APA Hotel Kobe-Sannomiya

The location of this 14-storey hotel is superb, just 5 mins walk from JR Sannomiya station, although during the period I stayed, there was some road work which caused me to detour. But even if making use of the 2F linkway, it can still be considered barrier free. Getting to Portliner station (for Kobe Airport) is also barrier free. There are airport bus stop for both Kobe airport and KIX near Sannomiya station, and express bus stop for USJ, as well as other major cities in Japan. There are a couple of supermarkets nearby, and even more convenience stores and a few restaurants round the corner. That said, staying near Sannomiya station has no worry looking for food. I got a non-smoking single room, and as anticipated, the room is very small. But APA make use of bed with higher footing, so luggage can be shoved under the bed, but opening a large luggage entirely will be challenging. One thing great about APA is, they offer certain VOD free of charge, and the wall-mount 50" Toshiba Regza TV was an absolute joy to catch a movie or two. I notice the remote controls (for TV and aircon) are all wrapped in plastic, presumably for ease of cleaning? There are not many power sockets, but should be enough for a single room, though I find it amusing the power sockets on the table cannot plug in hairdryer and kettle at the same time, or else may cause power trip. The bed has two pillows, and is absolutely comfortable to sleep. But the bath tub is short on length, not so comfortable for a bath. Only 1 coin laundry machine is available for 500 Yen per wash, a little pricey comparing to most other hotels, and I was lucky I did not have to wait to use it, detergent not required. After washing, if need to dry your clothing, it's 100 Yen for every 20 minutes. It took me 2 session to dry my clothing, and I didn't wash a lot. Ice machine and microwave oven are also available on 2F. Wifi connection intermittent. I would only recommend if price is cheap.

Apa hotels are rated differently based on location because the rooms are almost identical. You need to walk here for about five minutes from Sannomiya Station. There are many convenience stores and food shops around, which is very helpful. The rooms and bathrooms are as small as the others, but I feel like the TV is even bigger here. My neck is tired to watch. There are also no public baths, and restaurants are closed. Therefore, there is no breakfast service.

Not luxurious, basic bed and breakfast, bur very small rooms. Located very close to the Sannomiya Metro only 5 minutes walk from the hotel. Doesn't have 24 hour restaurant, rooms are very clean and towels are changed on daily basis,