Hotel Coconuts Resort Marina – Kagoshima
Hotel Coconuts is not a new face to this blog; I have reviewed a few hotels now owned by the Chapel group. For some time, the lowest-priced hotel was filled by one of their hotels. But with an unexpected trip to Kagoshima, I had to find somewhere to stay last minute. The selection around Kagoshima isn’t the best, and there are only a handful on both Booking.com and Couples.jp.
Hotel Coconuts Resort Marina is 9 km from the station and can be reached by taking a local train for about 6 stops and then facing a 16-minute walk down a country road which is not lit. The reason why the chapel hotels always rate poorly on my rankings is the location. They are out of the way and even for those going by car are not in any area that really makes sense. The one in Nagasaki, which was bottom place for a while until Hotel Castle took the crown, is located along a beautiful stretch of coastline miles from every city imaginable. Guests driving to this hotel will need to drive for around 20 minutes to reach Marina. So, in Chapel hotel fashion, the score for location will be a 4. Whilst this is double what the Nagasaki hotel scored, it still is one of the lower scores given for location.
For ease of access, the hotel scores a 7 out of 11. The hotel can be found on the usual suspects and booked ahead, which saves stress, as the hotel is very far out for someone to travel to find it full. The hotel has an electronic board in case people do chance it; the hotel is in a cluster, so if you do venture out and find Marina has no space, there are four other options, including a more Spenny version of Coconuts, which I am regretting not booking; however, they had no space when I initially booked.
For amenities, Hotel Coconuts always offers the lobby selection, but it will vary depending on how big or expensive the hotel is; for the Nagasaki hotel, the options were vast and included some unique choices such as anti-snore pillows. However, the marina is the budget hotel in this cluster and only offers bath salts, shampoo and conditioner, and a free welcome drink, which all chapel hotels offer. The room comes with a standard selection of free goods to ensure guests can show up empty-handed. Any extras can be ordered via the TV, which is less stressful if your Japanese isn’t strong. For this category, I give a 7 for a new score of 18.
For comfort and cleanliness, the room I got was dated, and you could tell it was a smoking room. Often you get the option to choose smoking or non-smoking, but I booked last minute and didn’t have any choice. The room had a retro vibe to it, and it needed a facelift; some paint was flaking, and there were repairs visible which had been done quickly. The room was very small, but it was very cheap. This hotel is one of the cheapest on my rankings, with one night costing a little above 5k. For the price, the room was good value; you got a big bed, TV, large sofa, table, tea-making facilities and a powerful shower. The bath was small, and the wash area was a little cramped. There was a slot machine in the room for those who seek out old retro machines. Love hotels are often good places to find old antique or rare machines; there is a website dedicated to this search. For this category I give a 7 for a total of 25.
Whilst chapel hotels do have a menu which changes depending again on the tier of your hotel and the size, the menu can be extensive or very limited. At Marina, you guessed it, the menu was limited; however, I had no time to eat, so I will give the usual 5 points for a new score of 30.
For overall enjoyment, I award a 6. The room was comfortable, and the shower was very powerful. For the price, the room was great; it is still more space than most Tokyo hotels or business hotels provide. But there wasn’t much to do, and the room felt dated. As for the bath, I award a 4 for a new total of 40. The bath was a cube and tiny, and I decided a shower would suffice, which is a shame as the bathroom had a lot of space for a much larger bath.
Lastly is the likelihood of return, and the score is a 4 for a total of 44. The hotel is cheap, but you get what you pay for; the location is bad, and the hotel has limited services to offer. The rooms are nothing exciting, and the bath space was small. But for those in the area by chance and who want a very cheap place to stay, I fully recommend it. However, if I were in the same area, I would opt to try another hotel in this cluster.
