richarddd

Your diagram is what I thought it must be. It's hard to imagine there wouldn't be walls or sliding panels in the places you indicate.

Was the picture at the end of your post a picture of the RC luxury room?

The questions I come back to is whether the RC luxury room would feel large enough, whether the FS executive suite would feel much larger and whether I should just go for a larger room, even if it meant a noticeably higher cost. Perhaps my harping on this issue is due to an experience at another hotel at which we were initially given a junior suite that was clearly two regular rooms with part of the wall between them cut out. Although it had a good number of square meters it felt cramped. The FS executive suite floorplan has that appearance.

The RC does sound generally nicer than the FS, although as always this view is not universal.

Thank you very much for the detailed and informative posts!

david22

I'd still email to confirm. :-) And yes, the last picture was a picture I took when I stayed.

The FS executive suite is 764 – 818 sq. ft while the RC Luxury room is 559 sq ft. So it is much larger just in terms of size... but your question is whether it would "feel" more spacious due to the use of the space (e.g. narrower rooms, addition of a power room and a 4 person dining table)? I agree it's hard to get a sense without standing in the room :-) Still, it seems like you'd notice the extra space.

This TripAdvisor review seems to show some photos:
photo 1
photo 2
photo 3

I also found this blog... I can't read the text but it seems to have some photos from angles I haven't seen anywhere else:
Four Seasons Executive Suite King @ FS Kyoto ? ?????? - ?????????????????????GET?

It also looks like it might have a closet / dressing area in the bathroom, so possibly more luggage storage space?

HKTraveler

Was actually in Kanazawa earlier this year and find a luxury ryokan that I was very happy with. Maki no Oto is located right in the old district and walking distance to most things. Only spent one night there and really wished I could have stayed longer. Since my stay was so short, I didn't want to stay outside the city in an onsen ryokan and this was perfect for me

Location: 1 min away from the Higashi Chaya main street and while the whole district gets busy during the day, it was very quiet and tranquil at night. Managed to walk to the Kenrakuen in about 15 mins and then to the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art. Aside from the lack of a convenience store close by, the location was perfect for a stay inside Kanazawa city. It is a bit farther from the train station but part of the service includes train station pick-up and drop-off so this wasn't an issue for me

Service: service was very attentive as there are only two rooms! Yes, a hotel with only two rooms and I guess the hotel is really an extension of their restaurant and coffee shop. They try to be as helpful as possible and as the only guest in the hotel that night, they were very flexible in arranging train station drop-off or meal times

Hardware: the two rooms are located above the restaurant and coffee shops and looks to be quite new. I stayed in Nishi and got a chance to check out the other room as well and if I come back, I would stay in Nishi again as it is slightly larger and I also like the larger space in the living room. There is a Japanese style living room with two western beds off to the side in an alcove. There was wifi and a Nespresso machine so all the trappings that one would expect at a luxury ryokan. There is a small terrace outside the room and it overlooks the garden outside the restaurant downstairs. This is not an onsen place though so don't expect any fancy ofuro here










Food: dinner was included as part of the plan and it was surprisingly good. As this was part of a foodie trip for me, I was checking out several Michelin starred restaurants in Tokyo and was still impressed by what they are putting on a plate here. Special highlight was their ice cream that came with a piece of persimmon

For a relaxing stay inside the city of Kanazawa, I would gladly come back here again and maybe spend 3 nights instead of one to really enjoy the city

richarddd

Were you happy with the RC luxury room? Did it feel small to you?

The pictures in there, especially the one that seems to show the foot of the bed almost touching the opposite wall, are exactly what concerns me.

Google translate is wonderful: "However, it seems that he kindly gave me an EX suite. As it was rate without discount by reservation on the day, it may be upset. As it is a long and thin floor plan of 75 square meters, I can not deny the sense of force by force. Dekai Americans should feel "squeezed". You may not need here. Writing desk by the window. bedroom. Chair + ottoman. Tea room view. It feels so nice to the details. Crisp pleasant sleep. Wallpaper of Japanese paper is kind. Many people feel relieved to see this mark. W sink + 2 toilets. Zaban type: Japanese-style bath. I had a delicious cake. Let's have a cup of tea. It is also Nan to say in the minutes of the applause, but honestly in this room, ● ● 10,000 yen (regular) I think I wonder. I'm sorry. Conrad Osaka was a serious experience. (ぼ)"

Thank you again. I really appreciate it.

david22

Well, our expectations may differ :-) I wasn't unhappy with the RC at the time... it didn't feel spacious but it didn't feel like a problem either. The 550-600 sq. ft. suite w/ a separate living and bedroom at the Hotel de Crillon definitely felt a little tight.

