I stayed at the Onomichi Club Senkoji for one night in an Economy Twin room and was very happy with my stay. I would have rated this hotel (it is not a ryokan) as average were it not for some totally standout features, as follows: - my room (on 2nd of 3 floors) was huge, easily twice the size of other Japanese hotel rooms where I have stayed - tons of storage space with nice open shelving plus a closet - floor to ceiling, wall-to-wall East-facing window with gorgeous views of the Onomichi channel and up over Senkoji Park - the sink and mirror are beside the window, which initially found strange until I realized I had an incredible view of the channel while brushing my teeth ;) - absolutely excellent service from the front desk; they arranged my taxi’s, made an excellent restaurant recommendation and repeated phoned the restaurant until they answered; they called my next hotel (their sister hotel Ryokan Nishiyama) to see if I could store my luggage there while cycling the Shimanami Kaido, etc. The front desk staff really made my stay seamless. - beautiful rooftop bar with amazing tiered patio so everyone has a view, great drinks (see pics) - a close walk to Senkoji Park and great place to start the temple walk (going downhill) - very clean with wood floors - lots of electrical outlets, and master light switches by the bed Here are some things to be aware of of: - not a luxury hotel - decor could use some upscaling - no onsen, though there is a sento (communal bath) on the first floor where the view is mostly obscured. It is utilitarian, nothing special - the bathroom in my room was comically small; not much larger than an airplane bathroom. I used the sento for bathing. - windows are single-paned so they let in lots of heat from the sun in the morning - fortunately A/C was good, plus there’s a fan by the sink. - costs about ¥1200-1400 to get to Onomichi Station or to the Onomichi Handori Shopping Arcade I thoroughly enjoyed my stay here thanks to the excellent service and the incredible views.
I enjoyed my three night stay. The views are stunning. The dinners were a highlight of my dining experience over two weeks in Japan. The staff were very helpful, including ordering a taxi for me when I was downtown and unable to order one myself due to my minimal Japanese.