Hotel Balian Resort Shinjuku Honten

Extremely disappointing experience. This was our first trip to Japan, and unfortunately this hotel completely ruined our first impression. We booked this hotel through Booking.com for 2 adults, one 14-year-old child, and one infant. Our booking confirmation clearly showed a total price of US$1,250 for 5 nights. However, when we arrived to check in, the front desk suddenly demanded an additional US$800 for our 14-year-old child. We explained that our Booking.com confirmation already included all guests and displayed the total price, but they refused to help or provide a reasonable explanation. When we asked to cancel the reservation because of this unexpected charge, they told us we would lose the entire US$1,250. In other words, we were forced to either pay US$2,050 to stay in a very ordinary hotel or lose all the money we had already paid. It felt like we were being trapped into paying more. What made the experience even worse was the attitude of the front desk staff. They were rude, impatient, and made us feel unwelcome. We even felt that we were being treated differently because we were foreigners. On top of that, the hotel smelled strongly of cigarette smoke, and the room felt damp and musty. The condition of the hotel was far below what we expected for the price. Ironically, we found a nearby 5-star hotel that cost only around US$1,400 for the same 5-night stay. I would not recommend this hotel to anyone. If you book through Booking.com, make sure to double-check every detail and be prepared for unexpected charges. This was by far one of the worst hotel experiences we’ve ever had. I hope the management seriously reviews both their pricing practices and the behavior of their staff.

Need to improve the furniture & lighting in the room.

Almost complete amenities and good location Expensive

Too much smoking

The hotel has so many treats and amenities 24 hours everyday. Free happy hour in the evenings was a plus!

Absolutely stunning facility and the amenities, foot bath, and arcade was the best There was nothing to dislike

Liked the location and all the amenities that were included…breakfast, snacks, drink sec arcade, gym, etc. Building was little run down and the room was very tight with multiple beds. Ceiling had some moisture mildew but nothing serious.

Atmosphere and the multitudes of amenities.

Staff Cleanliness Access

The property was overall awesome with all inclusive different types of soup, karaoke, game room, massage, jacuzzi, and fitness complex. This was a one stop shop for me and my wife. We loved everything about this place to include the foot bath station. We had an issue with the room smelling of smoke. The facility did there best to accommodate and clean but the room still had a slight smell of cigarette smoke. Of note, also the pillows were a little hard.

Tiny comfortable hotel near airport Automated check in a bit confusing

Very spacious Key turn in when leaving property was weird

The location was decent. Close to subway, lots of restaurants and shops Bad smells throughout the entire property. You cannot escape them. Beds very uncomfortable, music in hallways sounded like a jack in the box waiting to pop. Very unsettling.

This was a different concept of a hotel stay for us. In the lobby there was food, drink and toiletries that one could help themselves too at all times. There were massage chairs and two foot baths which was good after a long and tiring day of sight seeing. There was plenty of food at breakfast but we would have liked more western style options. The whole hotel was a bit too dark for our liking

The pillows and bed is subpar quality

The amenities offered, massage chairs, sauna, free nighttime adult beverages & decor of the lobby and hallways Beds weren’t comfy, mattress was very thin

Breakfast, stacks, drinks included! Arcade, foot soak, massage chairs too!

So many amenities. The hotel itself is decorated very cute and the staff were very kind. The bathtub and sauna in the rooms were so nice. N/a

The breakfast had a decent selection and was ready on time every day of our stay. Foot bath and massage chairs available at all times was a nice touch. Wonderful selection of amenities available. I wish I hadn’t filled out an expected arrival time. I’d overestimated how long customs would take and we arrived earlier than the time I’d put down. Even though we arrived after the 1500 check in time advertised, because I’d filled out the (optional) estimated arrival, I was forced to wait until hours later to check in, unless I wanted to pay an extra fee. Mattresses were horribly stiff and uncomfortable. Multiple sirens outside throughout every single night also made it hard to sleep. I was also very alarmed to witness them checking in a couple that were clearly very intoxicated. I’d seen them literally rolling around on the ground outside the hotel right before watching them come inside to check in. Staff was not concerned at all that the female guest could not even walk on her own and was falling over. This made me feel very unsafe. Location was not as convenient as advertised. We had to walk pretty far from the nearest metro station to reach the hotel and it was not viable to get to/from there with all our luggage in tow via anything other than a taxi. Hotel staff was friendly, but did not offer information about where we could find luggage forwarding service when asked.

What did we like - the fact that there were 4 beds in our rooms as booked. The fact is, this is a unadvertised "Love Hotel". Hourly rates draws much traffic to this location, easily seen in the lobby. The food was largely in cellophane. Attached is a picture of our sheets upon check-in - blood stained. Lots of communication issues at the front-desk.