"We've stayed at the Monterey hotel chain in various locations & a few times at this specific hotel.
In the past, it's 5-star rated but this time, it could hardly 3 stars:
- The room was dated & overdue for a renovation
- Maintenance: the main door lock didn't work, we had to rely on the secondary latch to secure the door.
- Staff helpfulness (or the lack of): on Tue 19/May around 07am, we asked a front desk lady to help us send our luggage via Yamato to the airport & were advised that it must be done at the train station. We did just that & learned that it could have been done from the hotel.
- We stayed 4 nights & enjoyed breakfast the first 3 mornings on the 3rd floor. However, on the 4th morning Wed 20/May, the breakfast on the 5th floor was reeking with cigarette smell - the smoke was so strong impacting the quality of an otherwise very nice breakfast experience
So far, whenever in Sendai, we'd try to book this hotel, but this experience has changed our position"