Hotel Piena Kobe

Rooms and decor

The Premium Twin runs 26 sqm at about $115 a night, decorated in cream, gold and Chianti red like an Italian palazzo. The twin beds measure 110×200 cm, with four feather pillows, a thick chenille-velvet bedspread and 200-thread cotton sheets. The bathroom has a Toto Washlet with a heated seat and faintly bergamot-scented Acqua di Parma amenities shipped from Italy. The mini-bar (water, soft drinks and Lavazza espresso pods) is free and unlimited, and a Saeco espresso machine sits in the room, so you can pull an Italian coffee at any hour. Standard rooms start smaller, at 21 sqm, so book up a category if you want the space.

Food and amenities

This is the reason to come. Reviewers say to head down at 06:30 to Ristorante Massa, the 200-seat dining room on the ground floor. It is not a buffet: you order from a menu of 70 items and pick 5 to 8 dishes a head, brought out by a team of 12 staff. The favorites run to fresh Eggs Benedict with house hollandaise, a three-layer fluffy pancake, an Italian Caprese with mozzarella di bufala, a double-shot espresso, a strawberry-yogurt parfait, lobster bisque and a fresh-baked croissant, with the chefs cooking in full view at the open kitchen. Service runs 06:30 to 10:00, and arriving at 07:00 gets you the freshest food. People call it the best breakfast of their lives, and that is what earns the #1 in Japan ranking.

Location and getting there

The 11-floor cream-and-orange Italian Renaissance building stands in the Kitano quarter, the district of Meiji-era European houses, a 10-minute uphill walk (about 800 m) from the JR Sannomiya East Exit, or a 3-minute taxi at roughly $4. It also sits 8 minutes on foot from the Shin-Kobe Shinkansen, which makes it a clean base for day trips to Tokyo or Osaka. The lobby alone is worth a look, with its 7-metre ceiling, big marble pillars and a Chianti-glass chandelier that gives it a Tuscan-villa feel rather than a standard Japanese hotel look.

Things to know before booking

The walk from Sannomiya is a real 10 minutes uphill, so this is not a roll-your-bag-around-the-corner spot. Standard rooms start at 21 sqm, smaller than comparable hotels in the bracket, so size up if you can. There is no onsen and no Kobe beef served in-house, so the city's signature beef means a meal out. On the plus side, after breakfast the Library Lounge on the ground floor is free and open 24 hours, with leather Chesterfield sofas, 200-plus Italian art books and free Lavazza coffee, and the 2nd-floor indoor pool, jacuzzi and Finnish sauna are free for guests from 06:00 to 22:00.

Our take

Hotel Piena Kobe is the best stay in the city for foodies and breakfast lovers. The 70-item, Michelin-level breakfast ranked #1 in Japan is the draw, backed by Italian boutique style, a free Library Lounge and a free pool and sauna. The 8.6/10 from 1,800+ reviews holds up, and from about $109 a night it is strong value for a breakfast that matches a 5-star. It fits foodies, couples after a boutique feel, and anyone using the Shin-Kobe Shinkansen to move on, and it is the kind of place reviewers say they want to book again.