We stayed at the Super Hotel because our usual place was already fully booked on a long weekend. We arrived around check in time and were able to park outside the hotel. We checked in and were given the speeches about how to use various facilities in the hotel. This hotel features a "pillow bar" in the lobby, so you can pick a pillow that suits you. They also offer nightshirts for guest use. You pay by machine at this hotel and the machine gives you a number which is the combination of your room's lock. No keys here! Women are also given a separate number in order to use the onsen. There is also no check in after midnight, so don't be late!
The big feature of this hotel is an onsen, which is available to all guests (except those who have high blood pressure, tattoos or are drunk). As are most baths in Japan, this was segregated by gender. I used the women's bath. It was small, but quite nice. I liked it because it didn't seem too hot, but that may be a point against it for most people! The bath in the Yamagata hotel has sodium chloride in the water, according to their website. There were also a selection of shampoos available if you wanted to choose one.
We had reserved a double room and that is what we got. It was very, very small, even by Japanese standards. The bed was tucked into a corner of the room and we had less than a metre of floor space between the bed and the desk! There was no phone in the room, which did surprise me, but I never use one anyway. There was a small fridge, a kettle with two mugs and some Japanese tea, and a TV with optional Video on Demand for 1000 yen. I liked that there was a charger in the room for iPods & cell phones.
There was a very small bath and sink in the bathroom, and a washlet (toilet) as well. The problem for me was that the bathroom (unit bath) was higher than normal Japanese bathrooms in hotels. Also, because the bathroom was so small, the toilet blocked half of the doorway, making it quite tricky to get in and out of the bathroom.
The bed was comfortable, but a little too low for me. The quilt just fit the bed, so when two people were under it, it was a little small.
The free breakfast in the lobby the next morning was good, and had quite a large variety of food available. There was a lot of Japanese food, but also a nice selection of western foods. The vending machine in the breakfast area was also free during breakfast time.
We quite enjoyed the Super Hotel for one night, but neither my husband nor myself would want to spend an extended amount of time there. The room was small (but very clean). It is basically a place to sleep if you plan to be out all day.
We would stay there again for one night, if our usual place is fully booked, but would rather not have an extended stay there.