the b ikebukuro

Location

Small room and tiny bathroom

I got a corner room which had a very long layout. I was travelling alone and I can't imagine 2 people with 2 open suitcases still having sufficient space to move around. Breakfast is VERY good. A nice spread with a few Western items, a few Japanese items, couple of breads, selection of fruit/veg to make your own salad, and my favourite - steamed vegetables (eggplant, pumpkin etc). Being diabetic I appreciated the variety of fibre- and protein-heavy items. The restaurant serves pretty good Italian for dinner and I'd recommend making a reservation as it can get pretty crowded.

This hotel seems to be very popular with tourists and tour groups who like to congregate in the lobby and talk very loudly for hours on end. They also talk so loudly in the laundry room that I could hear it all the way in my room (which was at the other end of that same corridor). The room doors are not soundproof at all and you can hear everything from the corridor. If you're looking for R&R on your trip, this hotel is probably not for you. As many people have mentioned, the air-conditioning is centrally controlled. My first night was during a cold spell in May and I was absolutely freezing, which I guess is better than sweating in winter.

Location, next to metro train station, lively evenings, lot of food options around

Nothing to deslike

- location - big rooms

We were disappointed with the customer service during our stay. We had specifically requested a quieter room away from the street side in advance, but the request was not accommodated and we were assigned a corner room facing the street. When we asked about this politely at the front desk (dark-skinned non-japanese female staff), the interaction became uncomfortable and that employee responded with: “This is not China, but Japan.” We found this comment inappropriate and unnecessary. The hotel itself may be acceptable, but the way our concerns were handled left a negative impression.