Hotel Areaone Fukuyama

I know hotel rooms are small in Japan but there has to be a limit and this hotel crosses that limit. The "double room" would be okay for one person but the bed is just too small for two. Perhaps AreaOne refers to a one square metre bed? Bathroom is quite ok and staff are their usual polite and helpful self. Location is nice and close to the station and relativity quiet.

I spent 3 nights in the Area One Hotel while visiting friends in Fukuyama and was quite impressed for the price I paid and previous experiences of Japanese business hotels. I had booked an 'outlet room' for the first 2 nights of my stay and a regular priced room for the last night, assuming that the outlet price was a promotional price and not a different room. Upon arrival however, I was told that I would have to change rooms for my last night. It was all made easy for me by the staff though and I just went out leaving my packed suitcase at reception and came back to find my things had been taken to my new room. There was absolutely no difference between the rooms other than the floor! The outlet room was the only room on the ground floor, but despite what other reviewers have said about this room, I found it to be just as quiet as the room on a higher floor. Breakfast was good with a nice selection of breads and croissants in addition to Japanese breakfast dishes and the vending machine gave free hot and cold drinks during breakfast time. The hotel is in a good central location a few minutes walk from the railway station. It is clean and well maintained and the staff are helpful and friendly despite speaking very little English (common throughout Fukuyama). There is also free wifi throughout the hotel.

The free breakfast was wonderful! Very rare for budget business hotels. We had the choice of Japanese and western style foods to chose from. Free coffee from the vending machine during breakfast hours too, so not sure about previous review. Rooms comfy, clean and well equipped and staff were lovely and friendly. Fukuyama was a nice place to relax for a couple of days with not many tourists and the hotel was in a great location