I lived in Kobe for 4 years and when I was leaving it I had to stay a night in hotel. My choice was Hotel Sunroute Sopra Kobe.

It is a well located, not new but cosy hotel. Windows were to the soccer field and quiet street. I booked the room for 4500JPY, which is very reasonable price to stya in Kobe. Bigger hotels do not offer anything special, but charge for location. But Kobe itself is very conveniently planned, so you don't need to live next to the station in order to reach all must-see places in the city.

Things to note about this hotel and surroundings:

- 10 minutes walk from Sannomiya station to the south (in the direction of sea)
- 10 minutes walk from city center (Chinatown, main avenues, port, etc)
- night time hotel is a bit noisy, as it is usually a place to stay for guests invited to wedding parties. No womder they have second and third drinking rounds after the main party is over
- corridors are smelly, but not more than in other hotels in Japan
- 24h convenient store "Sunkus" is 50m from the entrance.
- if you go to Kansai airport, book Skygate Shuttle service (2300JPY one way) via
http://www.mk-group.co.jp/english/shuttle/index.html directly from the hotel you stay.
- if you prefer romantic trip take a boat from Kobe Airport to Kansai Airport in the morning and enjoy sunrise views of Kobe. http://www.kobe-access.co.jp/en/index.html
- there are no good places to eat within 5 minutes walk. Go to the station area or at least to the area of Kokusai Kaikan (next big streetcrossing to the south from Sannomiya station)
- if you go shopping in the long shopping street (shotengai), try to bargain in small shops with owners. It works in 50% of cases. Of course no bargaining in big shops - they will think you are sick if you do it.

Enjoy Kobe, it's a great city. And don't pay for expensive hotels, save money as all Kansai people love to do!