Okura Hotel Marugame

In mid-April 2026, I stayed at this hotel during a two-night, three-day trip to Kagawa Prefecture. The following day I was planning to attend the Shikoku Konpira Kabuki performances in Kotohira, and since I also wanted to visit Marugame Castle in the morning, I chose this hotel rather than staying in central Takamatsu. I arrived by rental car from the airport. The hotel is located a little outside the center of Marugame, close to the sea, and was easy to find. The parking lot was spacious, and check-in was smooth. I had been informed at the time of booking that the restaurant was temporarily closed, so I had to drive to a nearby shopping mall for dinner. What surprised me slightly was how modern and large the building was—comparable in scale to a major business hotel in a large city. The hotel does serve breakfast, but when I tried to reserve it, I was told it was already fully booked. There were also several large buses parked outside, and the hotel seemed to be used quite frequently by overseas tour groups. I stayed in a twin room, and both the room itself and the amenities were perfectly satisfactory. The hotel is located near a boat-racing arena, and at times I could hear the sound of the boats, though it was never unbearable. Although the hotel is geographically close to the sea, it does not really feel like a waterfront resort location. Staff interaction was limited apart from check-in and check-out, but the front desk staff were courteous, and a staff member immediately approached me when noticing I was about to check out, which left a favorable impression. Personally, I prefer avoiding city-center hotels when traveling by car, especially in a prefecture like Kagawa where having a car greatly improves mobility and parking in city centers can be inconvenient. Viewed from that perspective, this hotel offered very good value for money, and I would consider staying here again.

The hotel was located away from Marugame Station, right next to the racecourse. The facility was old. The breakfast buffet was rather small in number, which showed that it was being saved. It said there was a hotel bus that would take us to the station, so I returned the rental car, but it didn't. Anything, they say, doesn't run on Sundays because it's closed. Oh. Isn't it because there are so many customers on holidays?　It was a disappointing hotel in many ways.

They say the hotel here is not air-conditioned. I'm aware that I want to be hot and air conditioned, like after a bath, but I just want to be patient because I can't use it. Even though it is a "hotel", you cannot rest at all in a hotel that does not have air conditioning. This hotel was always said to be in that state. It was my fourth hotel in Shikoku, but it was the only one that didn't have air conditioning.