Hiroshima Grand Intelligent Hotel

Aging hotel with good staff but a few downsides

The lobby has very interesting European-style decor, for those that like that sort of thing. The breakfast buffet was decent. Staff spoke enough English and were very helpful.

The hotel just seems dated in many aspects. For example, they still use physical, metal keys for the rooms, not the electronic key cards that others use. Not only that, you have to turn in the key to the front desk every time you leave the room, and pick it up when you get back to the hotel. This is probably to prevent copying of the keys but it evidently isn't very effective as I just forgot to return the key when I left the hotel once. Another strange thing is that they provide wired internet but not wireless. This would have been acceptable 8 years ago, but not now. Luckily I had brought a router with me which worked fine for providing internet access to our phones and iPads, but this would not benefit the vast majority of guests. We could not open the windows in our room and they looked like they came out of a 1960's-era war bunker. Overall a bit of a strange experience: The hotel staff have clearly taken Japanese-level care over its many years in service, but eventually time takes its toll no matter the level of care. Some things in the hotel are just aching for an actual replacement or refurbishment. Stay here if you can get a great price, but if you want a more comfortable stay, look elsewhere.