Alaise De Bale Ishigaki (Okinawa)

1. Location

Alaise De Bale Ishigaki is around a 30-40 minutes drive from the city centre, which means that if you wanted to have a meal at one of the more popular spots in Ishigaki, it would take you at least an hour to and fro. If you want to stock up on items from the convenience store, do that before you reach the hotel because we didn't see any convenience stores in the vicinity. 

It is a good location if you want to be near beaches- there is a beach right outside the hotel. However, it didn't exactly look like the best spot to swim. It would be a better bet to venture out to Yonehara Beach which is around a 15 minutes drive away from the hotel. It is a popular beach and you can swim with sea creatures without venturing out too far. Kabira Bay is around a 30 minutes drive away. 

It was a short drive to the nearby kayak / canoe store (around 5 minutes) where we rented kayaks to the Fukidogawa River Mangrove Colony. 

If you decide to stay here, keep a lookout for the Japanese name of this hotel because it does not state "Alaise De Bale Ishigaki". 

2) Room

We paid around S$250 per night. The room was clean and the bed was comfortable.Most of the room options allow for two single beds.

There was a folder containing the movies you could rent for free (e.g. Harry Potter, Frozen, Minions etc.). Free strong wifi available. There was a sign stating that lizards bring luck and ants would come if sweet stuff were left open- I guess we know what kind of animals to expect in the room. To be fair, we didn't see any during our stay.

3) Toilet 

The toilet bowl area was separate from the bath tub and washing area. The toilet was relatively big for a Japanese hotel. Full set of toiletries was provided.

4) Breakfast 

We paid around S$15 per person for breakfast. There was a choice between continental or Japanese breakfast and we of course went for the latter. Breakfast was served with a glass of cold tea, with a further choice of hot coffee or tea. Breakfast was healthy and decent, but not sure if it's worth the price.

5) Amenities 

There is the option of reserving a private bathroom (presumably an onsen), although we did not do so.

There is a small swimming pool and you could borrow beach towels from the counter.

6) Service 

The Japanese are well known for their service standards and I wish I could say the same in this case. However, it was a mixed bag of feelings for this place.

While the staff were friendly and courteous, one incident left us feeling a little perplexed. Upon arrival at around 2+ pm, the cafe on the ground floor was closed. We then asked if there were any eating places around the hotel, to which the question was met with a resolute "No". Upon much prodding, the staff suggested a soba place which was around a 5 minutes drive away. I would have imagined that this was a common question, unless people were content to just eat in the cafe on the ground floor (which was closed)- something might have been lost in translation.

7) Conclusion 

While the stay was comfortable, we felt that this place was a tad over priced.

p.s. Do keep a lookout for the night sky- lots of stars in this place with minimal light pollution.

Alaise De Bale Ishigaki 
337-250 Fukai
Ishigaki 907-0451
Okinawa, Japan