I've stayed at the b hotel on two occasions. Both times I've really enjoyed staying at the hotel. The amenities are average at best but the location is fantastic. Really close to the Tokyu hands department store, the restaurants slightly to the north (near the Ikuta shrine) and a bunch of bars in Sannomiya. Highly recommended for the location and the price.

The rooms are average size for Japan. But they're clean and the beds are big for Japanese hotels too.

Also, you can find some bargains on their facebook group.

This was the first hotel my husband and I stayed in on our first trip to Japan. I rate this as an excellent hotel because of the room's design and cleanliness, the location of the hotel and the price.

I booked a twin, non-smoking room through the hotel's website two weeks prior to our December trip, which coincided with the last day of the Festival Luminarie. We arrived at the Kinsai Airport and took a shuttle to the JR Sannomiya station; the hotel was a 3 minute walk from the here. The desk staff spoke perfect English and we had no trouble paying with a credit card.

The room was more spacious than I anticipated, I particularly liked the modern bathroom and shower cubicle. The room came with standard amenities (soaps, toothbrush, pajamas, slippers), wired internet, TV, small mini-fridge, blackout shades, hair dryer, kettle, temperature control and reading lamps. The small hotel lobby had free wifi and free (strong) coffee.

The location was in a busy area with many bars and restaurants only a minute away. It felt safe at night. This area has several small, winding streets to explore in the evening. There are at least 3 restaurants housed in the groundfloor of the hotel building, as well as a yoga studio. A Tokyu Hands store is on the same street (good for kitchy Japanese gifts and other great stuff). There is also a very popular Taiyaki (fish-shaped pancake with sweet filling) shop close by.

Kobe is a great city and staying at this hotel contributed to an overall positive experience for us.

The hotel is much dated than the photos. Room is as small as other typical hotels in Japan so I have no concern at all. Location was nice, not far from the stations. The problem were:
1) central heater was always on. You can control the temperature from "High" to "Off" from a small panel in the room but there's no way for you to switch the heater to "cool" or "fan". It was even worse if I turned off the heater as there was no other ventilation available. My room was too hot for sleep and we sometimes felt hard to breathe!!
2) bathroom was not clean enough in Japanese standard. we could easily wiped off dirt and stain from the basin and surrounding area.
The good was the staff speak sufficient English, although they couldn't help us on the ventilation problem.

I picked the hotel, based on the reviews and price. What a great hotel. The rooms are not large, but this is Japan, however they are not small, certainly comfortable. The staff are great and speak sufficient English to help with inquiries. The hotel and room were spotless. Toiletries are supplied including 2 razours. I was told that we could not have a double bed, but the beds are ample for 2, being 123 cm width, we only used one, the only issue was that the fridge did not have a temperature control. The rooms have two windows, but with the blinds down, are so dark that you would only know it is daylight by looking at the time. The Sannomiyia Train Station is a five minute walk away, even with luggage however if you are using the JR pass, the entry to the Station is only 2 minutes from the station(on the same side of the road as the hotel ). There are so many restraunts nearby, you are spoilt with choices. Now I understand the comments in reviews about the hower/toilet. loved the free coffee machine in the lobby, and the newspaper, which was in English, so you can sit in the lobby and read whilst having a coffee. I stayed 5 nights and we both looked forward to returning for another 3 after travelling to other locations