TRAVEL | PRINCE SMART INN NAHA, OKINAWA

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My travels in Japan are still about to continue for another week, however I have already left Okinawa. I spent about a week in the beautiful island prefecture and had a short stay at the Prince Smart Inn Naha. I was interested to learn more about the new concept of Prince hotels with this recently established hotel chain concept..

The Prince Smart Inn Naha has a centered location in the heart of Naha and I was able to simply take a short bus ride, that brought me directly in front of the hotel, departing from the Prince Ginowan property. It is worth to mention that both hotels have a completely different concept. The Prince Smart Inn Naha is more of a premium budget hotel, however it preserves the high-quality standard and service that is know from Prince hotels. Especially in terms of staying in the city center of Naha, it’s more likely that staying guests would spend more time exploring. A full offer in terms of (public) transport is provided. With the train and bus lines just a few minutes walking distance from the hotel. 

The hotel design is modern which might be affected by the recent opening only a few years ago. The Prince Smart Inn Naha offers a wide-spaced lobby area, which also hosts the check in counter. The check in process is based on a self-service concept. It is very comfortable, especially when guests arrive very early or even very nice. However, there is still additional staff assisting. In terms of calling it a smart hotel, I was surprised, that there’s even the availability to have a smart phone key instead of a regular key card.

Within the lobby, just next to the check in counter, one can find different kind of amenities to choose from on a complimentary basis. Prince hotel decided to make this offer instead of providing the amenities in the room, in order to save resources and be more eco-friendly. I believe it is a great example of a leading hotel group to take responsibility and making a move that advances a course of action, for a green(er) future.

Just as the lobby, also the rooms have a bright and modern design. Prince Smart Inn Naha might be less luxurious compared to the standard Prince hotel properties, however, it is definitely not lacking in design. Talking about staying “smart”, there is a phone provided within every floor next to the elevator that connects guests with the lobby reception. The hotel has a total of 10 floors, from which I was staying at the 9th floor. The lobby, reception, locker and a café is located in the first floor. The café offers a takeaway breakfast in the morning. It is a set menu of sandwich and a drink.

I was curious to finally stay at a Smart Inn property. I have been staying with Prince hotels since 2017 and became familiar with a lot of their properties. It was a different experience to me but truly what I needed for my last days in Okinawa. With most sights in walking distance, I had a great chance to explore Okinawa, even my schedule was tight. An additional bonus at the hotel is the locker area, which allows guests to leave their luggage on a complimentary basis at the hotel. I used this service on my last day as well. Okinawa is an impressive travel destination and I´m glad that I finally took the time to make a trip to this prefecture of Japan.