Originally Posted by
NewbieRunner
I spent a night at the Alivila hotel a couple of years ago. I expect that the other resort hotels in the area are very similar:
You definitely need a car if you stay here. It's a resort hotel far away from any town. The hotel itself is heavily geared towards tour groups, but that's probably not a problem...
There are a few restaurants on site. The food is... good enough. The restaurants and bars in the hotel complex had a distinct "Disney-fake" ambience. But I actually ended up having a ball despite my cynicism at the Okinawan bar in the evening. The grotto setting might have been "Disney-fake" but the entertainment they provided actually turned out to be world class. (a couple of local shamisen players who sang some okinawan pop songs and folk songs - extremely well).
Breakfast is buffet style - an anthropologist would have a field day watching how Japanese groups interact. The spread is OK. Too much stuff from tin cans ... but what the heck.
Rooms were much more spacious than a typical Japanese city hotel. They seem to be aimed at families - so you can probably fit three beds in the rooms. Tiled floor. TV, fridge, arm chairs. Large balcony with a couple of loungers. The furnishings are pretty basic, but what do you need, really? In a warm climate, I actually enjoy the feel of a tiled room without much furniture. And I guess it's probably very easy to clean - just point a fire hose at the floor and blast away.