J Gee
Google
I specifically booked a non-smoking room due to asthma, but was assigned a room on a floor that reeked of cigarette odor. Despite raising my concerns multiple times, hotel staff insisted the room did not smell, even though I, my husband, and my son could clearly detect it. While in the room, my airways began to tighten, and I had to use my asthma inhaler—an incredibly distressing and entirely avoidable situation.
At first, the hotel claimed to be fully booked and refused to reassign us. Only after I said we would need to leave town altogether did they suddenly “find” another room two floors up. While this second room was marginally better, the carpet still carried a faint cigarette odour when we first entered. We reluctantly chose to stay as the hotel refused to issue a refund, despite having failed to deliver the non-smoking room we had specifically booked.
Unfortunately, as the evening progressed, the second room did not improve matters despite the air cleaner provided. I developed a sore throat, teary eyes, headache, and nasal congestion, and had to take multiple medications just to get through the night. In hindsight, we should have left and cut our losses short.
This experience was deeply traumatizing for someone with a medical condition. I made this reservation in good faith, expecting a safe, smoke-free environment. I urge the hotel to take health-related concerns seriously, to stop dismissing legitimate guest feedback, and to cease misrepresenting their room conditions.
It is disheartening to encounter such a lack of empathy and questionable business practices that knowingly risk guest health, especially in Japan where hospitality and ethics are typically held to high standards.
I do not recommend this hotel to anyone sensitive to cigarette odours or with related allergies. It appears the hotel misrepresents its non-smoking rooms, and there’s likely no recourse if you’re affected. Be cautious—there’s no guarantee of a truly “non-smoking” room environment here.
