"I had a really disappointing stay at Smile Premier Inn in Osaka. If I had known about some of their policies beforehand, I never would have booked.
One of the biggest issues was that they don’t offer luggage transfer services. Every other hotel I stayed at during my trip was happy to help arrange luggage forwarding, which is incredibly common and incredibly convenient when moving between cities. Here, not only do they not offer it, but the staff also didn’t seem interested in helping when I asked about it.
On top of that, the rubbish in my room wasn’t collected for three days. I later discovered that it needed to be left outside the room, but no one had explained this at check-in or anywhere else.
Another strange experience happened while my room was being cleaned. I tried to sit at one of the completely empty tables in the reception area to eat a quick lunch while I waited. A staff member almost comically ran over as if I was doing something seriously wrong, only to tell me that I wasn’t allowed to eat there. The interaction made me feel quite embarrassed and unwelcome, despite being a paying guest. There was no explanation for the rule and no suggestion of an alternative place where I could eat. It left me wondering why tables were placed there at all if guests aren’t allowed to make any real use them.
Overall, the lack of communication and the unhelpful responses from staff made what should have been a straightforward stay unpleasant and I was glad to leave."