Studio Inn Nishishinjuku

“Perfectly adequate hotel”

About a 20 minute walk from Shinjuku station and just down the road from another subway stop (can’t recall which one), we had three rooms for two nights at a rate of around £110 per room per night. Nothing wrong with the hotel. Small rooms but that is standard for Tokyo as I understand it. It’s b… more

About a 20 minute walk from Shinjuku station and just down the road from another subway stop (can’t recall which one), we had three rooms for two nights at a rate of around £110 per room per night. Nothing wrong with the hotel. Small rooms but that is standard for Tokyo as I understand it. It’s basically a business hotel (and I have previously stayed in the brand on business) and designed to be ‘long stay’. They pack a lot into a small space and room had a (clothes) washing machine (and you are given detergent upon check-in), microwave, kettle and fridge. Comfortable bed, working wifi, decent shower, etc. There was a coffee machine in the lobby which provided drinkable coffee. Breakfast was included in our rate and fairly basic but staff kept everything topped up and, if it was empty, were happy to top up things upon request. There were a few western options including scrambled egg and bread. I’m not sure why this hotel has had so many negative reviews. We found the staff friendly and had reasonable English, were happy with the location and the facilities in the area (there is a MacDonalds next door, a convenience store across the road and several local restaurants within a couple of minutes walk! When we researched it, it seemed reasonable value and we were happy.

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“Comfortable stay but DO NOT EXPECT TO CHECK IN EARLY”

First the positives and then a negative. Great location, about 15 min walk to bustling central Shinjuku. Family Marts etc., eateries all around and metro 2 min walk away. The area is perfect as it's quieter, even close to a lovely park and all amenities at your door. Besides needing a good dust and… more

First the positives and then a negative. Great location, about 15 min walk to bustling central Shinjuku. Family Marts etc., eateries all around and metro 2 min walk away. The area is perfect as it's quieter, even close to a lovely park and all amenities at your door. Besides needing a good dust and coffee marks wiped off the wall, the hotel is clean and comfortable. There is free coffee and toiletries in the reception area the included washing machine/dryer in the room was a huge plus. YOU WILL NOT GET EARLY ROOM ACCESS EVEN IF YOUR BAGS ARE WAITING IN YOUR ROOM. We arrived early morning knowing we would not be able to check in until the afternoon so staff stored our luggage as expected. When we arrived back at the hotel at about 1:30pm and our bags were nowhere to be found the receptionist informed us they had already been taken to our room as the room was ready. Excited about finally getting access to a shower and some rest after a long flight we anticipated this meant we would be able to enter the room. The receptionist then left to speak to who I imagine is a manager only to come back and tell us check in is at 3pm so we have to wait until then and if we wanted to access the room early it would cost 1,000 yen per person. I know check in stated 3pm but I found this to be exceptionally poor customer service. Seeing as our bags were already in the room it would have made absolutely no difference to the hotel for us to enter the room 1 1/2 hours early but instead the rigid rule left quite a very negative impression. We did end up getting access at 2:30pm only because an elderly Japanese gentleman wanted to check in at this time and they didn’t want to make him wait in the lobby. The negative experience is such a shame because had this not have occurred I would return on my next trip.

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