What People are saying
Decent
John Von 29/11/2016 11:02It is one of the few options the visitor have in the small city of Niihama. It is a prety decent hotel but nothing more than that. The rooms are very small and uncomfortable. Matressses are very tough. Dificult to relax. Cleanliness is quite ok in an acceptable level. Unfortunately there are not so many options in the city.
Standard western style hotel
ac804on 12/11/2016 07:37We went to Niihama for the Taiko Festival in October and stayed at the Route Inn. It is about 1 mile from the Niihama JR Train station and is a level walk except for one intersection that requires you to climb stairs up to a pedestrian walkway to traverse the intersection. We did find out that the hotel has a bus that operates in the afternoon to transport guests from the station to the hotel. The hotel bus will also transport guests from the hotel to the train
station in the morning free of charge.
English capabilities of the staff is minimal. Of course this location is a bit off the beaten path for international tourists (even for the festival).
If you require two beds, please book a twin room. As noted by other reviewers, the beds are hard. We tried to see if there were any futon pads available, but what we had to settle for was getting extra blankets and using the comforter as a cushion. The room was clean, but it was small and the bathroom was tight as well. There is the public bath at the hotel as an option if you need more room for bathing (separated by gender).
We also included breakfast into our stay. The menu varied each day and was served buffet style. It contained a mix of Japanese and Western food items. The staff keeps the buffet well stocked and cleared the tables as soon as a patron leaves so there are always tables available. We enjoyed the buffet and found it to be delicious.
Rock hard bed
Ann Non 15/11/2015 06:23We stayed in Hotel Route Inn Niihama recently. We were booked in for 7 nights but only stayed for 1 night. The hotel is a basic hotel with rather drab fixtures and fittings. We stayed in a twin room, which was a good size and included a small table and 2 chairs. The problem was the bed. We know Japan hotels have firm beds and we like a firm bed. But this bed was as hard as a very very hard rock. It was impossible to sleep on. We got a refund after 1 night and went to another hotel. The staff were nice and gave a refund without any problems. Only stay here if you like a very hard bed