ibis Styles Sapporo

Clean, stylish business hotel. As expected of a European type. It is a little far from Sapporo Station, but it is only one underground line away and is conveniently located near the downtown area Susukino. I think it is one of the larger business hotels in Japan. You know how small Japanese business hotels are. It will be my regular accommodation when I visit Sapporo and I will recommend it to business travellers from abroad.

The room was spacious and comfortable. The breakfast was satisfactory. By "Western" I was expecting more like American style with pancakes or waffles, but it was still good. The one thing I do not like in both Ibis Styles I have stayed in is that the heater is turned up very high prior to arrival. So it's almost too hot and dry to remain in the room for the first couple hours after turning it off completely. I would suggest not turning it as high in the future.

This hotel is located three subway stations away from JR Sapporo station (Namboku Line - Nakajimakoen, exit 1) and only about two minutes walk to the subway. Beside the lobby of the hotel, there is a Lawson. From the hotel to the Susukino station, there are a lot of restaurants, pubs and shops within walking distance. So overall is quite convenient. I booked a superior room but got upgraded to deluxe due to my elite status. The welcome gift is a pack of mini macaroons and a postcard. The welcome drink is selected during check-in and given directly. For silver member and above, there is a bottomless coffee available at the front desk. There are coin laundry available, 300 yen per wash with detergent auto-added, and 100 yen per 30 mins drying. Buffet breakfast is temporarily not available due to COVID, but two different breakfast set menu is available: Japanese and American. The hotel is just reopened few days before I check-in and there are readapting the new normal but as expected from fine Japanese hospitality, there are doing great! Overall, I am happy with my stay here.

This is an Ibis, in the heart of Sapporo. There is nothing room with the rooms of this hotel, apart from worn and stained furniture (see picture). You wonder what happened there? Interesting bacterial culture, surely. The gym is actually very good, although you have to walk through the lobby to get to it, which is not so nice. But here is my gripe, apart from the disgusting stains on the furniture: It's now in the middle of the corona virus. Call me pathetic, but I actually don't particularly want to go out too much. So I call reception and ask if they could very kindly help me order a pizza. 'No.' is the short answer. 'What? Excuse me?' 'It is against our policy.' 'What? I am forbidden to order a pizza?' 'No. But we cannot order it for you.' 'You can't help me order a pizza? I don't speak Japanese, and I just tried 3 different places I found on Google, but they don't speak English. So can't you help me order it?' 'No. It is against our policy. You have to order it yourself.' Etc etc etc. What is WRONG with these people? Why do some people in the 'service' industry act with such blatant disregard for any service or hospitality? What harm could it possibly do for this front desk manager to help a customer (probably his ONLY customer in these hard times) order a darned pizza? So I called a Japanese friend who ordered the pizza for me. Oh well, hey-ho. Stay here if you like disgustingly stained furniture and zero service!

It was a great experience my stay in Ibis Style Sapporo, staff was nice and efficient. The best of Japanese hospitality in a great location, nearby Susukino area with nice restaurants and places to visit. I totally recommend.