Shimoda Itoen Hotel Hanamisaki

400+ people, all-inclusive with one night, two meals, and hot springs! What more could you ask for? There's even a later dining time on Saturday night and Sunday morning. You can borrow bikes on the first floor (though only for three hours at a time). The hot springs are open from 3 PM until midnight! And right after your hot spring soak, there's an all-you-can-drink buffet! Too bad I don't drink; otherwise, I'd be in heaven! They have a dazzling array of yukata styles to choose from. It's a shame it rained that night, and it wasn't very lively outside. I wonder if it gets busier later? I really wanted to go out and take night photos in different yukata!

This is the best value hotel in Shimoda. It's about a 10-15 minute walk from the station, but the free bicycle rental is a huge plus. The hot spring bath is a bit small, but for the price, it's still a fantastic deal.

This was my first time visiting Izu Kyuko Shimoda, and I did quite a bit of research on Ctrip when choosing a hotel, looking through all the hotel descriptions and guest reviews. Most hotels were a bit of a distance from JR Izukyu-Shimoda Station, making it tiring to walk. You'd have to rely on the hotel shuttle for getting to and from, and the schedule was limited. This particular hotel is only 700 meters from the JR station, about a ten-minute walk. You can also take the bus one stop right to the hotel entrance. When you exit the station, look to your left and you'll see the hotel's blue sign – no need for navigation to find it.

Very convenient

This was probably the smallest accommodation on our trip, with old facilities and questionable cleanliness. I even found a long hair on the bed, making me seriously wonder if the bedding hadn't been changed after a previous guest. The front desk staff were also quite inflexible; despite the hot weather and available rooms, we weren't allowed to check in early and could only store our luggage. Due to the high number of guests, breakfast and dinner were served in shifts, and they assigned times without asking for our preferences. Because we were out and public transport was infrequent, we nearly missed our assigned meal times.

Avoid this place at all costs! Seriously, avoid! In my 40+ years, this is hands down the worst hotel room I've ever stayed in! A truly dreadful experience! Right after checking in, we immediately asked the front desk if there were any other rooms available, even offering to pay more. They said no (my friend, who speaks fluent Japanese, handled the communication, so there was no language barrier). They also claimed that bookings made through Ctrip are stuck with the room type they assign, regardless of what the pictures show. Since we were traveling with a child and it was already very late, we reluctantly had no choice but to stay. Firstly, the room lighting was extremely dim, making the environment feel oppressive and inconvenient to be in for an extended period. Even worse, the room was filled with a strong, pungent, and suffocating musty smell, severely affecting my breathing and sleep. There's clearly a serious dampness or hygiene issue in that room. (We ran the air conditioning on full blast all night and even had them send an air purifier, but it barely made a difference). Furthermore, the soundproofing was terrible. We could clearly hear every footstep from the guests upstairs, which prevented us from getting any sleep all night, leaving us physically and mentally exhausted.