When I popped into the Henn na Hotel (out towards Disneyland) with my eldest and didn’t really know what to expect.
A hotel with dinosaurs at the reception desk? Seriously?
I was even more surprised when we arrived – it’s in the middle of suburbia. A few convenience stores, a highway and lots of housing. There are no “Dinosaurs in HERE!” type signs.
It looks like a boring, old business hotel.
The manager on duty said that 90% of their occupying guests are there for Disneyland and DisneySea – the hotel is substantially cheaper than staying at one of the Disney Resort hotels and a bus takes you to Disneyland and back.
I’m so glad we visited – even though we didn’t stay (a bit cheeky, I know! But it was so cool and my little girl didn’t want to leave the lobby at all!) It’s just a novel idea!
The hotel itself is VERY basic. The guest rooms aren’t themed and are quite small and simple ( another reason why it’s just cool to visit for visiting sake!) The hotel only opened in March 2017 so it’s all so clean and new though.
It’s so simple that there is only breakfast offered until 9:30am – a cheap buffet in a semi-dino themed breakfast restaurant.
There is a hot food vending machine for other snacks. Actually, it is so hands off that there is a list of numbers stuck to the reception counter saying ” Call these numbers to call your own taxi.” But ..megghhh…I guess that all keeps costs down and makes for cheaper room rates right?
Henn na Hotel actually translates to “The Strange Hotel” and …well…. yep. Pretty much.
The lobby is the best bit. Two giant dinosaurs roaring at you, some robot fish and two dinos ‘manning’ the desk (actual check in is on a screen nearby. )
There were also a few dinosaur toys out for kids to play with.
This would be a fantastic affordable option for a disney trip if you’d rather start the day close by. I think kids would be more excited than adults by this place (although they might be more excited if they were to do a price comparison to their local competition!)
Or…if you’re already in Tokyo – I highly recommend taking your kids in for a look! So much detail has gone into this lobby. It’s great for a laugh in a fake prehistoric jungle.
*There is another Henn Na Hotel in Ginza (and I’ve spotted another in Aichi in Nagoya) but I haven’t visited yet and, I’m told, that it’s managed by a different company so I’ll need to go and find out if they also have dinosaurs and/or robots in the lobby.
HENN NA HOTEL
千葉県浦安市富士見5-3-20
5-3-20 FUJIMI, URAYASU, CHIBA
WEBSITE
If you are staying here for Disneyland or Disneysea and can’t decide which one is right for you, this post here will help you figure it all out.
If you’ve decided on Disneyland then my tips are here. And Disneysea? Here.
Or other things to do in the Disney area? See my suggestions here.
And if, like my kids, you’re little people are completely Dino crazy? See here for all cool dinosaur-related things in Tokyo.
There is also a Henna hotel in Ginza and another in Akasaka. They are both manned by robots.
