The family stayed for 3 nights recently.

1. Interiors and room

- The hotel entrance and lobby were modern and sophisticated looking
- Room was a bit tight for the twin that we were at, but was nicely placed with the required amenities such as LAN cable, tv, working desk, coffee making facilities etc(the coffee cookies were a hit!)
- Requested for non-smoking room but understood schedules were packed and they had no choice but to put us on a smoking floor. This is not so good since we had to call the front desk to request for change,and the best they can make do was to come up with a room deodorizer and helped to open the windows. Given the fact that we were staying for 3 nights, I would have expected at least some effort to offer a transfer on the 2nd/3rd night where available. This option was never tabled by the hotel despite me bringing it up to the hostess

2. Location
- Huge plus. Located right next within walking distance to the red brick warehouse
- Well-reviewed restaurants were just opposite the hotel
- 5 mins drive to JR station
- 5 mins drive to morning market

3. Onsen
- Major plus. Hakodate was the last leg after we swept through major onsen towns (we stayed in onsen hotels mostly, other than Sapporo) and the onsen, though very crowded during peak hours (say 9+/10 - you can literally see naked women queuing up for their turn at the bath stalls), was well designed.
- Good variety of hot baths, including the outdoor hot bath with a nice view and the panaroma sauna which was way cool
- And please, try the complimentary lolipop ice creams at the rest area near the onsen : )

4. Breakfast
- Major plus. We purchased the breakfast package. The buffet was delightful, with a good spread of seafood (both quality and quantity).
- Fish roe and raw sashimi were in abundance, and the other cooked items/baked items were deightful too

Arrived on the 7th Oct and checked out on the 9th Oct 2012. Location as reviewed by others is central and easy access to many places of interest. Room with a view of Mt Hakodate was simply magnificent. Staff is generally pleasant but too business like. You ask, they answer.
My stay was otherwise great until we were hit by a bill for using the onsen which we did not. Of course I refused to pay as we did not visit the onsen. Initially, the front staff was quite adamant until another staff intervened. She went into the office and came waving to her colleague to withdraw the bill. There was no apology for either and that really left a bitter taste with us.

Overall, we had a pleasant enough stay at the hotel given the proximity of key local attractions. However, it is not somewhere we would re-visit. The first impression upon entering the hotel was a strong whiff of cigarette smoke due to the placement of the smoking area. Same when we came down to the lobby in the morning. The room had a good view of Mt Hakodate but was very cramped and we had trouble getting in/out with the buggy. Furthermore, there was no room service (drinks machines are available, though), no in-room DVD player and the furnishings were looking a little worn. Most surprisingly of all, we had to queue just to get into the restaurant for breakfast in the morning. Make sure that you get there between 6:30 & 7:00 otherwise you could have a lengthy wait. As I said, all in all we had an enjoyable trip. But felt that overall quality was average and more so than other hotels we have stayed at La Vista Hakodate Bay is clearly geared towards turning over large volumes of customer traffic.