Kohan no yado Kojima

The views across Lake Toya were excellent, and the service was good. Both breakfast and dinner were great. The room decor felt poor for USD280, though. We stayed one night with meals included because the rate was already so high for us. I’d suggest updating the room decor and offering more free soft drinks at dinner.

I enjoyed my two nights here. It’s centrally located along the lake, and during the April to May fireworks, we could see them clearly from our room. The onsens were nice, and I looked forward to breakfast each morning because there was a good selection.

The onsen was comfortable and well maintained, breakfast buffet was good, and the hotel’s free shuttle to Sapporo Station was useful. Those are the reasons I gave two stars. For the price, I got much less than I expected. The room was terrible: old, with a strange smell, and the air conditioner didn’t work properly. Dinner buffet was mediocre. Most staff couldn’t speak basic English, including the people answering the phone, and their gestures fell short of Japanese hotel standards. The stay was a big disappointment.

There was a power outage at the hotel, though it affected only the hotel. We waited more than four hours after arriving. Staff said they’d find us another place, but then claimed everywhere nearby was full, even though there was a hotel with vacancies. A man who seemed to be a manager acted poorly and showed little service sense, while a female staff member under him tried to help. He told her not to book the available hotel because it was expensive and the other places at similar prices were full. His facial expression and gestures were completely inappropriate. They probably thought we couldn’t understand their language. We couldn’t check in and couldn’t stay there all night without electricity. By midnight, nothing had been resolved, so we had to find another hotel ourselves. They couldn’t confirm whether we’d get a refund. In the end, we had to sort everything out on our own.