AMAR ANWAR
June 15, 2024
Location:
It's in a central location, around 10 min walk to Dotobori. But the hotel itself is nestled in some side streets which are small, dark and feel unsafe. Directly opposite the hotel is (and I'm not joking) an Escort service for transsexual people (no judgment on them - but it illustrates the hotel is in a 'seedy' location) There is a 7-11 nearby, but because the hotel is in an area whereby you must turn left, then right, then left, then right over and over again to reach it, it can be confusing.
Hotel room
Small and dark and dirty. The black furniture adds to the small feeling of an already small room. Everything was modern which is nice, but little things like the clock being set to the wrong time and date, shows that there is a lack of attention and care. The room itself was dirty. Stains on walls and dirt on floor.
Hotel Features
Breakfast was a selection of bread and a coffee machine. There's no lobby to eat any of it so you take it and go.
Extra comments:
There is an advantage of an rental places which is that you (usually) have a kitchen but the disadvantage is that you make your own bed and wash your own towels etc...
The advantage of a hotel is that the cleaning is done for you but you have no kitchen
But not in this hotel. You get the worst of both worlds, no kitchen and you clean yourself.
It is common in Japan that every 3-4 days they will clean your room by changing your sheets and vacuuming. This is normal and fine.
But also in EVERY hotel I've been in, including Japan ones, each day they will tidy your bed, give you new towels and empty your bins......but not here.
At FL Hotel Dotonburi, YOU have to take out your own bin daily. YOU have to place your dirty towels outside the room and then when you return to the hotel later that day YOU have to collect the towels from reception. And each day YOU have to make your own bed.
Now for some this may be an advantage because it means no housekeeper comes into your room daily, but it just seems crazy to pay money for a service that every hotel offers and yet you don't receive it.
Also, I stayed on the 9th floor and because everyone has to put out their own bins and towels outside their room each day, you can see how many people are living on your floor. So when I asked for 2 more pillows as the pillows in the room were too soft, I was told no and that the hotel was not yet fully booked but would be and they need all the pillows.....There was one other person living on my floor, the other rooms were empty.
So imagine, if your child got sick and vomited on a pillow, you cannot get another one? In this whole hotel there is nothing spare?! Really poor service.
And annoying things like no hooks in the bathroom or the bathroom door so you cannot hang your robe / clothes for after you shower etc...
You may think - ah its no big deal about towels, but... because the towels are poor quality when you drop them outside your room when you are leaving and when you pick them up from reception (which is another pain as there is only 1 or 2 people in reception and if someone else is checking in, then you must wait) but at each point, you are clothed so then the lint and fluff from towels end up on your clothes each time.
Don't stay here, I'm sorry for the negative review, but the place is dirty, the location is poor (but central) and the room is small and dark. There are so many other hotels in the area and my advise is stay slightly outside of the central area and near a subway / rail line so you can get a cleaner area, bigger room and a cheaper price.
Despite losing money on my FL Hotel booking it was worthwhile to avoid FL Hotel