Hotel Sonia Otaru

We have stayed at this hotel several times. We really like the location, which is close to many restaurants and the Otaru historic district, and we especially appreciate the hotel's spa at the end of a long day. Another nice feature is the 11:00 a.m. checkout, which enables a morning walk and coffee at the first-floor cafe prior to checking out.

Our room this time was a bit small, so there was only one small chair and a footstool to sit on. We'd recommend picking a larger room when selecting the hotel, if possible.

Good location.

Nothing.

The location was excellent. We were able to easily walk alongside the canal and access many of the attractions we wanted to go to in Otaru on foot. We had a room with a great view of the canal. It's not that impressive of a view to be frank but the request to a get a front and center view of the canal was great.

I arrived before check-in and we were charged an additional fee for parking at the hotel. I understand we arrived prior to check-in hours but there were many open spots in the parking lot and I found out that parking at the hotel ends at 10:30AM the following morning. The fee was not too large but it was annoying.

The location is good for the canal area. Plenty of shops and places to eat round the corner.

The hotel seems to be an older property. The rooms were obviously a bit worn and the bathroom was pretty small, even for Japanese hotels. Fair warning, the reception staff do not speak much English and are very reluctant to attempt more than basic communication. When I asked the front staff (twice on different days and with different staff) for assistance to forward my luggage to my next hotel (using Yamato Transport), all I was told was "Cash on Delivery, please ask next hotel". So I asked if they could help me ask the staff in the next hotel (in Japanese) about the forwarding process and was just told "maybe they speak English we cannot ask for you" and that was all I got. After many trips and many hotels of all kinds, this was one of the least helpful experiences yet. Thank fully this has been the exception rather than the norm. Good luck if you don't speak Japanese.