Southern Beach Hotel & Resort Okinawa

“Get a room with the sea view!”

Hotel is about a 45 minute bus ride from the airport. The local bus (TK-02) drops you off right at the front doors of the hotel so that is definitely an advantage over expensive taxis. The room was a good size but the beds weren't very comfortable. The bathroom door seemed to want to close on its … lisää

Hotel is about a 45 minute bus ride from the airport. The local bus (TK-02) drops you off right at the front doors of the hotel so that is definitely an advantage over expensive taxis. The room was a good size but the beds weren't very comfortable. The bathroom door seemed to want to close on its own. The view from the balcony however is spectacular! Room was on the 9th floor facing the sea. There is a breakfast buffet and the selection was quite decent! The lobby is on the 2nd floor so its kind of confusing when you enter on the first floor and see only a sub-par restaurant. Ate there once and that was enough of that. If you like sushi, the absolute best thing is there is a fish market that is about a 10 minute walk from the hotel. The prices are insanely fantastic! I kept eating till I was full every day there. If you want even cheaper, you can go at the end of the day and a lot of the places discount their remaining stock. You can pay half price and its still super fresh!!! There is a mall that is about a 15 minute or so bus ride away or you can walk it in under an hour. Expensive Americanized stores. Not really what I want to see in Okinawa. Arrived here last week of October and left a few days into November. On November 1st the outdoor pool was closed for what they call winter. The indoor pool is open year round. Went to the indoor 'heated' pool one evening and the water was freezing. Told the guy who works there and he put in a thermometer and kept saying 32.....no way! 22 maybe. Finally he sticks his hand in the water and then agrees its cold. Eh....since the outdoor pools were now closed, decided to be done with the pools there.

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“Adequate, but there are likely better options”

Although many of the better beaches (and more polished resorts) are farther up the coast, for those who need to base themselves in the southern part of the main island, Southern Beach Hotel & Resort Okinawa is a perfectly serviceable option. That said, my initial impression was not encouraging: the… lisää

Although many of the better beaches (and more polished resorts) are farther up the coast, for those who need to base themselves in the southern part of the main island, Southern Beach Hotel & Resort Okinawa is a perfectly serviceable option. That said, my initial impression was not encouraging: the front entrance faces a harbor and working dock that is decidedly unglamorous. This is not a yacht marina but a functional port with large cargo ships and barges, and nothing about it suggested "beach resort" to me. Thankfully, I later discovered that the rear side of the hotel overlooks an actual beach, and our room faced the "right" direction. I do genuinely feel for anyone who ends up with a view of the industrial dock instead. We stayed in the spacious 120m² Crown Ocean Suite, the resort's top accommodation category. The suite comprised a living room, dining area, and separate bedroom, along with a broad, unobstructed view of the ocean and Bibi Beach. The layout was comfortable and the size generous, and there was nothing specific to complain about in terms of the room itself. However, the overall value proposition felt a bit off; the rate seemed steep for what was ultimately a fairly standard, if large, suite at a midrange hotel. For both dinner and breakfast we chose to dine at Reir, opting for set-course menus rather than the buffet. Both meals were adequate but unremarkable. The Okinawa Ryukyu course at dinner did make an effort to highlight local cuisine, which was appreciated, but including Spam on the menu was a misstep in my book. Breakfast was somewhat better - at least within the context of breakfast - with the Okinawa-themed set being reasonably satisfying. We walked past the buffet area during both dinner and breakfast, and it was not an appealing sight: crowded, chaotic, and visually uninspiring. Nothing we saw made us regret skipping it. Service was generally average, with a couple of avoidable lapses. When we first pulled up to the entrance, the doorman asked for our name, then immediately directed us to self-park in an adjacent lot. Only at check‑in did the front desk mention that Crown Ocean Suite guests are entitled to complimentary valet parking. Given that it was rainy and windy, it would have been nice if the staff member at the door had been aware of that policy; if only the front desk knows, the benefit is somewhat moot. At dinner, the host at the podium greeted us and then seated us in the wrong restaurant. We clearly stated our name and the course we had reserved, so it should have been obvious that we were in the wrong venue, and we should have been escorted to the correct one from the start. We were not there to enjoy a full beach holiday and only stayed for a single night, so these shortcomings were tolerable. However, if the goal were a true beach resort getaway in Okinawa, it is hard to imagine not finding better options on the island at similar price points.

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