Just subjectively, the 570 sq. ft. FS room felt a bit more roomy than the 559 sq. ft. RC Luxury room due to the open area around the desk, couch and bed. It just seemed like the furniture was arranged in a way that consolidated open floor space in a few areas rather than having the open floor space equally spaced around various furniture. In the RC, the bathroom area around the sinks felt a bit tight because it was so narrow while in the FS the sink area felt more roomy. But the FS bathroom still felt small coming from the RC Tokyo where the bathroom has a very effective square layout.

lol at the translation :-) and glad to help!

gengar

As I mentioned in my review earlier in this thread (post 513) of a 1BR residential suite at FS Kyoto, I did think the rooms were rather narrow. Part of the problem is the furniture selection and placement; there's a lot of furniture in there and there isn't much empty floorspace left, so it's a cozy rather than spacious feel. I think the official floorplans accurately represent the feel of the rooms.

All that said, I did stay there for three days and thought it was fine.


I definitely didn't experience the phone issue (and I called a lot) - but this is definitely something that would have greatly annoyed me and I would have brought it to the attention of management, if for no other reason than to gauge the response. Hopefully my experience wasn't just because the property seemed to be at low occupancy during my stay.

richarddd

Thank you. That review is very helpful. If the 1BR (which appears to be essentially two regular rooms connected) is rather narrow, the executive suites (which are narrower versions of the 1BR) does not sound very appealing. A more square room with less furniture would be nice. I wonder if the upcoming Park Hyatt will be any better.

Based on listed square footage and floorplans, the FS does appear to be more spacious than the RC at similar price points.

david22

I did specifically call it out in my post-visit survey and they sent me an email, "Although it was middle of our peak season, it is definitely not the kind of service we provide to our guests and I am really sorry... I wanted to assure you that we have taken your feedback very seriously and I will share with my team and will make sure that this will not happen again."

While I was there, I also expressed my frustrations with the unavailability to the operator but that complaint did not get relayed anywhere apparently.

richarddd

How did you like the Nikko Kanazawa? Which room type did you have?

Is there anything new or better?

Unfortunately the suites only have twin beds, not something larger, as there seems a Japanese preference for twins. A few years ago, in connection with a later cancelled trip, they said they couldn't combine them, but maybe that's changed.

We're visiting mainly for the Kenroku-en garden.

Cynicor

Nikko Kanazawa is pretty basic. No gym, pay $$$ to go to one next door, which is a bit odd (just very Japanese so hard to know if what you are doing is appropriate).
For the $ I paid, I got slightly less than I'd expect in this sort of city. Room very small, which I understand in Tokyo and Osaka etc but Kanazawa doesn't seem to have the same space pressure and high rise.
There surely must be nicer options around; I'd consider a higher end room at somewhere else than a lower end room here.
It's at a level between a Hilton and a Conrad I think, if that helps?

LM225

To echo @Cynicor, Nikko Kanazawa was indeed basic. We had a Deluxe Room on the Luxe Floor, and it was...fine. Somewhere between a Hilton and a Conrad sounds about right.

Our room was small and we could smell chlorine, but I couldn't find anything that appealed more in town.

If you're not set on being in town, consider Beniya Mukayu outside of Kanazawa.

richarddd

That's the problem with Kanazawa - the Nikko does appear to be the most appealing option in town. We're visiting it to see the Kenroku-en garden, so the Beniya Mukayu is too far away.

How was breakfast?

Aventine

A Hyatt Centric is coming next year but probably won't be open for your dates?

LM225

We didn't try it, as we had an early morning tour. We ended up eating at a bakery (Hiramipan) instead, which was pretty good.

richarddd

We're going in January, while it seems the Hyatt is opening in mid-2020 according to Hyatt Hotels Corporation - Hyatt Announces Plans for the First Joint Hyatt Centric and Hyatt House Hotels in Japan