Hotels Yakumo

"Nice staff, good room, great location to catch the Shinkansen"

"We stayed at the Toyoko Inn Hokkaido Shinhakodatehokuto-eki Minami near Hakodate located right next to the train station on April 21, 2025. Before our arrival, we emailed reception to request an earlier check in time and they replied saying it was no problem and that we just have to pay 1000 Yen. Great! However….when we arrived, the man at the front desk had no idea what we were talking about but eventually he agreed to let us in after paying this amount. Strike one. The next morning, our train was due to leave at 6:21 am. Breakfast is served at 6:30 am. The breakfast was all laid out in the eating area ready to go and we politely asked if it would be ok if we ate 26 minutes earlier than their actual start time seeing as it was ready. We were at reception at 6:04 am exactly and we politely explained to the same man at the front desk as yesterday that my wife is pregnant and needs to eat frequently or she will feel sick and get low blood sugar and that our train leaves at 6:21 am so we cannot wait for 6:30 and it is almost a 4 hour journey. He was very rude and inhospitable and would make zero exceptions! He had zero understanding and didn’t seem to care at all that she was pregnant and that we were just asking to have a small amount of food before we left. He even had the nerve to laugh at us when we told him that was not very hospitable. We just couldn’t understand what the problem was as the food was all prepared and ready and sitting at the buffet area. We paid for the"

"The only thing that makes this hotel 5 stars is the high prices. Unfortunately, we were very disappointed in the service. The hotel is old and urgently needs renovation. It seems as if the last bit of money is being squeezed out of the old box. The owners obviously only think about maximizing profits and have no passion for the customer. In short, there is obviously a lack of staff. When we wanted to check in 2 minutes before 3 p.m., the room was not ready. We had to wait. We used this time to visit the toilet next to the reception, which was unhygienic and smelled bad. Next to the toilet bowl, there was paper with a used toothbrush on the floor. The toilet seat had urine stains. There was obviously not enough staff to fix this. When we then went to the room, we saw the cleaning crew running around on our floor. We felt so sorry for the ladies working under such stress. Now we knew why our room was ready too late. There is simply not enough staff. Such a stressful atmosphere does not belong in a 5-star hotel. The management should show more respect for its employees and customers and improve this untenable situation immediately. The breakfast was very modest and the plates were not cleared. The quality of the food has nothing to do with what we paid for. Terrible! When we checked out, we were presented with a bill for almost 4 USD (600 yen) bathing fee, even though we did not bathe in this hotel for hygiene reasons. Such a ridiculous amount should be included."