Candeo Hotels Ueno-Koen

Hotel is very new and nice. To quell most concerns, I was in the hotel on a high floor during the 2011 Earthquake, and felt perfectly safe. Despite many aftershocks and even the initial huge quake, there was no damage at all the room. On more general points: -When entering the room, you must put a little rubber stick that's on the keychain into the wall to activate the electricity. When you leave, if you remove the key, the power goes out. This definitely affects anything you plugged in (laptop, camera, etc.), but worst of all, I *think* it turns of the minifridge. Not a massive inconvenience, but it's really not something I enjoyed. -Hotel staff is very accommodating. Even if you decline to have your room cleaned, they will still drop off towels, bathrobes, and toothbrushes every day. Staff speaks decent english, they will understand mostly anything you need. -Room is a decent size for a solo traveler, and even a close couple. Really not enough room for three. There's enough space to be comfortable, but I found myself stepping over my bag the entire trip. -There's a small laundry room, it'll cost you about 500 yen to do a load. There are vending machines on almost every floor, and tons on the street, as well as convenience stores in the area. The station: -No matter where you arrive, you should get onto the Yamanote line, and stop at Uguisudani Station. You can see the sign for Candeo from the platform. There are two exits, north and south. The south exit is noticeably closer to the hotel (go out, down the the bridge to the left, and turn left at the street), but not a lot places to go (a few restaurants and a convenience store, all next to the station). The north exit (go out, slight right onto the street, turn right at the intersection) is a bit further away, but leads you past a bakery, fast food, convenience store, etc. Whichever you prefer is up to you. -If you're using a foreign debit card, the only place nearby to get cash from an ATM is 7-11, and the closest one is on the street that leads into Uguisudani Station (perpendicular to the street that the hotel is on). If you take a walk down that way, you can't miss it. Since Uguisudani is so close and on the Yamanote, it is so easy to get to almost anywhere in Tokyo. Definitely of the best features of this hotel, as you can still have all the experience of Tokyo but not in a particularly busy location. Oh, and the area is very safe; I had no fear walking down all sorts of streets in this area long after dark.

not very far from the JR station but not all know where the hotel is really located. better offer more information or direction about that. the front staff seems not familiar with the website reservation procedure, which kept me waiting for almost one hour on check-in, not smooth either while check-out until i told them unable to wait any more, got to leave right away. the only laptop in the lobby unable to reboot without password, which was only in the manager's hand. so that while he's off work, other staff were unable to use it when i need to print the reservation for the next hotel stay. only one or two front staff can speak english, without whom hardly get enough information