Beppu Onsen Hakomori

We were attracted by the design of the room so we booked it, even though this hotel does not have much reviews on Agoda. First, the hotel does not provide much information on Agoda, lack of photos or description of facilities. For example, the agoda listing shows that it does not have air-condition or tv. I had to find the official website of the hotel to contact them for some enquiries. Secondly, I have checked via email prior to arriving about smoking area. The hotel informed me that smoking is only allowed in the carpark, outside of the hotel. Hence, when we arrived, we parked our car and smoked right outside the hotel while we were looking for an ash tray or dustbin to throw our cigg butts. After a while, the hotel entrance opened and a staff walked out questioning why we are there. She speaks very limited english, but from her unfriendly look and tone, she probably thought we just parked there to smoked. We then asked her where to throw our cigg butts, she just walked out to the street and pointed to the drain. When we were checking in, she showed us a bunch of rules and regulations of the hotel and emphasised on no smoking within the hotel, using her translation app. She then told us to request for an ash tray when we want to smoke outside. It made us feel like we are being judged because we smoke. It's not a good feeling. We did not smoke at all during our stay as we checked out pretty early the next morning and it was a hassle to ask for ash tray. I understand that some hotels has certain smoking rules, but most hotels in Japan has a designated smoking area with ash tray. I feel this is the standard and basic facility to provide for guests. I don't mind smoking outside the hotel, but having no ashtray outside is a weird decision. Mind you, this is not like a family resort, the rooms are for couples. The small courtyard in the middle of the hotel is also non-smoking, I honestly doubt anyone uses that space, at least no one uses it during my stay. Each room also comes with a terrace which has windows that can be closed, I don't understand why we cannot just smoke in the terrace. Honestly, the design and rules of the hotel sound like a pretentious ideal, but is not practical in practice. This is not even a convenient hotel, it is out of the way from the city, and in a quiet neighbourhood, opposite a rundown amusement park. Also, the "onsen" in the rooms does not comes with instructions, nor does the staff explain how to turn on the water. We saw a long rectangular shaped water outlet but it was turned off the whole time, instead, the water comes out from a regular pipe connect to the bath. The water was also lukewarm, as it seems like you need to add water from the shower hose if you need to adjust temperature. If the staff had spent more time explaining about the amenities, than focusing on the rules, perhaps my score would be higher. Lastly, I did not see any amenities in the lobby, bring your own when you stay here. It honestly feels more like a cheap chalet than a hotel. Also, the rules states that you should "leave the keys(not card) at the front desk whenever you leave the hotel. I feel this is strange. Not sure if the rules were correctly translated. Overall, I would not recommend this hotel to anyone. Worst hotel during my whole travel in Kyushu.