Mitsui Garden Hotel Hiroshima

The check-in experience was 5-star as the female front desk personnel was absolute courteous and professional. She explained thoroughly on the guest information. This hotel was probably built in early 1990s and it has been undergoing partial refurbishments. The corridors and the room doors on 23/F were recently refurbished but the design was not my taste. Going inside the room, all the wall papers were either stained or severely damaged and together with the bathroom which were in the original state. Nonetheless, the bathtub was really dirty and mould has been growing on the exterior of the bathtub and the toilet seat was tiny. On the other hand, the wood ware, carpet, the head board of the bed and the wall papers adjacent to the bed were recently done. Regrettably, I do not think it’s a wise idea to partially refurbish the room like that as the outcome was not at all satisfactory. The cleanliness of the bathroom should be improved and have all the mould removed. The guest lounge on the top floor was open to all guests serving non-alcoholic drinks, snacks and desert.

I stayed for four nights in a Standard Queen Room which had a large, comfortable bed, a small table, a one-seater lounge/window seat, and also a desk and chair below the TV, which was great as many Mitsui Garden Hotel rooms don't have desks. I had to book a smoking room as non-smoking of the same size weren't available, but I didn't smell tobacco at all. The highlight was the most wonderful view of the city and mountains - one of the nicest views I had during my most recent trip. There was a lovely deep bath but bathroom bench space was limited and partly blocked by the toilet. I liked the cute old-fashioned soap holders. There weren't any complimentary toiletries or bath salts. Towels were thin and small but quite absorbent. It was good to have a retractable clothes line. The room had an electric jug, 2 cups, 2 glasses and green tea bags. Free snacks and drinks were available on an upper floor but I think they had to be consumed there rather than brought back to the room. The WiFi worked well. Housekeeping was good except that the writing paper wasn't replaced. I was impressed that the hotel had irons, ironing boards and pants presses on every guest floor near the lifts. There was a good variety of choices at breakfast and everything was fresh, well-cooked and tasty. Staff were helpful and anxious to do well with a couple of exceptions. The young man who checked me in showed no concern about my forwarded luggage which seemingly hadn't arrived, and didn't offer to follow up for me. (It arrived safely later in the day.) And one morning I went to breakfast late, at 9.30. I knew the breakfast room closed at 10 as I'd been informed upon checking in, it was in the written info I received, and I was also told when I entered the breakfast room. I had no intention of staying any later. However at about 9.53 when I had a couple of bites and a quarter cup of juice to finish I decided to take a phone photo through the window. This led a female staff member to come over and officiously warn me that they would be closing at 10. The photo had taken all of five seconds to do. Despite the delay caused by the unnecessary intervention, by 9.58 I had left and was waiting for the lift. This was a trivial thing but it does change a guest's mood when someone behaves like they're doing the wrong thing. The location was convenient in that major sights like the Peace Park (with the Peace Museum, Atomic Bomb Dome and other memorials), Hiroshima Castle and Shukkeien garden were all within reasonable walking distance. The Peace Park was the closest. There were also shops and eateries nearby. It took about 30 minutes to walk to the JR Station. Overall it was a pleasant stay, and good value.

Nice hotel well located. Very cramped rooms, very good breakfast... no gym, no lounge.