We have also reported the case to National Consumer Affairs Centre of Japan for Tourist on 23 May 2023.
On May 20, 2023, my family of four (two adults and two children) checked into Spa World (スパワールド世界の大温泉) for a two-night stay. However, we had a very unpleasant experience during our stay that left a negative impression of Japanese people on us.
Firstly, when we arrived at the hotel reception at around 7:30 p.m. on May 20, a male staff member instructed us to pay in cash and informed us that the total cost for our two-night stay was 64,000 yen. We paid the amount 65,000 yen in cash as directed and the staff member counted the cash note by note. After confirming the amount, he gave us the correct change of 1,000 yen, and we went up to our room. However, at around 9:00 p.m., I went out alone to buy something and was detained when he returned to the hotel. The staff claimed that we were short of 10,000 yen in the cash payment we had made earlier. They said they had checked the security cameras and completely deceived me. We were on a tight schedule, and we had not yet had a chance to enjoy the hot springs, so I had no choice but to pay the additional amount. They did not provide us with any receipt, which made us feel deceived and untrustworthy.
Secondly, on the morning of May 22 at around 8:30 a.m., when we were packing to leave, we found that the tap in the bathroom was not working, and there was no water in the washroom. We called the front desk to report the issue, but despite their repeated attempts to fix it, they could not solve the problem. We were on a tight schedule and did not have time to wait for them to fix the issue, so we had to check out without any resolution. It was ironic that a large hot spring hotel like Spa World did not have running water in its rooms.
Lastly, when we checked out, we requested to view the CCTV footage from the previous night, but the manager ignored our request and kept saying, "We are checking" in English. They also rushed us to leave and did not provide us with any clear information on how to pay for the parking fee. Initially, they told us that parking was free, but when we were leaving, they showed us a bill of 22,200 yen for parking. This made us feel angry and confused. Eventually, after a long time, the parking attendant figured out that the front desk had not handled our parking card correctly, and they told us to pay only 2,000 yen, which was the amount they had initially informed us of. However, all of this had already delayed our schedule, and the manager's attitude and the hotel's lack of transparency made us completely disappointed with our stay.
We believe that these issues were not just related to facilities but also to hotel management and service attitude. In particular, the missing 10,000 yen was very suspicious as they refused to let us view the CCTV footage. We hope that a third party can help us view the footage and give us an impartial result.