Hotel Blue Empire in Shinjuku

"There are no lifts. Outdoor stairs lead up to 2F. Just 2F.\nRoom is longish with the width being the the size of two mattresses next to each other plus a few inches.\nThere is a washing machine and kettle in the room and a microwave. Cups were small paper cups. BYO if you like a hot drink. No cutlery.\nThe heater in our room didn't seem to heat up well at a regular moderate temperature setting, Had to turn it up very high to get any effect. Maybe all the heat went up to the loft above us. Clothes took ages to dry.\nThere are 2 bath towels and hand towels for 2 and robes for each of us. There is a sink for the "kitchen" area and a sink in the room. Shower and toilet are in their separate areas.\nThere is NO front desk here. To check in and out you have to go to Hotel Empire to check in and out.\nCheck out takes time as they will check the room before returning the deposit. A huge pain when you want to catch the 5.10am train to the airport for an early flight. You have to allocate time for this.\nThe mattress was very comfortable.\nInternet was great.\nPower sockets (not USB ports) are all over the place. Including one I found accidentally that was hidden by the mattress on the wall near the end of the bed.\nIf you stay consecutive nights you can have a mini clean if you stick the "make up my room" sign before 10am. They will make your bed, change the towels and robe, and empty the bin.\nOverall it's still a 4 stars because it's pretty much there, just a few things which we had to work around or do without which we had at other hotels but a big plus was a washing machine in the room.\nThere is also a security camera for the front door."

"I saw a lot of bad reviews and was a little hesitant to rent the place. But, I followed the directions to get my key it was simple and which was not far from where I was staying at. There is a 10,000 yen fee you pay in cash but they give back when you check out. The chlorine smell they used to clean the place was a little strong but it got better, a little.\n\nI enjoyed the area. It was quiet, had a lot of restaurants around (specifically Korean), cute cafes and a laundromat. The washing machine does not have a dryer so if you need to do laundry there is a laundromat 3 minutes away and it exchanges cash for coin.\n\nThe room was small but worth it for the price."

"Rooms are serviceable, like most hotels they are deceptively small. Be sure to turn on hot water with the wall-mounted device by the sink!! You can adjust the temperature threshold with it as well. Again, the rooms are actually deceptively smaller than the pictures - though you probably won't be spending a lot of time in your hotel room. No natural light. Laundry machine is in the room, but no dryer so you may want to plan for air-drying when you can. The location is perfect (despite what looks like an illegal garbage dump outside the hotel) you are very close to the beating heart of Shinjuku. Truly amazing location with great bars and restaurants and not far from shopping. Very close to station. Highly recommend if you're going adventuring - if you are not planning on spending the day exploring then this hotel may not be for you."