Route Inn Grantia Dazaifu

We had a huge room. There could easily have been six people sleeping in there. But the bathroom was extremely small. Unfortunately, I could not use the air conditioning system due to a lack of Japanese skills. In my room, some steps led to the room. Bad for people with mobility impairments. You also need to know that the hotel is in the flight path for Fukuoka airport. The planes are still quite high here and hardly audible. The staff were very friendly and helpful.

This is a wonderful hotel to stay at, especially if you dive in and stay in the Japanese rooms. I have read reviews about American's not liking the hard mattresses (not just this hotel). Why would you come all the way to Japan and then stay in a western room? We went for a larger traditional room and it was a fun adventure - sort of like a slumber party (traveled with family). The traditional rooms have mats that are put away during the day. I used two mats - they are thin & that was the solution for my bad back. If they don't have an extra, just ask. The rooms smell wonderful with the reed mattresses. The restaurant serves great food, as long as you figure out what you like in Japanese cuisine. Udon noodles & sushi are always good choices. The view from the restaurant is scenic - the restaurant is set on the side of the mountain looking over the city. The public bath rooms are popular with the local populace, so I used it during working times so it was not crowded. There is a free shuttle from the train station so it is easy to get around without taxi or vehicle. The hotel does not always have an English speaker on staff so have your reservation printed out. Would be good to have a few stock phrases written down or a phrase book with you. They are very customer service oriented and will make every effort to take care of you.

I really want to give this hotel 5/5 stars but there were quite a few issues that came up during our stay. All in all, I loved this place and would highly recommend staying here! I wouldn't recommend walking to the hotel from Dazaifu station since the hotel is located uphill along narrow streets. However, they do have a complimentary shuttle service that goes to and from the station every 30min. As for the hotel, first of all, we were given an upgrade to a gorgeous and spacious western-style room that has its own tatami room. They gave us the upgrade without notifying us due to their limited English (not that we were complaining) but it turned out that the room was only available for one night and we had booked for two. So they gave us a choice between staying in a Japanese style or western style room for our second night. We asked to see the rooms but they were only able to show us the Japanese style room (which was quite small) so we opted for the the western. The second room we stayed at turned out to be much larger than the first!!!! But the second room had a faulty lamp, a smaller fridge than the first room, and the hot water in the shower wasn't working..... Fortunately for us, none of that was a major concern since we used (and highly enjoyed) the indoor and outdoor public baths located on the ground floor. Also, what we really enjoyed about this hotel was their manga room on the second floor! Although we don't read Japanese, we really liked browsing their extensive collection and looking at the pictures. Finally, they have complimentary breakfast which is quite good but is tailored to Japanese taste buds. The restaurant offers decent food during dinner (we ate there both nights). I recommend ordering their hotpot, which also seems to be a popular item among the local tourists