I enjoyed our stay at this modern hotel, and would not hesitate to recommend or return. The photos don't do it justice. This is a beautiful hotel with tatami throughout. The top floor spa is lovely, and includes the afternoon treat of ice cream bars and fruit pops. In addition, there is a laundry in both the men's and women's spas with complimentary washer and a reasonable cost for dryers. Our Standard King corner room was large, and included a comfortable seating area, and windows on two sides. There was good lighting and handy bedside tables. The only complaint is that the pillows were exceptionally hard. The vanity was adequate, with a somewhat small shower, but we used the spa to shower so it was not an issue. The breakfast was expensive compared to other hotel breakfasts we had on this trip, but the offerings were plentiful, and a big draw seemed to be the tempura shrimp and vegetables. The location is fairly close to both train stations, with nearby bus lines and many restaurants.
The hotel is equidistant from JR Matsue Station and Matsue Shinjiko Onsen Station run by the Ichibata Electric Railway. Both these stations are around 1.1km away. The latter we used to travel to Izumo and the Vogel Park.
You are asked to take your shoes off when entering to avoid damaging the tatami flooring that runs throughout the hotel. Shoes can be kept in individual lockers.
The decor is modern with a blend of traditional Japanese design. We stayed in a Queen Room which was finished to a high standard and well maintained. The pyjamas were very comfortable, and guests were free to wear them throughout the hotel.
If I was to make only a slight criticism, is that I found the pillows a bit on the firm side and there did not appear to be an option to swap them out, but l understand that the hotel primarily caters to Japanese clientele.
Staff were polite and a young gentleman took the time to explain the hotel features upon check-in. There were some slight communication problems a few days later when I enquired about luggage forwarding, but this was mainly my fault for only knowing a limited set of phrases in Japanese. The staff were very patient, and we got there in the end.
This hotel was the most expensive out of the four I stayed at on my recent holiday, but you get services included in the price, including unlimited use of the onsen, segregated by gender and included outdoor and indoor baths, two individual baths, a charcoal cold water bath and sauna. The TV in the room had a feature to track how busy the baths were, but I don't think it was working as it would always report back as unoccupied.
You could also have a free ice pop after bathing, a Yakult in the morning and ramen in the evening from 21:30 (although Jet Lag and sightseeing often had me in bed early!) There were also message chairs on the 11th floor and a manga corner. Washing machines were free to use, although admittedly the system of having to request a key from reception to reserve one confused us initially. Dryers were 100JPY for 20 minutes.
The breakfast was not cheap, but it was a decadent spread that included ikura and the ability to make your own seafood bowl, fresh tempura (including oysters), and Wariko soba. There were also some western options like pastries and even bread and butter pudding. The drinks machine also had a large choice; loved the matcha latte!
If I was to find myself in Matsue again, I would certainly consider staying here again. :)
