KOKO STAY Chitose

The morning shuttle service to the airport was very convenient. There was also a good selection of complimentary tea bags on the first floor. Chitose city itself is quite small.

The hotel is a 5-10 minute walk from Chitose JR Station, which can be a bit challenging if you have a lot of luggage or are walking in the snow. The nearest convenience stores are Lawson and Seicomart, both in different directions, and require a 3-5 minute walk or more. The wallpaper in the room is quite colorful, so consider this if you're sensitive to that. There was an odor upon entering the room, but fortunately, the window could be opened, and ventilation for 10 minutes significantly improved it. The bed size was wider than the described 0.8 meters, appearing to be about 1.1 meters, but there was still a smaller mattress pad on top. The air conditioning in the room is central, so you can't adjust the temperature yourself, only choose between high/medium/low/off settings. Upon check-in, you need to pay a 100 yen accommodation tax on-site. If you register as an official KOKO STAY member and inform the front desk of your membership number, you can get a late check-out until 12 PM.

Although the hotel is a bit old, the rooms are very clean, the location is great, and the service is excellent. They also offer a free airport drop-off service, but no pick-up, and you need to book it a day in advance.

I saw comments mentioning a pick-up service from Chitose Station, so before checking in, I specifically emailed the hotel to confirm. They replied that I could take a taxi, hand the receipt to the front desk, and the hotel would reimburse the metered fare. However, upon checking in, the front desk refused to process the reimbursement, claiming I took a taxi from the 'wrong exit.' Chitose Station itself has two exits, and the hotel did not specify which exit to use in their email, nor did they mention any specific requirements for other taxi pick-up locations. I then showed the front desk the email the hotel had sent me before my stay. Even with that, we argued about the issue for a while before they finally agreed to process the reimbursement. During the process, the front desk repeatedly emphasized that this was an 'exception' and would not be handled this way in the future. If there were designated pick-up exits or location restrictions, the hotel could have clearly stated them in the email before check-in or on the booking platform. The fact that the front desk immediately identified that I took a taxi from the wrong exit after seeing the fare suggests that other guests have encountered similar issues before. Given this, the hotel should have proactively explained this in the email instead of waiting until the guest checks in to inform them. The room itself matched the pictures, and it felt like it had been thoroughly cleaned, but because the hotel is quite old, there were still some minor issues. The morning airport shuttle was very reliable, the driver was friendly, and it took about 10 minutes to reach the airport.

The hotel is conveniently located, accessible by bus from Chitose Airport, and also offers shuttle services. While the facilities are complete, the hotel itself feels dated and the room had a strong smoky smell. The front desk staff were very friendly and even offered a special soup upon check-in. There are also many restaurants nearby that are open late.