After a magical week in Kyoto, where we stayed atthe Four Seasons,the Park Hyatt, andthe Ritz-Carlton, we decided to finish off our trip by visiting nearby Nara for a night. Internationally, Nara is probably best known for its deer, and it’s only a 30-minute train ride from Kyoto. So while we could have visited Nara…
Continue reading: Review: Shisui Nara, Marriott Luxury Collection
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
The 3PM check in rule is very irritating when clearly there are available rooms but those are the rules in Japan. I am surprised there wasn't an offer to pay a small fee to check in early, that is often something that is done in my experience. Unlike Hong Kong or Bangkok when you can check in at 6AM if the room is free! But nothing beats Japanese hospitality so you just have to roll with the 'rules'. This stay seemed to be an exception vs the norm which is unfortunate.
Wow.. this sounds really like a disaster stay and for that price tag. I would really launch a complain towards the hotel management/Marriott. Having been so many times to Japan, i have found that not everything works as clockwork and sometimes it can be really bad like what you experience. I am quite sure it is as you mentioned not due to cultural difference but just generation gap difference. The meal presentation has got to be indeed worst I've ever observed for this level of hotel.
Feel bad for you to have experienced this.
How much would you say the service lacked because the hotel recently opened? Vs just a team that doesn't seem to care about the guests as much.
Only Marriott could deliver this kind of lackluster experience and poor service training in a magnificent country like Japan. It's really quite amazing and very entertaining to read. Thanks for taking one for the team.
Regarding your breakfast menu, Google Translate has a feature where you can point your camera at Japanese text and it will show a usually pretty reliable translation. Helpful when there isn't any English in sight.
I quickly browsed review in Japanese (not many as this hotel was just opened this August) and many of them pointed out same problems as you mentioned.
Some reviews actually praised the great attitude of foreign staff while decrying rigid attitude and lack of communications of Japanese staff.
Overall, this hotel is rated worst among the hotel you reviewed in this travel, even from a Japanese perspective.
“check-in time is 3PM.”
That line made me laugh and understand the pulled Conrad commercial better 😀
Not sure what you were expecting to receive when you chose to order "homemade french fries", as those look quite appetizing and obviously homemade! Nothing sad about that to me.
I love how the restaurant is "French and Japanese influenced", but then the first main course is Fish and Chips!
That's some sort of gastronomic journey, but not one I'd like to be on......
Any idea why the menu prices were so, uh, specific?
Bread is JPY 1898, which is 1 cent (US) less than JPY 1900.
It almost seems like they were arbitrarily converted from another currency, but that doesn't make sense, either.
Looks like it is general agreement regarding poor service on other comments sites.
I was planning to stay there a few days instead of Osaka and I changed my mind.
Thanks for the review.
Seems similar to most of the hotel service I had all over Japan in august.
Surprise and almost shock when you try to check in at midday. I get there may not be a room available but can I check in anyway and store my bags? Can you at least see if there’s a room (a lot of hotels were quite empty).
Rules around hotel pools were draconian. To swim with my son there was often a one hour window per day only. And we often had to pay for the privilege (most pools and fitness clubs seemed to be part of a paid external member service).
The service was friendly but so rigid. I wouldn’t particularly laud Japanese service over other cultures (perhaps that’s a western perspective). Otherwise I’d say that property looks pretty nice!
Perhaps an $8 ramen nearby would have been better in retrospect.
I’ve noticed in some hotels I’ve stayed in in Japan (like four seasons and some famous local luxury brand hotel like The Okura, Tokyo Station Hotel… similarly priced to this hotel) which are also rigid about the 3pm check in. It could be their SOP - the housekeeping staffs starts cleaning rooms at 12pm and then a supervisor would go inspect every room towards the end which is close to 2:30pm. They would have a checklist so nothing is missed and cleaning is thorough. I’ve not seen housekpeeing done in such a controlled manner before in other countries. I’m guessing that could be a reason why early check in is usually not given in Japan but the good thing is the rooms are really cleaned to perfection.
Also newly checked in guests won’t usually see the housekeeping ongoing when they check in too. In most other countries I notice the housekeeping could be a one man show, not accountable to a supervisor and they could be cleaning at anytime from during the day (like Four Seasons Athens which I went to recently)
On the other hand, I’ve actually had better luck with early check in for those cheap local 3-4 stars hotels in Japan. Perhaps their housekeeping SOP is the as thorough as the luxury hotels, international chain or not
Fawlty Towers came to mind when reading this review.
And if the Japanese guests do not dine in the hotel, then that speaks volumes .......
I was thinking about this review. I think you do not consider the other side of the situations you presented. For example, you were three hours early at a small hotel and expected a room. Meanwhile, if you were a guest the night before you probably would have wanted a late checkout. As you were the only people in the main restaurant (just an ordinary hotel restaurant), I am surprised that you were surprised by the food quality. About the overall service some of what you mention is VERY common in non-first tier cities in many countries. Problem is that you are not in a luxury property but expect things to be so perfect and if they are catering to Japanese then you are not their target market.
But you get the "But check in only starts at 3pm" line at Hyatts, Hiltons, etc as well. The rules say 3pm, so has the GM specifically given leeway to the staff to check whether the room is ready and then allow check-in? If not specifically stated, the staff will act according to the written rules.
Conrad Osaka and Tokyo are sometimes equally stuck on the rules. Cocktail hour is only from 17:30, so please don't have anything yet despite everything has been set up and ready by 17:27
Honestly, if you would stay overnight in a historical city like Nara and choose a Marriott property, this is the experience you deserve.
Putting myself in Ben's shoes, the issue isn't the 3pm check in, it's the way it was handled. Sorry, we don't have any rooms ready or let me check if your room is ready or even, sorry, our policy doesn't allow early check in would be better than what clearly came across as a rude response. Services is as much about how situations are handled as the outcomes.
It is decidedly "Japanese" to adhere, to the "stated RULES".
Ben's issue, I think, was more one of communication and expectation at a Marriott property, than one of culture.
No wrongs on either side.
The strict adherence to "rules" policies or cultural, is one of the many reasons I spend so much time in Japan.
The only other comment I could leave is that the Japanese, are very Germanic.
Rules are RULES
@iamhere, are you *really* all there? This isn’t someone’s private residence where they are hosting you as a houseguest. This is a commercial property by one of the biggest hotel chains globally. I’m sure Ben didn’t saunter to the front desk to check in and throw his passport at the staff member. I would bet he was as cordial as ever and the proper treatment would to reciprocate that cordiality AND THEN SOME, being as their business is literally hospitality? I guarantee you the Japanese would not appreciate subpar service either.
“Problem is that you are not in a luxury property”
It’s literally part of the Luxury Collection chain.
“Problem is that you are not in a luxury property”
It’s literally part of the Luxury Collection chain.
The AONIYOSHI train isn’t historic FYI, it only opened in 2022 with brand-new purpose-built interiors.
The rigid service attitude seems to common in Japan - I've had this impression from staying in local and chain hotels in Tokyo and Osaka. Don't understand why.