Hotel Ofutei

Everything was just lovely. A beautiful room, with a great view of the surrounds, lovely dinner and breakfast, nice bath facilities. Its a great option in Tomonoura as it is in town rather than down the road, so everything is walkable. Shuttle service from Fukuyama station is very convenient. Staff were very helpful and their service was excellent.

What could be improved: It was great, no complaints 👌

The Hotel Ofutei was a wonderful relaxing retreat after the hectic-ness of Osaka and Nagoya. The hotel is right on the water so you can hear the waves lapping at night and the seabirds during the day. There were two western chairs in our tatami room so you could look out the picture window to your hearts content. The futons on the floor provided a sound sleep and weren't problematic even for me with my bad knee. The toilet room, sink, shower/bath room were all separate with the bath tub being deep for soaking. There was a tea service with good sencha and lots of hot water for the teapot. There was also a good-sized mini-refrigerator for bottled water and the local houmeishyu. The kaiseki breakfasts and dinners were the high point! After so many combini and ekibentos, it was a real treat to have wonderfully presented, tasty, and expertly prepared fare. Kudos to the chef! The splurge added to our sense of well-being.
The service made you feel like you were well-taken care of. No struggling with luggage -- they hauled it up to the room and then later out to the shuttle service. The hotel personnel were polite, helpful and graceful -- and patient with our sputtering Japanese and fallback into English. The shuttle service took us directly to the JR Station in Fukuyama. This hotel/ryokan is a real find.

The internal architecture of the room was outstanding. My room had these cupped wood flooring that was amazing in craftsmanship. The each wall had a variety of tiling or textured wall paper, I have never seen before. The lighting and plumbing fixtures were top-of-the-line. Each wall of my corner room, had a impressive view of the ocean.
The special access lounge had free alcohol, chips, and variety of other beverages.

The meals were seasonal delicacies with very unique flavors.

Multiple staff were all friendly and helpful, at every turn. They were always smiling and willing to help or assist you.

Low-key atmosphere for an amazing and relaxing experience. This facility deserves a repeat visit.

What could be improved: One usually encounters the occasional staff that had a bad day, or just needed a day off. The majority made the effort to speak English.

Even if it was far from major transportation hubs, it was extremely accessible.

The view from the room.
The frond desk staff was wonderful and extremely helpful. Thank you.

What could be improved: We were picked up by the hotel shuttle near the Fukuyama station. We had heavy suitcases as we were traveling Japan for a month. The driver just stood there and watched us struggle carrying them up on the shuttle and didn’t even offer to help. I have travelled extensively around the world, including Japan, but never ever encountered a shuttle driver not help with suitcases.

One waitress kept arguing with me about our choice of breakfast. We requested just eggs and toast. There’s no simpler breakfast than that to prepare! For what we paid for the stay at this hotel, I thought a small request changing the menu from Japanese breakfast to a simple western breakfast was not too much to ask. What I didn’t appreciate was one of the female server, who spoke English, kept arguing with me. A server should NEVER argue with customers, in my opinion.

Other staff members were very courteous and went beyond their duty to accommodate us. We liked the hotel overall, but a couple of employees with the negative attitude ruined the entire stay and we ended up giving the bad overall review.