APA Hotel Asakusa Tawaramachi Ekimae
Tokyo
Recensioni
The check in process is mad. The hotel send a link to a website before you arrive then send a qr code to use at the self check in machines, to “save time”. But when you arrive everyone is in the same queue and everyone has to use the same self-check-in machines, whether or not they pre checked in. The machines ask for much of the same information you provided online. There were 3 staff helping people with the machines, which is nice but surely it would be better to design a good self-check in process so people who pre registered can check in easily without needing staff assistance? The fact so many staff are needed, to help with self check in, defeats the whole purpose of having pre registration and self check-in in the first place, which should be quicker and need less staff. The rooms are ok, small but well equipped, however they are dusty and smell of cigarettes. There are some strange stains on the curtains next to the bed and the controls for the lights and a/c are sticky. The elevators are ridiculous. Sometimes you queue for 15 minutes and when we asked if there were any stairs, we were told “no”. Location is good - next to subway.
This is not my favourite hotel. Before you arrive they will demand you complete online pre-check in, via a time consuming app and that you pre pay. You then receive a QR code, via email, that in theory you can use to check in via the fast lane self check in machines on arrival. (They also repeatedly sent us messages asking us to confirm our check on time threatening to give away our room if we did not reply- we had replied multiple times.) In reality we entered a small, crowded lobby where we had to queue behind people who were still doing their online check in on their phones. The staff will still make you queue behind these people and do not enforce the fast lane or ask the people who haven’t completed pre-check in stand aside. Then when you get to the check in machine you still have to type in much of the same information all over again to get your key, after scanning your QR code. The staff will help you but the whole thing is a waste of time since, if you did the online check in, you already provided this information. The lobby was very busy between 3 & 4.30 and the fact one machine was broken added to the chaos. The system might be less frustrating at quieter times and so I would recommend checking in after 4.30pm if you can. But you will still be asked for duplicate information. Once you get your room key, you go to the elevator and onto your room. When the doors to the elevator opened- we were travelling as a family- a drunk guest aggressively pushed us back into the elevator which he wanted to get in, as we were getting out. This was not the hotel’s fault but it did make us feel unsafe. The room itself is small (though this was to be expected) and my room stank of cigarettes, even though the hotel is supposed to have a non-smoking policy. The hotel clearly does not enforce the no smoking policy. They just say “sorry” a lot when you complain about the cigarette smell. Unlike most major western hotels they do not threaten fines or legal action for guests who smoke in the rooms. My room was dirty too, with large clusters of dust behind the bed and on the desk. We were told this was because of their eco cleaning policy which means they only clean rooms every 3 days unless you request it. That isn’t true, the room was dirty on arrival. It was also very warm. The hotel has central air conditioning, though there are fan controls in the rooms. My room was not a one off. I was travelling with others and their rooms smelt of cigarettes and were dusty too. The hotel did apologise and offer to change our rooms…to ones that were a bit cleaner and still smelt slightly of cigarettes but less strongly and with more air freshener masking the smell. Yes there are public baths at the hotel, which are ok, and the rooms are well equipped for their small size, with a good selection of bathroom amenities. There are a small number of laundry machines but there are also 2 coin operated laundromats nearby. Whilst this hotel is at the budget end of the scale it is not cheap. As someone who works in the hospitality industry and traveled to Japan many times, I am honestly shocked at the low standards at this hotel. Japan has some incredible hotels. Japan has some very good budget hotels. This is not one of them. This hotel is simply not very good. The location is ok but there are other hotels nearby. The hotel staff are generally polite and some try to help but they don’t seem to be empowered to do anything except say sorry a lot and reference the many hotel policies. A message for the manager: Training your staff to simply deliver a robotic “sorry”, in response to legitimate complaints from paying guests is not good service. I suspect you do not care as you are making money. But please try to do better. Train staff and empower them to help guests not just follow procedures. To other people researching this hotel, I strongly suggest staying somewhere else. I have stayed in many hotels in Japan. Quite a few of them cheaper than this hotel. But this APA Hotel is the worst.
I stayed here for majority of my two week trip in Japan. I was shocked just how small the single person bedroom was. I’m no stranger to Japan and I am a frequent traveler here so I’ve seen a fair amount of small rooms, but this one certainly wins the award for it. No space under the bed to place my luggage either. I take it this is largely because I was a solo traveler with a 1 bed bedroom. But still, would have preferred a slightly larger space. The size of the room would honestly not matter if it weren’t for some major issues with it, first (and perhaps the biggest issue) is just how insanely dusty the room was at all times. The bedsheets, the pillows, the desk, LITERALLY EVERYTHING had so much dust nearly 24/7. Simply looking up and you can see all the dust flying around in the room. My phone would collect so much dust on the screen, I would wipe it off and 10 minutes later it’s dusty again. If you have allergies like I do, you best request another room immediately because this room was a nightmare. It does not help that my specific room did not have the luxury to open the window, so it is essentially a coffin with a bed. It was a horrible time breathing in dry dusty air, I developed horrible nasal congestion and cough attacks when simply trying to rest after a long day. Second issue is the air conditioning, which uses a centralized system, not sure why we are using centralized AC in the mid 21st century, your room will either be too hot or too cold, AC controls seem to be for display only. The staff are nice people and I will give them credit where credit is due, especially the cleaning staff who clearly seemed very stressed from working. Just wish they could do something about this dust situation. This hotel also has one SINGLE washer/dryer for the entirety of the hotel, good luck fighting others for your turn to use it, better off using the coin laundry’s nearby. Lastly, the hotel honestly needs more elevators, it felt like the elevators were always full or always had many people waiting for it throughout majority of the day. In conclusion, I would not recommend staying at this hotel, especially if you have respiratory issues like I do. There are other alternatives to which would provide a much better experience overall.
Exceeded my expectations. Room was very clean and there was enough toiletries to last me for days. They give you fresh towels and robes even when you don’t ask for room cleaning. The staff at the reception and housekeeping were very friendly. There’s also an early check-in option with a minimal fee and the express check out is really a time saver. They also have an ice machine at the top floor and there’s also a sento, separate for men and women. The only downside is that the sento is so good, so many people lounge there even up to midnight. Will definitely book again.
