Name: Hotel New Shichisei
Address: Kusatsu 300, Kusatsu, Kusatsu, Kusatsu, 377-1711, Japan
Rating: 8

Air conditioning

Elevator/lift

Heating

Gift shop

General

Family room

Flat-screen TV

Shower/Bathtub

Bathtub

Shower

Slippers

Toiletries

Rooms

Safe-deposit box

Services and amenities

Vending machine

Meals

Internet access

Internet

Free parking

Parking

Family/Kid Friendly

Kids

Ski storage

Skiing

Winter sports

Pets Not Allowed

Pets

Location

At the hotel

Room amenities

Hotel New Shichisei

Kusatsu

Theses hotel has mix review and seem bad reputation about how it old and smell.
I wasn't expected much just book because price is reasonable (cheaper than Japan average) and it's half board with dinner and breakfast.

Yes dinner include Free flow Sake , Beer and Wine! Really...

I arrive hotel around 4 pm and just take VIP onsen alone coz no other guest.

Then dinner started at 5.15 till 6.30.

Room is clean but bad smell is what you will get. it's come from gas from onsen. You will use to it.

Kusatsu is cold . Next morning was -11C but room is comfy and warm.

I enjoy breakfast with variety choices. 

This place is old but warm at heart from kind staffs I can guarantee.

Warm Welcome with great food

Room rate was very good given the season. Room size was rather generous. Located very close to Yubatake. Simple buffet type meals were acceptable. 
Unfortunately, customer service was too rigid. We noted that we would arrive at the hotel around 18:00, and actually arrived at 17:25. We were arranged to eat dinner from 17:00-18:00, while website information advised that the dinner starts at 18:00. Who would eat dinner at 17:00? We hurried to the dinning hall, couldn’t finish by 18:00 and was reminded by the staff we should finish at 18:00. We explained and ignored them. There was another round of guests coming to the dinning hall around 18:10. I didn’t understand what has happened and definitely too rigid to us. Around 13:30 the next day we wanted to buy something from the souvenir shop. It was not attended and therefore went to the front desk next to it. We were told that the shop was closed and not reopened until 14:00. Waited till 14:00, the same staff went to the shop and sold souvenirs to us. What has happened?

I have no intention to put you off but be advised of the service style in this hotel.

Good Value but with some issues 

I stayed 3 nights in Kusatsu. I spent my last night at Shichisei Hotel because i wanted to stay in a Japanese style room with futon on tatami. It's also conveniently located near Yubatake. 

I read that Shichisei Hotel doesn't have non-smoking room. Therefore, I didn't have high expectation when come to the condition of the room. The receptions were very helpful and we managed to converse in simple English. 

The hotel was a bit aged but functional. There's no wifi in the room but the reception area. Thankful my room was just next to the hotel reception, I could just come out if I wanted to use the wifi. 

The hotel provides dinner and breakfast to the guests. The dinner was served at 6pm, and to my surprise there was a long queue when I went to the restaurant 5 mins before six. Most of the hotel guests are old and middle aged Japanese in their yukata. I probably was the only foreigner. The restaurant door opened at 6pm sharp. Each guest had a designated table with room number and trays were pre-set with 3 types of sashimi and pickles. Other dishes, i.e. cabbage salad, miso soup, spaghetti, fish balls, fried chicken, fried eggplant, curry, rice, were buffet style with waiters waiting on. There was also free flow of sake, whiskey, beer and tea. For breakfast, there's macaroni salad, fried bean sprout, tamago (egg), sausages, rice, pickles and miso soup. The food was plenty but the quality was mediocre. Since the hotel charged less than ¥7,400 per person, there's no reason to complain. 

There are a few separate onsen for both men and women. The temperature of the water was bearable, even though it's hotter than the usual onsen in other areas. 

I would certainly return to the hotel should I visit Kusatsu again in the future. 

Value for money 

Do not stay at this hotel, there are other ones in the area for the same price with much better condition. I really regretted my stay here. 

This hotel is very old and dirty. Dirty walls and worn out carpets. There were holes in my cushions. 

My room was filled with cigarette smell and so were all the beddings. I had trouble sleeping because the smell was so strong. I had to open the window all night, but the winds and rattling doors kept waking me up. I tried to turned on the heat, but it was very very weak, practically not working. 

I tried to get an extra blanket from the closet, but they looked like they haven't been washed for a while and the smell of cigarette on them was even worst. 

Lack of sleep and the coldness at night gave me a cold the next day. I was so tired, couldn't even enjoy my trip the next day. 

They also have this tiny refrigerator in the room that kept making noises, so I unplugged it. So many issues at this hotel. 

Foods at dinner and breakfast was not only badly made (overall salty), but they were NOT FRESH. I was very hungry, but my tuna sashimi was almost brownish (like its pass the safety date to eat). I tried some soup, but it was overly salty and the chicken meat smells like it going to spoiled. The cabbage salad was not green, but has a yellowish color. 

I was so hungry I went outside to get some food that night. I asked if I can borrow a bowl for my salad, but they refused. At first they said no, then they said they will bring to my room, then 1 hour later they came to my room and said they cannot let me borrow a bowl for my salad. Horrible customer service. 

To confirmed that the food served here were not fresh, at breakfast, I saw the workers using their hands to put the leftover sausage into a plastic bag. So I guess they repeated served the leftover from one day to the next. 

At first I though all issues was because I only paid $75 USA dollars for the night, but then the next day I moved to New Hotel Koyo, nearby (about 15 minutes away) and only paid $72 USD dollars there. However, things over there was so so much better. From the customer service to the quality and freshness of the foods, to the cleanliness and conditions of the room. Food at my other hotel not only better quality, but they served unlimited sake, bear, wine (red and wine), whereas this hotel only served beer. 

Their onsen was really tiny and their checkout time is 9 AM. 

Another safety concern, they don't have a water filtration system at the hotel for the water they filled their kettle with (unlike the other hotels in the area). So they fill your kettle with the tap water. Although the water source should be ok, but the pipe may not be, because the hotel is really old. I didnt realized this until I went to hotel Koyo nearby which have a specially filtering machine in the hallway for guests to refill their water, instead of from the sink inside the room (since the pipes might not be safe). However New Hotel Shichisei doesnt care, they just fill the guests water straight from the rusty pipes. 

The only thing this hotel has going for it, is the location. It 5 minutes from the center of the town. 

I am so glad I only stay here for 1 night. Do not stay at this hotel. 

No wifi internet, only in lobby

Hotel New Shichisei

Main amenities of the hotel

Available rooms

Location

Description of the hotel

What other amenities are there?

Policies

Check-in terms and conditions

Additional information

Payment