Business Hotels as Love Hotel Alternative?

cclemon

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I found a few business hotels conveniently located (for me), and their prices are very reasonable--even better than many love hotels. I'm tempted to try one instead of a love hotel since...
* The price is right
* They do have double-occupancy rooms, so no problem there
* Very conveniently located (I don't have to go to the "typical" love hotel areas of Tokyo)

Has anyone ever tried a business hotel as a love hotel alternative? I worry about...
* If the girl will have any trouble getting up to the room
* If it will be awkward checking out a few hours after checking in
 
Depends on the hotel, but I get the impression that business hotels are generally a bit more picky about how many people are in the room, and usually it's easier for them to tell because of how small such hotels generally are...
 
Agreed, but this particular hotel has double-occupancy rooms.
 
Results may vary, just not much information on short-term use of business hotels.

If you're just going for the bed, then I guess it's doable. I'm sure you'd get some strange looks when you checkout a few hours later.

OTOH, don't these hotels require ID or some sort of detailed registration as opposed to love hotels?
 
I've tried 3 different options - regular hotel, business hotel and love hotel. Regular hotels tend to have large lobbies and lots of front desk people. You can probably slip past the desk and not be bothered. Just look casual. Business hotels are a mixed bag and I wouldn't recommend them for a meet-up. They often have small lobbies and just one person on the desk all day or all evening. Many require key-cards to operate the elevator to get to your floor. If you book a double room they keep bugging you for the ID of the other person. If you are brazen, you can bluff past this, but you can avoid the hassles by just using a love hotel. I did a meet up at a business hotel once and had to arrange on the phone to meet the girl on the sidewalk outside and bring her in since the key card was required to operate the elevator. I had to walk her out as well due to the same problem and the front desk people asked me twice for the "other guest's ID". If you want to use a service that will only visit regular hotels and refuses to meet on the street or at a love hotel, I would recommend the larger regular hotels with huge lobbies. For those hotels, you can just book one person - as long as she doesn't stay the night, you should be OK and avoid the ID questions.
 
I am mystified by this as I have never had to show ID to stay at a hotel in Japan, whether it was a four-star place or a Super Hotel in Osaka. They simply ask for my name and address at check-in, and take my word for it. Then again, it may be because I book online, pay by credit card, and speak Japanese.
 
With so many well-priced excellent love hotels out there, I've never thought business hotels make the grade... even apart from the check-in/out hassles for gaijins mentioned above the city-hotel/business hotel system often isn't geared to a few-hours of "punter" friendly fun, the rooms are often smaller with cramped unit-bath and meager amenities...
 
I have used both, business hotel and love hotel for my dates. Business hotels have smaller bathrooms/showers. Also slipping past the front desk is an adventure (back doors, stairs to second floor, etc. For a nice shower-play LH is definitely better. But I like the feel of a regular hotel, especially the view out of the window. Open the curtains and dim the lights and you can have a wonderful session over the roofs of Tokyo, if the girl is into it.