Mitsui Garden Hotel Hiroshima (Review)

Located in the historical city center, the Mitsui Garden Hotel 🏨 Hiroshima displays all the classical features of a business hotel in Japan. The tall building, with a gray mosaic facade and a large glassed entryway, without memorable feature at first sight, is standing on the Peace Boulevard, a few minutes’ walk away from the Peace Memorial Park and the Genbaku Dome.

Inside, the reception counter for checking-in and checking-out is somewhat lost in an immense lobby. This large space with sofas and tall ceilings can easily accommodate groups. The bespoke design of the large colorful carpet is inspired from the Seto Inland Sea’s sunset. Overall, the interior decoration is slightly more modern, with colors that are clearer than the usual dark brown wood generally used in this kind of hotel.

Once the guests have been warmly welcomed by the staff, always very professional, they can take the elevators to access the rooms. Their layout is standard with:

• Western-style bedding;
• A desk and TV set;
• A convenient small fridge, and,
• A standard plastic bathroom 🛁.

As a matter of fact, the age of the hotel is particularly showing in the bathrooms as some of them have obvious mold traces. Likewise, the filters of the air cleaners are not always changed timely. We therefore must put a damper regarding the equipment's maintenance; however sheets and towels were perfectly clean.

The theme of the sea is expressed in the color touches and patterns in the rooms, with 2 main decoration styles:

• The blue wallpaper that reminds of the wind blowing in the islands of the Seto Inland Sea; and,
• The black and white frieze symbolizing oyster patterns (the local specialty), complemented by lemon yellow bedspreads.

When booking, be careful to not choose a room where smoking is allowed. The Mitsui Garden Hotel Hiroshima indeed has rooms for indoor smokers, and the pungent cigarette smell can really be a bother to a non-smoker.

Panoramic view on the city from the upper floors

As a business hotel for business people passing by Hiroshima, the hotel does not have a restaurant but does serve every morning a breakfast in a great buffet allowing a choice between savory dishes and sweet viennoiseries.

We recommend having breakfast at the hotel, all the more as the breakfast room is located at the 25th and upper floor, giving a pleasant panorama on the city. Note that the rooms at the uppermost floors also have the same unobstructed view above the city.

Beside the possibility to have an interesting vantage point from some rooms, the Mitsui Garden Hotel Hiroshima does not have notable features. Its old-fashioned Japanese style hospitality service is suitable for a couple on a short stay in the capital of the Chugoku area.