We are spending one night in Saga before heading to Nagasaki (長崎) for Christmas. Saga may not be one of Japan’s major cities (ranked around 99th by population the last time I checked) but I was still surprised by the lack of decent hotel options during my research. After months of back-and-forth deliberation, we finally settled on Garden Terrace Saga Hotel & Resort (ガーデンテラス佐賀ホテル＆リゾート) for our stay.
Google Maps was our primary GPS on this trip and, unfortunately, it led us to the convention centre connected to the hotel rather than the hotel entrance itself. As a result, we unloaded our bags at the wrong spot and ended up dragging them across a couple of bridges in the dark — hardly the most elegant start to our stay.
Garden Terrace Saga Hotel & Resort feels like the perfect accommodation for couples. There’s a small outdoor terrace, and under the blue lighting at night, the whole place looked almost magical.
Check-in took a little longer than expected, but we eventually got the keys to our second-floor room.
I have to admit, I really enjoyed the architectural design of the property — the building itself, the pool area, and even the corridors were thoughtfully designed and aesthetically pleasing.
The room, however, was a different story. The moment we slid the door open, we knew space was going to be an issue. With two large suitcases, there was barely enough room for us to fully open them (Welcome to Japan!).
That said, the single beds weren’t as small as some we’ve encountered before, which was a huge relief.
For a room of this size, the bathroom was surprisingly spacious — almost as big as the bedroom itself.
Personally, I would have gladly traded the bathtub for a bit more room to wiggle around!
The toilet was located on the opposite side of the shower room.
While at the reception desk, Jelloman spotted something interesting — fireworks 🎆. Curiously, we asked the front desk staff about them and learned that guests were allowed to purchase small fire crackers and set them off in designated areas of the hotel grounds. Since little Nugget had never played with fire crackers before, we decided to let him try a few near the hotel entrance.
He was nervous at first, but before long, he loosened up and seemed to really enjoy the experience.
Most importantly, we all had a good night’s sleep and woke up feeling refreshed. The plan for the next day was to explore Saga in the morning, enjoy our Christmas Eve lunch, and then continue our journey to another small onsen town — Takeo (武雄).
Rating: ❤❤❤
Price: ￥￥￥
Address: 3-7-8 Shineihigashi, Saga, 840-0850 Japan
Website: https://www.maritopia.com/
Tel: +81 (0)952-37-0888
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