Hostel Cuore Kurashiki

We loved the vibe. The main area is amazing and achieves a perfect eclectic experience. Staff are great.

- Exceptional value for money, these scores are given in context of the price. - Wonderful location within the Bikan Historic District, an easy walk to the canal. - Staff super helpful in spite of limited English (happy to use translation apps). Please exercise patience with them. - The Deluxe Double room - in a separate building from the reception and bar area - was spacious, clean and quiet. - They were happy to store our bags before check in time. - Super cosy reception/bar/breakfast area with library of books and a little movie area. - A live DJ played chilled tracks during 'cocktail hour'

The location is sublime; a stone's throw away from the historical district which is where you probably want to do most of your exploring! And the hostel itself is very well designed, cosy and nice to be in. The staff were absolutely amazing. So friendly and personable and accommodating. I have Coeliac Disease and after showing them my allergy card, they went out of their way to accommodate me for breakfast; it was so appreciated. Breakfast was great for both my husband who got the standard and my gluten free version. Honestly, I'm mentioning it again because the staff were just so amazing to have prepared something for me. By Japanese standards, our room was huge. It was nice to have space to spread a little and not have to climb over one another in the room.

Our first impression was excellent. We arrived late morning. Our bags were stored for us by a lovely staff member and we sat in the very cool restaurant (reception, bar, dining, all in one) to have a rest and some lunch. We then went out to explore the streets of the Bikan historical area, literally around the corner. Such a great location. Checked in properly at 4pm and were taken to the annex building a few doors down the street. Initially we were disappointed as our room didn't reflect the photos on booking.com - there was just one window and it looked straight at a wall one foot away and there was no couch. We'd been looking forward to having a couch to relax on instead of just a bed. The room felt a bit shabby and dark. Once we'd settled in though, we accepted that what we had was comfortable and reasonable value with some added bonuses - an awesome little projector beside our bed which was very cool, electrical sockets built into the bed base for charging devices, a good bathroom and a little clothes line where we hung our washing after putting a small load through the machine in the room (washing detergent provided). The queen size bed was a futon base with comfortable, thick mattress. The single bed (which was there instead of a couch) served as a place to put our two suitcases. The breakfast which was included in our room cost was yoghurt, granola and sandwiches and, best of all, coffee (best latte I had in Japan!) and tea were included. Breakfast is served in the restaurant area in the main building. We also ate dinner both nights in the restaurant as it's just easy and a nice vibe. It was the end of our two week trip so we were happy to take it easy in the evenings. The staff were lovely, the basement bar/restaurant very cool and the annex rooms so-so.

Amazing location, cosy well designed rooms with lots of privacy and space in your "bunk" which was almost a tiny room. Very good showers and bathrooms. Friendly staff. Really nice bar downstairs though it feels separate from the rest of the hostel since you have to go out then in, so it's not like a typical hostel chill out area.