My daughter is on exchange in Chuo University and this hotel is the nearest to the university so I decided to stay here for 18 nights. Tama is a small city about 1 hour away from Central Tokyo by subway so it would not be convenient to stay here if you want to go shopping or see the sights in Ginza, Shinjuku etc. However I like that Tama is not as crowded and there are a few small malls here. The hotel is located in the centre of Tama and near to the train station and right next to a mall. However there is no shelter so you need to brave the sun and the rain to get to the station. The hotel is on elevated land so you will need to negotiate a slight slope to get from the train station to the entrance. Directly across the street from the main entrance is the bus station which is served by the airport shuttle bus so it is quite convenient to get from the airport to the hotel. I will say that the location of the hotel is excellent in Tama but it's quite far from Central Tokyo. This is probably the nicest hotel in Tama but pales in comparison with the hotels in Tokyo. However, price wise it is almost on par with Tokyo and it costs just about $30 to $40 less per night. I guess they can command this price tag due to lack of competition in Tama.
I booked a triple room so it is of a good size but the carpet is extremely worn out and dirty.Visible stains can be seen all over the carpet and I will never walk on it barefooted. The mirror in the toilet needs to be replaced as it is damaged by mercury and you can see a huge black stain in the corner. The string to hang laundry is broken too. The furniture looks pretty old and dated. However the toilet seat is heated with cleaning and bidet function and the toiletries provided is comprehensive. There is no free English Tea and Coffee and only Japanese tea is provided. The housekeeping hours are extremely restrictive too. You can only get your room serviced between 10am and 2pm. If you miss the deadline your room will not be cleaned and you can request for towels and toiletries from the front desk. Only 1 physical key is provided per room so it can be tricky if we go out and come back at different times as the person not holding the key may be locked out if he is first to return.
The official check out time is 11am and I thought that since I am staying for 18 nights, the hotel would be flexible and let me check out at 12 noon as my bus to the airport is at 12:25pm but the staff told me that I had to pay extra if I wanted to check out just slightly later. Wifi is complimentary but very erratic. There will be no internet access daily and this can last for a few hours. It is also extremely cumbersome to login as they give you a randomly generated ID and password and you need to login daily. It would be easier if they can use the Room number and last name. There is airconditioning but it is not really powerful and the room can feel quite warm and stuffy. The window cannot be opened and it can get pretty hot in the day as the afternoon sun streams into the room.
Overall this is a hotel that I will only stay in because of its proximity to Chuo university. It is in a good location in Tama but the hotel is dated and clearly it needs to be renovated. The carpet should be replaced as soon as possible as it is gross.
