Henn na Hotel, or The Strange Hotel, as its name translates to in English, made waves around the globe when it opened up as the world's first robot-staffed hotel in Sasebo, Nagasaki. While some took it as the dawn of the robot apocalypse, others were intrigued by the prospect of completely artificial intelligence-manned service in a hotel, and saw it as a breakthrough in the hospitality and service industry. Now the Henn na Hotel is setting its sights on the happiest place on earth, as an announced branch will be bringing a robot staffed hotel to the Tokyo Disney resort in 2017.

Android receptionists--and Velociraptors, of course.

While one hotel exists at the Huis Ten Bosch amusement park in Nagasaki prefecture, the robot hotel staff is expanding their talents to the friendly confines of the Tokyo Disney Resort, with plans to open up a branch within walking distance of the JR Maihama station near both Tokyo Disney Land and Tokyo Disney Sea, Nifty News reports. As you might remember, The Strange Hotel lives up to its name not just by standing apart from normal hotels with its robot staff, but robot dinosaur staff as well.

A robot bellhop.

While any hotel attached to an amusement park, especially the Tokyo Disney Resort which attracts an endless stream of foreign tourists and domestic travelers, should be expected to do well, the opportunity to experience the often lauded robotics industry of Japan with a little added quirk should be an appealing idea to many. Not to mention Mickey Mouse and friends are just a twenty minute walk away!

The adorable A.I. assistant in your room.

Henn na Hotel describes on their website how they seek to offer a different breed of hospitality for their guests by putting them in an adventurous, but comfortable situation:

Excitement meets comfort. Introducing state-of-the-art technologies, Henn na Hotel is the world-first hotel staffed by robots.

At the front desk, you will be greeted by multi-lingual robots that will help you check in or check out. At the cloakroom, the robotic arm will store your luggage for you, and the porter robots will carry them to your room (only available in A Wing). Mechanic yet somehow human, those fun moments with the robots will warm your heart. Furthermore, once you register your face with our face recognition system, you will be free from the hassle of carrying the room key around or worrying about losing it.

One of the definitions of the Japanese word “Henn” is “to change,” which represents our commitment for evolution in striving for the extraordinary sensation and comfort that lies beyond the ordinary.

Staying at Henn na Hotel is filled with unexpected and delightful surprises. The unique experience will take our guests one step into the future.

Henn na Hotel

This promotional video will give you some insight into the workings of the hotel, which is set to open up a Tokyo Disney branch in March, 2017.


By - grape Japan editorial staff.