Hotel Plumm Yokohama

Rooms and decor

Hotel Plumm Yokohama is a small 6-storey boutique done in black, white and gold — not luxe like the big chains, but with a clear personality of its own. The Plumm Suite runs 32 sqm at $99 a night (about $99), much roomier than the 14 sqm standard and far better value. It is finished in deep plum, black and gold to match the name (Plumm for plum), with a King bed at 200×200 cm, an L-shaped purple sofa, a 50-inch TV and a fridge. The 6 sqm marble bathroom has a jacuzzi and a rain shower, with Aesop Australian toiletries, and Wi-Fi runs a fast 200 Mbps.

Food and amenities

The real surprise sits on B1: the underground onsen. The hotel drilled 1,500 metres down and hit genuine natural mineral water — a sodium-chloride-sulfate spring — with separate men's and women's baths, open 06:00 to 24:00 and free for guests. The water is clear and sits at a soothing 38°C. Dinner is at Tobago, the ground-floor Caribbean cocktail bar, where signature cocktails run $10–17 (about $10–17). The drink to order is the Plumm Sour — Japanese plum liqueur (umeshu) with whisky, $12 (around $12). Steak is $31 (about $31) and the lobster pasta $22 (around $22); with just 30 seats it stays chic and intimate, and the staff know their mixology. Down in the lobby — a compact 30 sqm with Eames-replica chairs and a black marble floor — a giant blue tang fish tank pulls everyone in for a photo, and the welcome drink is the purple plum-and-honey pour that gives the hotel its name.

Location and getting there

From the door it is 7 minutes on foot to Yokohama Station, then 4 minutes on the Minato Mirai Line to Minato Mirai — up to the Sky Garden on floor 69 of Landmark Tower, a walk through the Red Brick Warehouse and a stop at the Cup Noodles Museum, then back to the onsen at night. The West side of the station has everything on its own — the Sky Building, Joinus, the Diamond Underground Mall, Vivre and Sogo, the biggest department store in Yokohama — with 200+ restaurants, 500+ shops, Bic Camera for electronics and cameras, the Joypolis arcade and 7-Eleven ATMs every 100 metres. Lunch at Aoyagi, an A5 wagyu sukiyaki spot, runs $24 a head (about $24).

Things to know before booking

This is a 101-room boutique, so it carries far fewer reviews than the chains nearby — 85 against 489 — and less of a track record to weigh up. The building itself is the former Cosmo Y, refurbished into the Plumm boutique post-2010, so it is not new construction. And standard rooms start at 18 sqm, which is Japanese-standard size and smaller than the larger rooms you'd get at the Daiwa Roynet.

Our take

Hotel Plumm Yokohama has the most soul of anything on this list — the 1,500-metre underground onsen, the Tobago bar and the modern Plumm Suite, all from $71–99 (about $71–99), the best value here. Its 9.0/10 from 85+ reviews is the highest in the Yokohama group. It suits backpackers and couples who want an onsen in the city, boutique-lovers, and solo travelers who'd rather skip another chain hotel.