5-Star hotele w: Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan

This was my first time staying in a traditional Japanese hot spring hotel. Although I only stayed for one night, it was the hotel I was most satisfied with during my entire trip to Fukuoka. As the saying goes, ”knowing the details reveals the big picture”. Every furnishing in the hotel, from the electronic board on the wall, the hand soap container next to the washbasin, to the soft towels and exquisite tableware in the bathroom, all show the owner's taste and careful management. Breakfast and dinner were arranged in separate rooms of different styles, allowing us to enjoy the unique Japanese and Western styles in a limited time. The meals are prepared with care, rich in flavor, and made with fresh, authentic ingredients. When it started to rain after dinner, I checked the opening hours of the hotel courtyard, and the staff immediately and enthusiastically held an umbrella to take me to visit the closed courtyard. Finally, when we checked out, they helped us take photos at the entrance of the hotel. All of this made me feel the hotel's hard work and sincere service. The food standard was also quite high, making me look forward to staying here again.

The hotel staff barely spoke any English, so we had to rely on a translator to communicate. Checking in was a nightmare; they couldn't find our room, which took nearly half an hour. Then, when checking out, they gave us the wrong bill, for a different room, almost charging us an extra 4000 yen! I booked a triple room, but as the picture shows, only one bed was a proper bed, while the other two were makeshift cots. I wonder if this is standard for the hotel, or if we were just treated differently? All three of our rooms were also located near the elevators, which made them quite noisy! The rooms themselves were spacious, though. What was truly frustrating was how incredibly crowded the hotel was. The buffet breakfast could take an hour to queue for. On the bright side, there were three breakfast restaurants to choose from. The Pine buffet restaurant was the most popular, and it definitely lived up to the hype with its excellent quality and incredibly rich selection, far surpassing many buffets back home. Plus, you could eat until 1 PM. On our first day, we went at 11 AM and it was relatively empty, but on the second day, we went at 8 AM and queued for so long we questioned our life choices, so we switched to the Hyuga Kai (set meal) instead. Perhaps it was because it was the weekend, but there were queues everywhere, and the hotel was overflowing with people, mostly Japanese families with lots of children. We didn't go to the outdoor pool or hot springs because they were too crowded. There's a children's activity area on the third floor, but it costs extra. The hotel offers a shuttle bus to Miyazaki Station, but ridiculously, there are only three services a day, so most of the time you have to rely on taxis. The location is very remote, suitable for families with young children who want to stay at the hotel, or for those who have their own car! Just to add: No wonder Miyazaki is such an unpopular destination; the transportation is just too inconvenient. I won't be coming back here again.