GARDENS CABIN（ガーデンズキャビン）

The overall cost performance is good, and I really appreciated the public bath. It was perfect for relaxing after a long and tiring day. However, I was a bit disappointed that guests are asked to leave the lounge immediately after check-out. I just wanted to wait for my bus, and the lounge was even empty at the time. It would have been nice to have a little flexibility in that situation.

This hotel locations is convenient, right in the city center. they have kombini in the first floor, nearby airport bus stop and stations. Their breakfast is afforadble and worth it, only 1100yen you will get buffet and several choice of drinks. The public bathroom is japanese traditional onsen but they have one shower room if u don't want onsen and they give free toiletries and basic skincare like lotion.

*honest and objective review based on my personal experience while traveling solo. They are beyond my expectation.. I didn’t expect the place will be very good and proper for a cabin hotel. I stayed for 6 nights on a cabin (they also got room), and here are some points from my perspective: Service: They provide a service such a normal and proper hotel, which I don’t expect from a Cabin Inn. The staffs are very professional, friendly, and helpful. Convinience: Everything is very convininent. Checking in and out was very easy (they have the self service machine). There are 2 elevators that runs fast to move people in high frequency. Most important, there is a 7-Eleven right in the entrance of the building. Luggage space is big and easy to use (located below the cabin with a safety lock. Everyone got their own persona luggage space so you dont have to share spaces with others to keep your luggage. Cabin: The cabin size is very spacious. I really can sleep well without having to annoyed with my own small in-cabin things because the have a space above the head position of the bed to put every small goods that’s not stored in the luggage space. They also got a small cabinet locker to lock valuable things. I can also hang my jackers and clothes inside the cabin properly. I dont have to put extra effort to get in and out from my cabin since the height is just perfect. Bathroom/Shower/Lavatory: This is also the thing that beyond my expectation. They have a public bathroom (just like an onsen) with cole bath, room temperature bath, and… the hot bath which just perfect after your day out in the snow and Sapporo’s cold air. I used the public bath 4 days duriny my stay because it just feels amazing. For foreigners, it may feels awkward to be totally naked with other people, but as times goes by, I am getting used to it. There are 2 showers aswell for those who feels more comfortable to take the personal shower. It’s located in the B1 floor, while lavatory available in each floor. Location: Very very strategic. Located near famous spots in Sapporo, which accessible to walk to. If the place requires public transport, right next to the Building there is an entrance to Sapporo underground mall (Aurora Town if I’m not mistaken, that connects to subway line) Conclusion: The whole facility and service is very worth the price (or even beyond). If I’m coming back to sapporo and requires Cabin-styled inn, I obviously will stay here again.

Putting this first and foremost because another person lied in their review: Tattoos are NOT allowed in the onsen. More on this later, first the good. Amazing location. Two blocks from Odori park, subway station around the corner, tram station right outside, department store across the street, the Nikka cross walk just down the street, the covered shopping street a block away, Sapporo station is a 20 minute walk away, a 7-11 is on the first floor, literally everything at your fingertips! I also love the concept of being able to reserve pods in sets. Perfect for friends or family traveling together. I accidentally reserved two beds, but it was really nice because I had my own little area to store my stuff and change. The pod sections are divided via a heavy curtain, so it helps give the sense of privacy. The staff were really kind and let me store my bags after check out so that I could get lunch. They have sleeping outfits including LL size (this size is popular, so be sure to snag one early if you can). Toiletries are available to grab at your convenience and include: hair brush, toothbrush kit, razor, hair tie, ear plugs, and cotton face pads. In the bathroom, there are also cotton swabs. There are vending machines in the lounge area and in the bathing lounge area. Honestly, everything would be perfect if it weren't for this one thing. Tattoos are not allowed in the bathing area and those with tattoos are asked to use the shower room. Which would be fine if there wasn't only ONE shower room for ALL women. I don't know what the men's side looks like, but there is literally one shower room for women to use. So if someone else is using it, you are forced to just sit there in the small changing room staring at the floor so you don't look like a weird creep just sitting there while everyone else around you is getting naked. I understand it is a cultural difference, but I was surprised to see such a modern looking hotel/hostel have such an old school approach with not a more meaningful solution. This place would be perfect in my eyes if it weren't for this one item. Originally I wanted to give less stars due to this, but remembered all of the other thoughtful details. So instead, I just removed one, even though not being able to clean yourself after a long day of traveling is quite annoying. I think there use to be two shower stalls, but at the time of my stay, the one in the corner was converted into some sort of sitting relaxing area with a reclining lawn chair. I don't know, it was very confusing and not a good use of the space.

Ok so going into this with the expectation that this is more like an upscale hostel than an actual hotel (low expectations) wasn’t quiet enough to save this place for me. Let’s start with the positives: The number one positive is the location! I couldn’t have asked for a better location cause I came for the Sapporo snow festival (which was amazing btw) and this place is a 5 min walk from Odori Park and the Susukino Ice World site. It’s also really clean and relatively well run (though a lot of it is automated to keep the costs down). The other positive is definitely price as it was much cheaper than the other options in the immediate area. But that’s pretty much where the positives end. Starting of with the fact that the rooms aren’t really rooms, they’re (what I would call) storage facilities for humans (down to the sliding doors that are basically retractable curtains with no lock or even latch, just a magnet to keep them from literally coming off the wall. They give you a key to an under bed storage space “to keep your valuables - but this is less of a safe and more of a crappy latch with a key, think the kind of latch you see on a cheap wooden office desk or cabinet… other than that, your stuff is out with only a curtain standing between it and anyone on the floor - that being said, the Japanese culture is very safe and respectful so besides the mental discomfort of it, I didn’t feel too worried - but if you have something like an expensive laptop or whatever, I’d consider this). But the things that really were an issue for me are the following two: 1. There’s obviously no bathroom or shower in your room (the aforementioned human storage unit). I knew that from the description. What they didn’t say was that the bathroom is on your floor (there are 3 toilets for what I would guess is 50 rooms - so consider that and do the math). The other part, and this is the part that was really annoying… the showers are in the basement/bath area (and there are a total of 2 - that’s for the whole “hotel - and I just so happened to stay there when one was broken - so there was only one… for the whole hotel 😳😬😩)… also, on a less critical but also weird note, the showers are in the male bath area and everyone is fully naked, so if that bothers you (think first thing before your morning shower being that, also consider that). 2. One of the most important things I need for my travel in a foreign country is internet… an generally places like this (nomadic hostels) lack a lot of refined facilities, but they generally have good internet because that’s arguably more important than showers for their patrons 😬. Unfortunately, this place lacked that as well. Don’t get me wrong, there was internet (and a slew of well structured networks/gateways to connect to almost everywhere in the hotel (the bathroom wasn’t one of them cause I could not consistently connect which was really frustrating for the morning news routine 😩), but the internet speed was virtually unusable for anything beyond email and basic media scrolling. Watching YouTube videos brought me back to 1990s dial up with constant buffering and pixelation, and it took me 30 minutes to upload a 50 second clip of the Snow Festival. All in all, the location and price were great but understand what you’re buying. Oh and one more thing (and this one I’ve never seen), after I checked out (at 10am because they have an early checkout policy or you get charged with no free extensions), they kicked everyone who wasn’t still staying at the hotel out of the lounge as the lounge is apparently only for people with active bookings. So if you’re not going directly to the airport after the checkout, keep that in mind as well.