“Fantastic affordable choice”

My wife and I wanted a hotel located near the Kitano neighborhood and were very pleased with Hotel Monterey Amalie. There is another Hotel Monterey just down the street; however, that one was designed in a faux-Italianate way and was not as elegant. Hotel Monterey Amalie (or "Hotel Amalie" as it was actually referred to locally) is on a quiet side-street by Ikuta Shrine, one of the oldest Shinto shrines in Japan. It's naval/marine theme is a bit over-the-top, but not too inappropriate, considering that Kobe used to be a major port city. The rooms were clean and big for Japanese standards, and the breakfast buffet (not included in room price) was a good deal. It's usually hard to find a decent breakfast place in Japan, so the breakfast buffet on the second floor was a welcome service. For $17, one had a pick of the full buffet (a continental buffet may be had for less), which consisted of Japanese as well as Western fare. The hotel does not have a business room, but computers can be rented for a reasonable price. I would recommend the hotel to all visitors to Kobe. The hotel is close enough to Sannomiya and Motomachi but away from the hubbub. I don't know why one would choose to stay in a hotel by the harbor or on Port Island when you could stay in a quiet area close to the main shopping/commercial district (read: best restaurants). I would definitely stay at Hotel Amalie again. Hotel staff are helpful and kind.

“Happy”

Room had a lot more character and charm than a typical Japanese hotel. Fantastic location.

“Very nice hotel, good location.”

We stayed here for a couple nights before leaving on our cruise from Kobe to Hong Kong. Our flight got into Kobe at 7am. We checked our luggage at the hotel and went for a walk around town. By the time we got back the room was ready, but it was still a couple hours before the standard check-in time. The young manager who thought he was hot stuff wanted to charge us to check-in early. We refused, sat around in the reception area and eye-balled him until check-in time. If they want 2 dozy tourists stinking up their lobby, that's their problem.