I stayed just one night before boarding a cruise and this hotel is the perfect choice for this purpose. Right on the wharf, it really sets the mood for your voyage.

True, the rooms are not cheap and the practice of charging for pool access is a bit unusual. My room, 1143, was fine albeit quite small. Included internet access was a bonus and it worked flawlessly. Some guests will find lack of included bottled water a 'minus' but the tap water is perfectly fine to drink and no chlorine aftertaste.

TV was a bit of a chore. Apparently there is CNN but I couldn't find my way around the complicated bi-lingual system. Get your porter to tune it for you when your bags are delivered.

Breakfast is very well presented and a decent range of western and local choices. Coffee is good which always puts me in the right mood.

Staff are right up there with high standards of service as you would expect in any decent Japanese hotel. In fact the whole Japanese ethos of quality, respectful service is one I really enjoy - making Japan a great choice of holiday destination. In contrast to many international destinations, I find myself having to consciously relax and just go with the culture. Even the humble taxi from the train station was like a limo - spotless, with chauffer-like attentiveness.

I did not use or inspect the pool or fitness centre, nor the other restaurants besides the breakfast venue.

Conveniently located close to the Mosaic Harborland and the Kobe Port Tower (about a 5~10-minute walk).The hotel room is clean and comfortable, and you can sit out on the balcony to enjoy the stunning view of Kobe at night!

Cons:
1. This is the first hotel that I've been that charges staying guests to use their pool. & the charge is around USD10. which is exhorbitant considering the hotel rooms isn't cheap to start with.
2. The TV is tiny. For a supposedly 5star hotel, the TV is LCD,but only 26inch which was hard to watch in quite a big room. The only cable channel available was CNN, even local channels were few and most of channels were just static & noise.
3. There is no LAN cable in the room and you have to ask from the reception if you need to use internet, even though it is stated that it is free. WIFI signal was very weak.
4. No free bottled water in the room, there is a mini bar though. The convenience store is very far away but there is a minimart at the 1st floor lobby.
5. Bedspread/furniture is generally old/wornout. The rooms seem to be stuck in the same design/furnishings as 20 years ago.
6. AIrconditioner was so warm! The temperature stuck at 25degrees with no ventilation at night when we were sleeping and I kept waking up in the middle of the night covered in perspiration.
7. Breakfast is not included.

Pros:
1. Great toiletries - shampoo & conditioner was of good quality.
2. The hotel provided a free shuttle bus to the Sannomiya station.
3. All the rooms are ocean view, although there was a difference in whether you got the mosaic ferris wheel view or the industrial area view.
4. Bathrobes & bedroom slippers were provided.

Overall there are more cons than pros, I would try not to stay there again as it isn't worth the price just for the ocean view.

This hotel located near the Mosaic shopping mall and is not too far away from downtown Kobe (Sannomiya station). There are 2 shuttle buses (free of charge for hotel guests) running between the hotel and the bus terminal near Sannomiya Station or the Kobe JR station. We stayed in the "sea-view" room which got a nice view of the harbour and the park nearby. The buffet breakfast provides both Japanese and western dishes and we loved the varieties especially for the Japanese breakfasts. The staff are friendly and helpful...most of them can speak simple English and we didn't have any trouble in getting direction and information on shopping & eating information.