The Busena Terrace

“A GREAT STAY”

My wife, son and myself stayed at the Busena for six nights in June 2024 at the end of a trip to Japan. Our overall impression is that this is a fantastic hotel for the price we paid. We would definitely return here again without hesitation. Highlights of the resort for us were: There is an ... more

My wife, son and myself stayed at the Busena for six nights in June 2024 at the end of a trip to Japan. Our overall impression is that this is a fantastic hotel for the price we paid. We would definitely return here again without hesitation. Highlights of the resort for us were: There is an onsite convenience store if you need to get and drinks or snacks. The hotel grounds were well maintained. Having breakfast at the terrace café overlooking the beach and ocean with lots of choice to eat. Staff were very helpful, friendly and professional and they should be very proud of themselves in the jobs they do. OK some of them were not so good in speaking English but we are in Japan and the communication barrier could be quickly overcome through using the translator app on our mobile, so this was not an issue for us. In fact, my son used the opportunity to practice his Japanese. We hired a car from a rental company just outside Okinawa. If you stay here and want to explore you will need a car. The hotel provides valet parking so all you have to do is go to reception and ask for your car and they bring it right outside the main entrance for you and likewise when you return to the hotel, just step out of the car, and the staff take it away to be parked for you. The beach was good and the water clean, warm and calm. We did not check out the water sport options but believe there were a number of options available. The lobby area and general hotel building was in good condition. I saw no signs of disrepair anywhere of any significance. The lobby was large and very well designed with a tropical luxury feeling to it. This is followed up through the rest of the hotel building and grounds. Our rooms were large and spacious and again designed to reflect a luxurious tropical feel. They did not necessarily have the most up to date tech in the rooms but in terms of the space, storage, bed, bathroom all excellent, clean and well maintained. Our rooms had a balcony that was a good size to sit down in. We did not really visit any of the restaurants to make any comments but noticed that two restaurants were closed. We visited a number of comparable hotels whilst in Okinawa out of interest to check whether we had made the right decision to stay at the Busena. These were all 4 star hotels and I can say that in my opinion the Busena was far better than any of them. Thank you to all the staff at the Busena for your service.

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“Unfornatley Inconvenient”

During our trip to Japan, my husband and saw pictures of Okinawa and decidied to add it in to the tail end of our itinerary. As some reviewers have already states, The Busena Terrace has a beautiful beachfront property but should not be listed as a 5-star resort. Here is why... 1) Transportation... more

During our trip to Japan, my husband and saw pictures of Okinawa and decidied to add it in to the tail end of our itinerary. As some reviewers have already states, The Busena Terrace has a beautiful beachfront property but should not be listed as a 5-star resort. Here is why... 1) Transportation is very challenging. There is only 1 airport shuttle (not complimentary) throughout the day that goes to and from the airport. Taking the busride from the airport to the property is relativery cheap but takes over 2 hours. We ended up spending over $120 USD one way to hotel and then back to the airport 2 days later (~$250 total). 2) The amenities have strange hours. The adult pool is only open for 4 hours/day (11am-5pm) with a 1 hour gap in the afternoon for cleaning. There are no poolside servers or and the food/bar is on the lower deck by the kids pool. The kids pool is open earlier and longer. 3) There isn't an opportunity to get off the property once you're there. We spent over $110 on a mediocre dinner buffet the night before at the hotel restaurant and wanted to go elsewhere for dinner the following night. We attempted to take the Okinawa bus but missed it, walked back to the hotel (in blazing heat) and asked if they could call us a taxi. After waiting for 15 min, one of the women said they were unable to catch a cab and asked if we could figure it out by ourselves. I found this to be extremely rude. As a guest who does not speak the language and does not have a car, I would hope the service at a 5-star hotel to have spectacular customer service. We were very upset, went upstairs and called the concierge asking them if they could book a taxi. They called back immediatly saying a taxi was on its way. 4) There are hundreds of cicadas on the property and they are LOUD! I am not sure if there is a way to control the population and I am sure it is a seasonal problem but it sure did take away from relaxing by the pool. 5) While the rooms are decently sized, the shower in the bathroom is quite a tight space. TLDR, pretty propery with medicore restaurants, too many cicadas and subpar customer service. Seems fun if you speak Japanese and have a car. There were lots of children there so I'm sure your kids would enjoy the lower pool. I would skip it or try another hotel.

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