[Hotel Review] Hotel Oriental Express Fukuoka Nakasu Kawabata

On By Satu KosongIn Fukuoka, Japan, Oriental Express, Oriental Hotels

Fukuoka Fanfare:

This seemed like a logical choice of accommodation after the 3-night money burning splurge at RC. I also explored many other local branded properties before settling on this one as the small selection of international chains in the city like Hyatt, Hilton, and Crown Plaza are terribly old which I didn’t prefer.

Address – 6-26, Tenyamachi, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka-shi, Fukuoka 812-0025. Website.

Contact – Tel: +81-92-409-1476. Email: east.reservation@hmjkk.co.jp.

Location – This seemingly budget property lies a few mins walk from Nakasu Kawabata Station which is the intersection of two subway lines in the city. It is also kind of walking distance to the Canal City Hakata via a mostly sheltered walkway of the Kawabata shopping arcade but it can feel like quite abit of a walk due to the meandering pathways to get there.

Price – SGD$350nett for 3nights a Superior Double Room (1pax) + SGD$750nett for 3nights in a Deluxe Twin Room (2pax) booked via Trip.com – seemed decent given that the price includes breakfast. Getting one room for all 3pax would have cost us cheaper but 3pax fighting for space with 5x luggage is not my ideal of a relaxing holiday for sure.

Pre-arrival – I reached out to request for a connecting room or rooms close to each other as much as possible and the hotel rep responded rather quickly to confirm receipt of the request.

Check In – We arrived to an empty lobby from Ritz via taxi around 3pm and was attended to immediately. The lobby actually was quite nice although small, fronted by a Japanese warrior statue of sorts which was great for photo taking.

The check in counters aside, there were complimentary self-service wine for guests between 3:00pm-11:00pm and a coffee machine from 6:30am-11:00pm which I thought were nice offering for a local hotel. There is even a photo booth which can print out simple pics for memory sake but also gets you a 10% discount on a certain “Cafe Crosspoint” which I assume was a sister cafe of sorts.

Amenities for guests are also laid out on counters for self service if need be but also quite bare bones and nothing fancy. I later found out that the hotel also provides skincare sachets but maybe it’s only upon request – I only found out coz I spied some across from the front desk and asked about it.

They found our bookings with no issues and requested for “deposit” for the room not paid for (the other one was prepaid online at the point of booking). I asked a few times to confirm that the swipe is just a deposit and not payment as I wanted to make payment with the correct credit card at check out. They said yes.

Room – I was in the Deluxe Twin (30SqM), Room 1117, and when I opened the door, was so glad that I paid more for space as the room turned out to be just enough for 2pax so I shudder to think of the smaller 2pax rooms they had – surely not enough for 2pax + 4 luggage? I fail to comprehen the choice of colors for the room though as the dull tones made the space feel older than it is – a property only 3yo old should not look like this!

Anyhow, the room opens up to a little walkway with a small wardrobe to the right followed by a luggage rack / space. Placed inside the wardrobe are a handful of hangers and a set of pajamas which didn’t look like something I wanted to try to wear.

Right along this spot is the somewhat living area with a sofa + 2 chairs + coffee table, with the mini bar and TV console adjacent to it. Everything was adequate though basic.

The twin beds were placed against each side of the wall, creating a narrow walkway in between which made movements for 2pax easier. A common bedside table mounted on the wall in between provides lighting controls and charging points (both 2-pin and USB).

The bathroom was a little tight for 2pax but at least it had separate shower tub and toilet spaces, alongside 1 sink with limited countertop spaces.

I also took a peek at the Superior Double (16SqM) and it was adequate for 1pax with luggage which I wouldn’t have minded booking if I were solo.

Housekeeping here has an interesting “eco” concept where each room has 3 magnetic buttons for you to place outside the door to indicate your choice of housekeeping every day: Do Not Disturb (don’t need to enter the room), Ecology (towel change only), Please Make Up The Room (full housekeeping). Fun concept I must say

Breakfast – Breakfast is served at the only F&B the hotel has, from 7:00am-9:30am, at the lobby space. It’s a simple set up of tables and chairs enough to accommodate perhaps 50pax and super busy right from the start time due to several tour groups getting some food before they head out so the space actually empties out quite fast too.

I was actually very impressed with the spread given how small the space is. The small selection is high quality and sees a mix of salads, cold and hot fish dishes, miso soup, eggs, cold apps, and carbs and porridge. A very refreshing change from international spreads and certainly something I would pay for.

Facilities – these are located on level 11 and are not big by any means but I thought they were adequate. The Fitness Gym (24hrs) which is only 28.65SqM but hey, got rower, and something I made of every morning, even though I was shocked to see it busy at 630am one morning. My room was literally 5 steps away from the gym so no excuses.

There is also a small room on the same level just a few doors away holding a coin-operated laundromat and vending machine which works well as the room themselves don’t come with complimentary drinking water.

Service – I wasn’t sure if it was a language barrier thingy but I had a slightly frustrating experience with their service, and these are the things that make me miss staying at international chains.

Remember the ‘deposit’ they took at check in? I wanted to settle the payment the night before as I had to leave the property at 6am the next day and turns out, the deposit they took WAS the payment. So I lost a sizeable bunch of miles because of this and it was frustrating because the team of 3 basically stoically just said payment has been made, full stop. No apology about the miscommunication.

We also asked about any alternatives for breakfast on our departure day as we had breakfast included in the room rate but had to leave at 6am on our last day. Most international chain hotels offer a takeaway box in lieu but nope, nothing of that sort here. We were told because the staff has specific start work timings and our timing was too early for anything to be prepared. I didn’t get it as breakfast officially starts only at 7:00am so I would assume by 6am there will be staff prepping/cooking, no? I guess not.

Lastly, we pre-arranged a taxi to leave at 6am for the airport for our depart day and on the morning itself, we reached the lobby 10mins earlier as advised and the staff on duty told us to wait at the lobby and a car would come. I asked her if she had the car plate number we should be looking out for since its a pre-arrangement – to which she simply shrugged, said “I don’t know” and went about her stuff.

For anyone else who intends to stay here, please moderate your expectations of what is defined as ‘service’. BY A LOT.

Check Out – Not quite the seamless process I was hoping for with the hiccups and miscomm but it is what it is. Ah wells.

In Summary,

An okay stay with great breakfast but poor service. I would probably categorize this as a serviceable stay at best.

And since this property is not a major chain, I would recommend checking out other OTA to compare prices before booking. I’m a creature of habit so usually go with Trip.com but Klook could also have similar deals too.

Klook.com

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