Nipponia Sawara Merchant Town Hotel

This was my first stay at NIPPONIA, and I love old houses that have been renovated, so I thought this would be a good opportunity to try it out. However, the room and the service were very disappointing, and I have decided not to go to any NIPPONIA hotels in the future. I stayed in the Seigaku building. The room, which was renovated from a storehouse, is spacious and has a high ceiling, but there are only two small windows at the top, so you can't see the view at all. There is a veranda, but it is surrounded by a wall and eaves, so you can't see outside at all from here. It feels very closed in. There is a space on the veranda that can be called a garden, but there are only ****s growing there. I have stayed at about five old houses and storehouses that have been renovated, and I have the impression that the renovation was less costly than any other place. There is WiFi, but there is no TV, no Bluetooth speaker, and the room where you can't see what's going on outside is depressing. The refrigerator is small, like the ones you'd find in a business hotel, and there is no freezer, so it may be inconvenient for those who need ice. Of course, there is no service to deliver ice at night. The amenities were not particularly noteworthy. Even though it was a holiday rate, it was about 90,000 yen per night including breakfast. The inns that were converted from old houses that I have stayed at before, all had kitchens, washing machines, and well-maintained gardens, but they were not priced this high (even in Kyoto). I wonder what the value was in them. Also, the service was terrible. The price was higher than that of a luxury hotel, but the service was lower than that of a business hotel. I got the impression that the staff were doing their best to do their jobs, as if they were operating with a minimum number of people. The bus that was introduced on the website was out of service, so when I asked about access to the hotel before staying, they just showed me the out of service bus, and when I asked about restaurants in the area, they introduced several restaurants that were closed. After arriving at the hotel, I made eye contact with the reception staff, who confirmed that I had my luggage, but they ignored me. They even took the trouble to sit across from me and gave me a long explanation of the inn, but they didn't offer me a welcome drink. Check-in is at 3pm, and even if cleaning is finished, you won't be notified, and they explained that this is the rule. You can choose to start breakfast at 7:30 or 8:30am. Although the concept is to let you forget about time and take your time (there are no clocks or TVs in the rooms for this reason), breakfast times are strictly set. I also used the cafe in the GEISHO building. Shaved ice is 1000 yen, and coffee is 800 yen. I was able to relax while looking at the cityscape and tourists. I was surprised when I used the restroom, and it made me think that it hadn't been cleaned for at least three days. (I can't go into details, but I noticed dust that looked like it had been accumulated for several days.) It seems that the bad things continue, as I encountered a gorilla in my room, and the fish at breakfast on the second day was undercooked, which was disappointing.

＜良かった点＞ ①庭が広い。連れてった犬(小型犬)が楽しそうに走り回っていた。ただ、中〜大型犬にはちょっと狭いかも？ ②古き良き日本住宅で非日常の時間が味わえる。 ③料理が美味しい。ボリュームも不足無し。 ＜残念だった点＞ ①前の宿泊者の犬の糞がトイレに残っていた。掃除くらいちゃんとしてくれ… ②元が古民家なのでしょうがないかもしれないが、気密性・断熱性はほぼない。このため、冬はとても寒い。 残念だった点の①は、人によっては許し難い点になりかねないと思われるが、私はそこよりも良かった点が上回ったので星4つの評価とした。