kidsagogo
Google
We're a family of 4 and stayed at the quadruple room for 4 nights. We chose Smi:re Stay Oshiage mainly for how it looks and where it's located. ||||Pros:||Great location, modern design, comfy beds, kitchenette, and in-room washing machine||||Cons:||No daily housekeeping, no wardrobes, tight hallway, could have used a full-sized mirror||||Bottomline:||Despite minor drawbacks, Smi:re Stay Oshiage is an excellent choice for a small family like ours. We definitely recommend this for staying in Tokyo.||||Here's a more detailed review of Smi:re Stay:||||1. Design||We loved the minimalist design with concrete, wood, and glass. It kinda felt like sleeping in a Muji store (in a good way)! ||||2. Size & Layout||It's not in any way tiny, but since the layout of the room is narrow, it's also not the most spacious, especially since we had several luggage (however, there is enough space in corners and under the beds to stow them). ||||Two bedrooms are connected by a tight hallway, where the separate toilet and bathroom are located. The bigger room contains the master bed, dining area, and kitchenette, so it can be a bit cramped. The smaller bedroom, however, is just perfect for our 2 kids. ||||Technically, there's no work desk but the dining table can serve that purpose.||||3. Comfort & Cleanliness||The mattresses are very comfy, cozy, and soft, so we certainly slept well. The hotel also provided pajamas and disposable slippers so plus points for that. ||||The two rooms have air-conditioners to keep them cool (or warm, in our case, since we were here in December). The toilet (Japanese toilets with their built-in bidets are the best) and shower are very clean. ||||Water temperature is adjustable and water pressure is strong. Lots of towels and toiletries for everyone. Our only complaint is that there's only one mirror, which is placed too high for little kids. A full- or even half-sized mirror in the corridor perhaps would have been nice.||||4. Service||There is no lobby or front desk. The cafe/bar in the building serves that purpose. But Kenzo, who was on duty, was very friendly and helpful. ||||As for housekeeping, they throw the trash and replace the towels every other day and make the bed every 4 days. We're not too happy with that, but it's no deal breaker either.||||5. Amenities||As this is a serviced apartment, the room is equipped with a kitchenette with a stove, microwave oven, kettle, and fridge. There are plenty of glasses, mugs, plates, and utensils. Breakfast isn't included, so we just bought sandwiches from the nearby Family Mart or 7-Eleven. ||||There are plenty of hangers but no wardrobe cabinets, just a couple of wooden racks to hang our jackets. We liked that there's a washing machine in the room with free laundry soap for a single wash. The funny thing though is we had to dry up our clothes on a steel bar on top of the TV! ||||Speaking of the TV, only local channels are available. But the free and fast Wi-Fi made up for it.||||6. Location & Security||The location is excellent as Oshiage/Skytree is a great base to explore Tokyo. We can even see the famous Tokyo Skytree from our room! The hotel is a 5-min. walk from Skytree/Solamachi and a 1-min. walk from the B1 exit of the Oshiage/Skytree Station. ||||It's also in a quiet and safe side street of the neighborhood, so we we had a restful sleep during our stay. ||||7. Check-in & Check-out||The check-in was super fast, with Kenzo double-checking our booking details and explaining the house rules for a few minutes. We were greeted by Pepper the robot at the elevator area (she's a delight, though she needs more information loaded in her system to be truly useful).||||Check-out was just a matter of posting a check-out card at the reception. ||||8. Family Friendly||The hotel is great for families. Our kids have a separate room (a bed each). Access to the station is a short walk for them. There's strong Wi-Fi if they just want to chill. And they loved interacting with Pepper the robot.
