrigerator. The windows were dirty, the carpet stained, and the corners dusty too. When I went downstairs to ask the manager for a mop cloth, he blamed me and said my standards were too high. He asked if I was a professional cleaner and whether I had problems with every hotel. He seemed ready to pick a fight and kept denying responsibility. I can’t understand all the positive reviews. We’d read them and expected a nice hotel, but were badly mistaken. I’d tell people to stay away.

I won’t return. The male hotel manager was rude and racist in how he treated us. We checked out on 31/7, and my friend had asked staff online whether we could leave our luggage at reception until closing time because our flight was at night and we wanted to shop. They said yes. I came back around 15:00 to get my small suitcase so I could pack the things I’d just bought. Two Japanese guests were sitting at reception, and the manager was speaking to them politely. After they left, he pushed the rest of our luggage out, saying it would affect check-ins. Nobody checked in while I was there, and he left the bags by the main door, where I thought they would get in people’s way. I said okay and kept packing. He came out from behind the desk to check on me. My friend arrived, and we sat down for a snack because I hadn’t had lunch. My friend booked a taxi. Before leaving, we asked if we could leave two small bags of rubbish, one general and one recycling. He took the general rubbish, said, “this is not a restaurant,” and refused the recycling bag. I found a bin just around the corner myself. While we waited for the taxi, he came over and said, “this is not a library, this is no good. This is not the place you should stay.” I asked why we couldn’t wait there. He said checkout was at 10 am and we shouldn’t leave rubbish after checkout. I told him several times we were leaving, but he kept repeating himself. I would have taught him a lesson about customer service and manners if I hadn’t been rushing to catch my flight. I strongly recommend choosing somewhere else if you can. Next door is under construction, with ongoing noise every day after 9 am.

The location was nice, and I slept well during my stay. The kitchen, bathroom, and shower setup felt cramped, but I could manage. Construction is ongoing and might be noisy if you sleep in. It didn’t bother me since I was up around 4 or 5 am.