This was the worst hotel stay I have ever experienced in Japan. 1. The hotel struggled to find my reservation and made the check-in process far more difficult than necessary. 2. I was charged an additional 5% credit card fee because of a clerical error by hotel staff (which management refused to correct.) 3. When I requested a taxi to the airport, the hotel staff booked a ride for me through their preferred taxi service; upon arrival at the airport, I was charged a "gaijin tax" by the driver and paid nearly double the Kobe city taxi rate for my fare. 4. At checkout, I handed the hotel staff a stamped postcard to mail out for me and they flat out refused it, instructing me to "go to the post office." 5. There was a lot of anti-foreigner policing by staff near the lobby area, where I was bizarrely followed by an employee and subsequently asked to leave the lounge area (even though domestic guests were allowed to stay.) ... Overall, this hotel stay was terrible. Everything comes down to the awful, impassionate, and intolerant staff, who made me feel unwelcomed as a guest (and used as a customer.) If you have the choice, stay elsewhere in Kobe and save yourself a horrible customer service experience.
This was the worst hotel stay I have ever experienced in Japan. 1. The hotel struggled to find my reservation and made the check-in process far more difficult than necessary. 2. I was charged an additional 5% credit card fee because of a clerical error by hotel staff (which management refused to correct.) 3. When I requested a taxi to the airport, the hotel staff booked a ride for me through their preferred taxi service; upon arrival at the airport, I was charged a "gaijin tax" by the driver and paid nearly double the Kobe city taxi rate for my fare. 4. At checkout, I handed the hotel staff a stamped postcard to mail out for me and they flat out refused it, instructing me to "go to the post office." 5. There was a lot of anti-foreigner policing by staff near the lobby area, where I was bizarrely followed by an employee and subsequently asked to leave the lounge area (even though domestic guests were allowed to stay.) ... Overall, this hotel stay was terrible. Everything comes down to the awful, impassionate, and intolerant staff, who made me feel unwelcomed as a guest (and used as a customer.) If you have the choice, stay elsewhere in Kobe and save yourself a horrible customer service experience.
