Located next to the Shinkansen station - this hotel, recently taken over from an Oriental Mandarin, was solid value for the $106/night, which was booked in advance. When we checked later, room were double the price! The room was small, but the beds were comfortable, good linens and pillows - although the bed was close the ground (as all beds in japan). The room has a full Dell computer with keyboard for free internet access - though the computer was loud and you had to turn it off to sleep, and the Japanese keyboard with too short a cord to put on your lap, a bit frustrating. Our room had a great view of the city and a bit of the ropeway (which we do not recommend). The 49 level Bar at the top of the hotel was awesome, with a glowing bar, and views of the city - I highly recommend it for a drink and the Kobe beef. It's expensive at the restaurant at the top but worth the splurge - when in Kobe, eat the beef! We also ate at the restaurants located below - which were good too. Checkin at the hotel was excellent, and service excellent. The room, again, was small but very clean, and well appointed with toiletries, yukatas and slippers.

The rooms were spacious, comfortable, and pleasantly designed, the soundproofing good, the morning newspapers hung on the door pleasant, the airconditioning wonderfully silent, but I could barely sleep from the stuffy air and feeling claustrophobic as this is one of those stupidly designed modern buildings where the windows are completely sealed with not even a small place that can be opened to get some fresh air in. If you don't feel intimidated by the idea of living in a space station then this hotel is for you.

I also found it unpleasant, if not unprofessional, when at breakfast I asked if I could bring my unfinished cup of coffee up to my room and the waiter wryly said no, and that I could order room service instead: it doesn't look good for a hotel when they make it that clear that they want you to spend more money in their establishment.

I was there in February during our Chinese New Year holidays. It was cold but I was told that this is the first winter in 150 years without snow in Kobe. Temperature was hovering more than 5 degree celcius. So much about global warning.

The hotel lobby was clean, big and empty. I was there before 10am and they refused to let me check in even though there were plenty of rooms. The earliest time I was allowed to check in was at noon. So much so for Japanese service.

I went down to play Pachinko in the hotel and lost a whole lot of money!! Upon checking in, the rooms were comfortable size with a computer and nice view of the city because I was on high floor. Behind the hotel was a cable car that took you to some garden at the top of some hill. Quite forgettable!

There is a train station nearby and it is one stop from the main shopping area in Kobe. I regretted staying here because it is not in the centre of the shopping area which is at Sannomiya Station. It is a long walk for me because even though shopping is just one train stop away, the transport cost is expensive by my standards. Hence, I walk more than 1 km every day and lost 5 kilos at the end of the trip.

Kobe is the most liveable city in Japan. It is a high class city and everyone is well dressed and nice. Kobe's pastries are the best in the world though I cannot say that about their coffee which is a tad too diluted for me. I like my coffee Starbucks style. Do try their cakes and pastries in the quaint eateries in town.Really really good!

Hey, it is veryvery difficult to get around Kobe free and easy because Japanese do not speak English!! I lost my Japanese husband once while shopping and because I do not have a 3 G phone, I had to resort to public telephones to call him which keep cutting me off because the public phones eat up all the coins I put in very quickly. My goodness, just to describe my whereabouts to him, I had to beg passersby to speak to my husband in Japanese over the phone as I could not read the signs or understand anything.

Sometimes when I wanted to eat alone at some restaurants, I could not even order from the menu cos everything is in Japanese. Kobe is indeed not a place for foreigners because of the language barrier. When I was there, I hardly saw any Caucasians in Kobe. The people are nice and they tried to help when U are in trouble though.

Shopping is rather good. The have clearance sales and offer good discounts. I think shopping in Japan is cheaper than SIngapore because of the current favourable exchange rate which is why I never ever shop in Singapore nowadays.

Travelling around Kobe, one would forget that they were hit by a terrible earthquake 12 years ago. There is a memorial to commerate that disaster in town. Dont worry it is safe to visit Kobe cos it will be another couple of 100 years before another earthquake of that devastating magnitude strike the same area again.

Oh yes, it is possible to go on a day trip to Hiroshima by bullet train from the hotel. Because we didnt by a JR pass, just the transport cost from Kobe to Hiroshima cost more than S$ 800 two way for 3 of us. It is a nice place and Hiroshima oysters in February are the best in Japan I think. The atomic bomb tome and the museum are a must. I was told that some people who saw the items in the museum affected them and some became miserable for the rest of their lives. As for me, nothing happened because when I got there, the museum was already closed at 4.30pm. I really really liked Hiroshima because it is a quiet city and there is an aura of strange sadness about it especially near the site of the atomic bomb.

There is a very famous shrine or castle in Hiroshima. I cant remember its name. But U need to take a ferry to this place and right at the centre of the shrine or castle is a distinctive red gate. U can't miss it.

We only stayed one night in this hotel during our Kobe visit, but it's considered one of the best we've stayed in Japan. It's next to Shin-Kobe Shinkansen station, close to subway, shops and restaurants. Hotel was extremely clean, provided free in-room Internet Access, slippers and even 100% cotton pyjamas.

The bed was comfortable with crisp sheet.

A+++