The Knot Hiroshima

Staying at The Knot was both a pleasant and remarkably cost-effective experience. Initially, I was skeptical about booking due to the surprisingly low rate for a family of four, including two young children. Contrary to expectations, The Knot doesn’t come across as a budget hotel. Room cleaning is not automatically included but can be requested for an additional fee, which seems like a reasonable compromise. Interestingly, the reception is located on the top floor, adjacent to their famous rooftop bar. The bar becomes a lively spot at night, drawing in both guests and other visitors. The hotel's location is particularly convenient, situated within a short walk of the main attractions I planned to visit, including the A-Bomb Dome, the Peace Memorial Park, and the museum. Opting for a room with a panoramic view of the city was a wise choice. The room was spacious enough to comfortably accommodate my family and our luggage. One logistical note for travelers: Hiroshima does not seem to offer jumbo taxis. Traveling from the Shinkansen station, we needed to take two separate taxis to The Knot. This was a minor inconvenience, as the distance was short and the additional cost was reasonable (approximately an additional 1,500 yen).

A nice hotel, we stayed in room 813 which is a panoramic city view room so has a really good view of the crossroads and the city skyline, bonus that all the Christmas lights were up when we stayed in mid November so in darkness it was really pretty. Slightly irritating that you can hear the clatter of streetcars passing, a soundproofing issue that needs addressing, but not too bad. Overall everywhere was clean, well kept and modern. On check-in we were given some coins to use at the rooftop bar, bit of an odd set up, you trade cash for coins (¥1000 for 5 coins) which can then be used to buy drinks. A beer is 4 coins and 1 gets you nothing it seems which I suppose is by design. We found out on the final night that you can just pay cash (though it seems the cash price is higher than the equivalent coin price?) Overall a bit of a ridiculous system I suspect designed to confuse people into overspending. Still, it's a nice bar with friendly staff and amazing views! The room was entered by staff every day to replace towels though bed linen was left which I'm perfectly fine with as it was only a 3 night stay. It's very close to the peace park and museum and there's various stores and restaurants close by along with bus stops and street car stations. A solid choice all round. I'd stay again.