Diamond Setouchi Marine Hotel

Stayed at the hotel when there is national holiday, so there were lot of families with kids. The deco was kind of dated but the staff were friendly and helpful. The buffet breakfast and dinner offered quite a variety but did not change day to day. Overall it was good, though not quite impressive.

The drive to this hotel is really lovely, travelling through quaint villages and along the coastline and pass lots of local fishing vessels. The hotel itself is positioned on a lovely beach with excellent walkway along the coast. It has a small, sweet chapel next door with a beautiful outlook over the water and golden sand beach. The hotel has a large lobby with a good sized convenience store plus vending machines on the ground level. The check-in desk is quite large too. There was a lovely display of Japanese dolls in the lobby area at our time of arrival. The lifts to the rooms were quite fast and big enough for a few guests to enter with their luggage. Unfortunately this hotel is very dated - it is tired and needs a good renovation. Our room was a good size - not overly large but sufficient. Upon entering our room you immediately smelt a musk smell. We had a balcony and we immediately opened it to get some fresh air into the room. We later noticed a sign requesting that the balcony door not to be opened and not to go out onto the balcony, it was only to be used as an emergency. This is a pity, as it would have been nice to have sat on the balcony with a drink and appreciate the wonderful that we had. Unfortunately the quality of the towels in our room were like rags - very poor quality. We would have liked something a bit bigger and thicker to use. The hotel did supply beautiful quality yukata's that we wore to dinner. Our evening meal was very pleasant - plenty of good tasting Japanese food. The staff did struggle a little bit with speaking English, although they were very pleasant. Breakfast the next day was buffet style and it was difficult to find a table to eat at, the queue into the restaurant was long and you immediately get your food before finding a table. Many of the guests needed to share a table with others - something that some people do not like to do. (perhaps an overflow area would have been good to set up). We found that breakfast, even though Western style wasn't the best. However, do have an orange as they are very tasteful. The location is great but if we return, we may look for somewhere else to stay.

We stayed in a Japanese room with hill view and tatami mat. Despite its tired interiors, its cleanliness and services are both commendable. If you want a seaside break, or if you go to the theme park nearby and want to avoid travelling a long way to and from a hotel in the city, this hotel is a good choice for an overnight stay. What's more, it is equipped with an onsen, which is not as hot as many others I have tried. The onsen serves not just hotel guests but also walk-in guests. We were happy with the services. The front office staff gave us a warm welcome and escorted us to the room, and provided us with assistance in calling cabs. They do operates a free shuttle bus twice a day to and from Kojima JR station. But you need to book your seats THREE days in advance. They rejected my booking as I tried to do so 2 days in advance of my stay. Interestingly enough, they are not very flexible in this aspect. I then figured out that a bus that departs every half an hour at Okayama JR (bus stand no 2) takes you directly to the hotel front door, which is easy and comfortable.