Looking for an affordable bed in Wakayama City? You could hardly do better than the Dormy Inn Premium, located just a very short walk from JR Wakayama Station on the main thoroughfare into downtown Wakayama.
While I often stay at the Toyoko Inn when traveling, the Dormy Inn Premium had a price that couldn't be beat. For a single non-smoking room, I paid around ¥5300. The room itself was quite large. The door opened into a small foyer that could be closed off from both the bathroom and the main bedroom. The foyer light was on a motion sensor, meaning if I got up in the middle of the night to stumble towards the bathroom, there was no needs to fumble around for a light switch. The bedroom held a large double bed, a television and a small desk area. Unlike some hotels, there is a Wi-Fi connection in each room and it's fast enough for photo uploads from a camera memory card.
The bathroom was a bit smaller, but the shower stall was more than adequate and had both copious hot water and high-quality bath products. If you prefer, there is actually a public onsen in the hotel that is open from 3 pm until 10 am the next morning.
While I didn't reserve the room package that included food, you can choose to add breakfast onto your bill. Breakfast is served in a large room just off the check-in area, and features a buffet with popular items such as noodles, rice, miso soup, various veggies salads and the occasional fresh fruit.
The Dormy Inn Premium is well-situated to explore both Wakayama City itself and also the surrounding areas. A bus stops just a few meters away and runs visitors direct to downtown and the castle area in about 5 -10 minutes. The JR station is just a five-minute walk in the other direction; from there, you can catch local trains to Osaka, Nara, or the southern part of Wakayama Prefecture. You can also follow the adorable pawprints on the platform to the Wakayama Electric Train Line and visit famed feline station master Tamachan out at Kishi Station.
