Name: Hotel ViaMare Kobe
Address: 67 Kyomachi Chuoku, Kobe, Kobe, Kobe, 650-0034, Japan
Rating: 7

Computer

24-hour reception

General

Laundry

Safe-deposit box

Dry-cleaning

Luggage storage

Services and amenities

Breakfast

Restaurant

Vending machine

Breakfast/lunch to go

Meals

Free Wi-Fi

Internet

Parking

Pets Not Allowed

Pets

Temperature control for staff

Personal protection equipment for staff

Extra decontamination measures

Temperature control for guests

Personal protection equipment for guests

Individually packaged food

Additional measures against COVID-19

Health and Safety Measures

Location

At the hotel

Kobe Airport

Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan

Universal Studios Japan

Itami Airport

Osaka Science Museum

Osaka National Museum of Art

Utsubo Park

Tempozan Harbor Village Ferris Wheel

Shinsaibashi Shopping Arcade

Kansai International Airport

Sennichimae Doguyasuji Shopping Street

Nakanoshima Park

Kuromon Ichiba

Tsutenkaku Tower

Tennoji Zoo

Kids Plaza Osaka

Tenjinbashi-suji Shopping Arcade

Osaka Museum of Housing and Living

Abeno Harukas

Shitennoji Temple

Osaka Museum of History

Kema Sakuranomiya Park

Osaka Castle

Toji Temple

Umekoji Park

Kyoto Aquarium

Nishihonganji Temple

Fushimi Inari Shrine

Kyoto Tower

Higashi Honganji Temple

Shoseien Garden

Nijo Castle

Sanjusangendo Temple

Kyoto National Museum

Kyoto International Manga Museum

Kenninji Temple

Kiyomizu Temple

Kyoto Imperial Palace

Kodaiji Temple

Yasaka Shrine

Maruyama Park

Chion-in Temple

Kyoto National Museum of Modern Art

Kyoto Municipal Zoo

Hotel ViaMare Kobe

Kobe

Stayed here for a night during the Rugby World Cup - basic hotel which did the job and staff were exceptionally helpful with maps to the stadium etc. Short walk to China town where there are lots of restaurants

Very helpful staff

Stayed here for the Rugby World Cup. The staff couldn’t be more helpful. They had helpful maps about the game all prepared. Booked us a great restaurant near our hotel and even an itinerant that included all we needed to know to get the the stadium. And even which was the most convenient exit to take to enter the ground.
Amazing.


A great little hotel with amazingly helpful staff

Stayed here for a business trip for 3 nights.

Room is cozy with just enough space.
With ioniser and clothes dryer in room along with mini ref, tv and complimentary tea and biscuit daily.

Open the window if you feel aircon is not cold enough.

Great toiletry set with shiseido branded stuff.

Just 11minutes to subway and airport bus stop, 6 minutes to chinatown. Stone’s throw away from the Kobe museum and the premium shops strip. With a familymart and 7/11 across the street.

Buffet breakfast is basic though and so far the same everyday.


Functional as per Need

Stayed for a week in October 2015 for business.
Couldn't complain too much for the price, really.
However, patrons should be aware that there is a long flight of stairs to the lobby which is located on the first floor, so be prepared to lug your baggage up. (They do have an elevator from the ground floor to the lobby, but they usually shut it down, and you have to go to the lobby first to request them to operate it......not worth the trouble).
Rooms are tiny (very normal in Japan) but immaculately clean.
Not much choices of restaurants in the immediate vicinity, but the happening places are not too far away, just around 10 minutes' walk towards Sannomiya Station.

Value for money

The hotel is around 10 min walk from the station. There is hardly any place where one can eat near the hotel (although there is a nice small restaurant inside the hotel), so it is recommended that you eat near the station before coming (back) to the hotel. There are a lot of places to eat near San-no-miya station. 
The entrance is on the second floor. So, if you have a luggage, you need to go to the side of the building, where there is a lift. The lift is very difficult to find and you need to ask the guard to use the key to open the lift. But the guard is alert, and he will come out for you immediately. 
Rooms can be a bit smelly with the smell of cigarette, so if one is sensitive to cigarette smell, it is strongly advised to request for a non-smoking room. 
There is an electric kettle, but there is no coffee, so if one is a coffee drinker, better to bring with you. 
It has a nice writing desk, so easy to work. 
It has large mirror, so that is convenient. 
It is equipped with shampoo, conditioner and bath gel. But there is no body/hand cream, and it can be dry during winter, so you might like to bring some with you. 
Breakfast had a good variety, and it was not crowded, so had quite a comfortable breakfast. Breakfast is value for money if you are booking via internet and have a discounted price.

Comfortable

Hotel is located 5min walk from the Sannomiya Station. There is parking available at the hotel. There is no parking bay outside hotel entrance and parking is located on the side of the hotel. (Check google maps for better indication). There is only one elevator in the building but we never waited too long. Rooms were clean but felt old and tired. Basics covered and good location but not great value for your money.

Old and tired hotel...

I stayed at the Via Mare for three nights in November 2015.

The Via Mare is located a short walk to Sannomiya Station, in the heart of the former foreign settlement area.  There are more than enough restaurants, cafes and bars in the area to keep you amused in the evenings.

The Via Mare is a pretty poor option here, though - it just doesn't work.  From the moment when you arrive (there is no elevator...you need to lug your bag up a flight of stairs to get to reception), they just don't seem to get things right.

Rooms are small, but that's normal in Japan.  But mine was never cleaned in the three days I was there - rather, a plastic bag was tied to my door each day, containing fresh towels.  Now, a room as tiny as those at Via Mare get messy fast, and after three days the microscopic rubbish bins are overflowing and the place is a dump.

Internet is so slow as to be barely functional - certainly not good enough for a Skype chat, or even to reliably download email.  This seems such a basic thing these days...why can't hotels get it right?

The fit out of the rooms is ancients, and is in desperate need of a refreshment.  Breakfast is really, really poor.

Not much positive to say about Via Mare.  There are many new entrants in the Kobe business hotel market, and this place has been well and truly lapped by the competition.

Gets the basics wrong

This hotel is located in a very convenient location both for visiting the port area of Kobe, where the maritime museum is located, and for shopping in the city's numerous shops. The staff, as always in Japan, is very courteous and available. Unfortunately, however, there are no rooms for non-smokers and although I have had the opportunity to stay in different rooms due to my frequent movements and temporary absences from the city, in all the rooms the smell of smoke is felt strongly.

Hotel ViaMare Kobe

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