The night view reminds me most of everything about that stay. I stayed at Kobe Meriken Park Oriental Hotel for two nights and honestly the view from the balcony convinced me. City lights everywhere across the water, tall buildings and paths with glowing trees below, and you simply sit out there staring.
My friend back home is crazy about city skylines, so I sent him a few photos. The waterfront area below had people walking around overnight, and the whole scene across the harbor grabbed my attention from the balcony.The building is tall with a lot of floors and a sloping entrance leading up to the lobby. It belongs to Hotel Management Japan group, and I think it has around 20 floors but I'm not totally sure.
Inside, the lobby has a big open atrium with elevators going up through the middle, and tall palm trees at the bottom. The ceiling goes way up. I think I stood there a bit too long only looking at everything so tall because someone bumped me while passing.
What I Liked at Kobe Meriken Park Oriental Hotel
I checked in at the front desk near a round fountain in the lobby. The check-in was the usual, nothing too different from other Japanese hotels that I visited. Soft chairs nearby if you must wait.
In the lobby, there were Christmas decorations up with lit-up trees and a little show of tiny city buildings in front.
Then I went to the elevators on the main floor.
The lobby had a few different sitting areas, and my favorite was this section with shell-shaped chairs against the wall full of plants because those chairs were simply fun to look at. Most hotel lobbies that I know have pretty boring furniture but these are different.
There was a long walk to the room.
The room had two big beds with soft sheets and teal pillows, plus flat-screen TV fixed to the wall. I do not know whether that was their standard twin room or something better. The window looks out over the city, and you can see lights through it even if the curtains are half closed.
I planned on going down to check out the lobby bar later but stayed in bed instead.
Desk area with a chair and a tiny stool. Not sure why they put such a tiny stool instead of a normal chair.
The beds were comfy and the pillows not the flat type. I'm a bit picky about pillows so I'm glad that those were good and ended up sleeping well both nights which is not always the case in hotels for me.
The bathroom had a glass window that splits it from the bedroom and you can see the bed from inside. I've seen such a style in some other hotels but it still seems a bit weird to me. I wonder whether a curtain or blind exists for it that I simply did not notice.
An air cleaner and safe were in a drawer with a little flashlight beside it. Most hotels that I visited keep the safe in the closet, not in a drawer.
The bathroom had a bathtub with a handrail and three bottles of toiletries together with a toothbrush kit and a razor. I meant to skip the bath but the tub looked too good after walking around Kobe all day. The water pressure was okay maybe a bit weak but that could depend on my floor.
Face wash and hand wash by the sink and the toiletries were from a brand that I'd never heard of.
Tea bags, coffee packets and sugar in a drawer plus some mugs. I'm a bit of a coffee snob so the instant packets hurt a bit but I still drank one in the morning.
The balcony had two chairs and a small table. You do not always get a balcony in Japanese hotels so that is a plus.
During the day, the view is totally different. You can see green hills behind the city, ships in the harbor and people walking along the waterfront below. There was a big ship parked at the pier and a bridge way off in the distance.
The daytime harbor view with all boats moving through it was nice but the night one was better because everything simply looked cooler with the lights. I also stayed at Hotel Emion Kyoto before this trip and Kobe Meriken Park Oriental Hotel had a much bigger lobby by comparison.
The harbor area outside is right next to the park and the hotel spot is honestly one of the best things if you want to be near the water.
