Ark Hotel Okayama

“Great Location for a Short Stay”

I booked this business hotel based on its location to have a convenient place to stay for my three day visit to Okayama. I was glad that it was so close to the train station as well as right across the street from the new-ish Aeon Mall (it was built since my last visit three years ago). What I di… more

I booked this business hotel based on its location to have a convenient place to stay for my three day visit to Okayama. I was glad that it was so close to the train station as well as right across the street from the new-ish Aeon Mall (it was built since my last visit three years ago). What I didn't know until I arrived was that the underground shopping street under Okayama Station leads directly to Aeon Mall. So I was able to go almost the entire distance to the hotel before I finally had to step outside. Being so close to the station, and particularly the mall, makes it a great place to stay if you're more interested in going out and exploring rather than staying inside. For shopping, eating and entertainment you have to look no further than Aeon Mall across the street. But the surrounding area, as well as the easy access to the station underground, opens up a wide variety of options. There are many buses and taxis as well, not to mention being able to rent a bicycle at the station, so you could easily spread out from this centralized point with many methods of direct return. As for the hotel itself, it looks like it must have been quite a high class spot during the bubble years. The decor of the lobby suggests that it has seen more prosperous days and, while not an eyesore, could use a bit of an update so it doesn't feel so "old". The staff at the front desk were always polite and helpful. They gave me no reason to feel unwelcome or that they were uncomfortable with dealing with foreigners. I did not try the breakfast buffet nor did I visit the cocktail lounge, though it looked like a relaxing place to have a drink. The room was average in size and style for this type of business hotel in Japan. There was nothing special about it but it served its purpose. The rooms have free wi-fi and there was even an ethernet cable on the desk so it should be possible to directly connect to the internet. I appreciated that the room's lights and air conditioning could be controlled by a panel on the side of the desk next to the bed, which is a nice convenience that I wish would be present in more business hotels. For an inexpensive hotel in a central location, its hard to go wrong with the Ark Hotel. I would gladly stay here again on a future visit to Okayama City.

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“Next to Aeon mall”

The hotel is around 8 mins walk from JR Okayama station. It can be accessed through underground shopping street (Okayama Ichi Ban Gai) from JR Okayama station. Check in was smooth and the staff were friendly. Our rooms were a bit small, also aged and dark. The bathtub was stained. The air condition… more

The hotel is around 8 mins walk from JR Okayama station. It can be accessed through underground shopping street (Okayama Ichi Ban Gai) from JR Okayama station. Check in was smooth and the staff were friendly. Our rooms were a bit small, also aged and dark. The bathtub was stained. The air conditioning was strong, nice for summer time. There is a big shopping mall opposite to the hotel, Aeon Mall. The mall has a huge supermarket and a lot of eateries. Food was fresh but cheap at the supermarket. We didn't try the hotel breakfast as we could find many better food offers at the mall. We like the hotel location.

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“Location - Yes; Amenities - No”

We stayed at the Ark Hotel in Okayama for three nights. The main lobby of this business-class hotel is large, modern and has a cocktail lounge plus a restaurant with a fixed-price buffet breakfast and lunch. Based on the lobby set-up and advertising, it was clear that the hotel's main attraction … more

We stayed at the Ark Hotel in Okayama for three nights. The main lobby of this business-class hotel is large, modern and has a cocktail lounge plus a restaurant with a fixed-price buffet breakfast and lunch. Based on the lobby set-up and advertising, it was clear that the hotel's main attraction was its wedding facilities. (Unfortunately, there were no weddings while we were there.) Our double room on the 10th floor was small, but adequate. Unlike several other hotels we stayed in, however, the TV was not bilingual (what we call SAP in the USA) so only Japanese programming was available. The hotel location is excellent, about five minutes' walk south from the Okayama train station and only a couple of short blocks from the Lawson's and 7-11 convenience stores where we bought breakfast supplies. A hint for bad weather days: instead of leaving the Okayama station, follow the signs to the south exit. There is a tunnel there that ends at a parking lot which is only one block from the hotel entrance. (You can also get there through the large underground shopping mall beneath the station plaza.) The following "deficiencies" are only with respect to similar hotels we stayed in throughout Japan: there was no Internet access at all (either in the room or in the lobby), breakfast was not included in the rate we paid for the room, there were no copies of maps, etc. in English (or any language other than Japanese) and no one on the staff spoke English. If not for the Beiks translating dictionary on my Palm PDA we would have been lost. Although we would stay at the Ark again, we would probably look for another hotel first.

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