Sendai Excel Hotel Tokyu

Sendai Excel Hotel Tokyu belongs to the Tokyu Hotels group — the same name behind Tokyu Plaza and the Tokyu Hands department stores across Japan — and pulls an overall review score of about 8.5/10. It sits roughly a 1-minute walk (60 metres) from the North Exit of Aobadori-Ichibancho Station on the Tozai Line; from Sendai Station the subway gets you here in about 5 minutes for $1.80. The building runs 13 floors in white and grey, modern and minimal, with an 80 sqm lobby under a 5-metre ceiling — black wood tables, fresh ikebana arrangements, grey marble floors. The draw that sets it apart is an indoor pool, rare at this price.

Rooms and decor

Reviewers often book the Superior Twin on the 9th floor — 22 sqm, around $94 a night. The look is modern minimal in the blue-grey Tokyu signature, with two 110×200 cm twin beds, two feather pillows and 200-thread cotton sheets to the usual Tokyu Hotels standard. The 4 sqm unit bath has a Toto Washlet with a heated seat, a rain shower and a 1.6-metre tub, plus lemon-scented Tokyu toiletries. You also get an empty mini-fridge, a Tiger kettle with tea and coffee, free 80 Mbps Wi-Fi, and 4 USB ports alongside 4 sockets. The business touches are a trouser press for suit trousers and climate control accurate to 1°C.

Food and amenities

The highlight of Excel Tokyu is the indoor pool on the 3rd floor — 12 metres, warm at 28°C, open 06:30 to 22:00 and free for guests. The pool hall runs to a 5-metre glass ceiling, and there's a 90°C Finnish sauna and a shower room, more than you'd find at a typical mid-range hotel. Thirty minutes in the water and ten in the sauna does a lot to unwind after a day on your feet. It's the only mid-range hotel in Sendai with a pool in the building — the Westin, from around $149, has only a spa, no pool — which makes it a genuine draw for families with kids and anyone who likes to swim.

Location and getting there

After a swim, it's a 3-minute walk (200 metres) to the Ichibancho Shopping Arcade — a 1 km covered shopping street, the longest in Tohoku, with 100+ shops: a 24-hour Don Quijote, Sendai Mitsukoshi, Mark City, a 100-yen Daiso and 50+ restaurants. Negishi, a mid-sized gyutan spot, does a set for about $19 — thick-cut beef tongue, tongue soup, rice and tororo. In the evening, walk down Aoba-dori to watch the green Loople Sendai tram roll past, or catch the Pageant of Starlight in December. Getting back to the hotel is a 1-minute walk from the subway, about as easy as it gets.

Things to know before booking

The hotel is a 12-minute walk (900 metres) west of Sendai Station — close enough, but you'll likely take the 5-minute subway hop instead, which means changing to it. Rooms start at 18 sqm, standard for a Japanese business hotel rather than roomy. And the pool, while a real plus, is small at 12 metres, short of the 25-metre length a resort would give you. None of these are dealbreakers, but they're worth knowing.

Our take

Sendai Excel Hotel Tokyu is the only 4-star in Sendai's mid-range tier with an indoor pool and sauna — Tokyu Hotels branding, a minute from the subway, three from the Ichibancho Arcade. The 8.5/10 from 2,200+ reviews backs it up, and at $91+ the in-house pool and free sauna earn their keep. It's a solid pick for business travellers, families with kids and Tokyu Hotels members — #7 on our list for anyone who wants a pool on a mid-range budget.