A smaller hotel in a good position close to the Galleria shopping centre and other shops and restaurants etc. in Garapan. The outside looked tired as we arrived and the reception area did little to impress. The room was clean but all the fittings old and worn. The worst thing was the bathroom. The shower over the bath was a hand held shower only and the pipe leaked so badly the bathroom floor was flooded every time it was used.

The swimming pool was clean but small.

The restaurant offers breakfast and lunch but after one try of the breakfast we did not return; quite the worst we have experienced. One greasy sausage, one small bowl of rice soup, one appallingly tasting boiled egg, a slice of cheap very sugary white bread and one quarter orange. The rice soup was OK and the orange was fine, the rest was very poor. You could pay an extra $7.5 for some choice but we did not risk it! We found a nearby shop and bought some fresher food to create our own breakfasts.

We considered leaving and finding a better hotel but as we had three days only and the weather was fine, we spent very little time in the hotel so we survived.

Exploring the rest of the hotel we discovered that the rear covered entrance and parking area were stacked with rolls of carpets and other building materials. Perhaps a refurbishment is on the cards? The hotel needs it.

Had an opportunity to visit Saipan for a 3day conference. Checked the website for a nice hotel. Saipan Oceanview looked good on-line. And that's it. Room was stuffy. Small kitchen that only had a sink and a frige. Turned the water on to wash the sink and whoa....dirty running water. Luckily the shower had clean water, Bed was hard. Bedsheets were actually tablecloths. I know. I have the like at home. Couldn't sleep. Noisy neighbors. Complained to front desk that took hours to resolve. Internet was not available in all rooms as advertised. Was told I had to come down to the lobby for internet usage. Asked for iron----none available. Never again.

While this is very much a 3-star hotel, it represents good value for Saipan. Many of the so-called five-star hotels have also seen better days, so the difference in prices for rooms do not represent a fair difference in terms of the quality of rooms, in my opinion.

The Ocean View is well located, in sight of the ocean, and adjacent to the popular DFS shopping plaza, which also houses the Hard Rock Cafe. Next to the hotel is a Chinese grocery store which stocks all the amenities the hotel may not, including bottled water, snacks, toothpaste etc.

The room itself was quite basic, but clean. It had an in-room safe, decent AC (I don’t like AC generally) fridge and old TV with basic channels. The front desk staff seem to be mostly from the Philippines, and are friendly and helpful when approached. They kept my luggage for me for at no charge when I ventured over to neighbouring Tinian island for a few days.

The hotel has a pool which seemed clean and reasonably maintained. The hotel also has on-site self-service laundry facilities. There is a restaurant open for breakfast and lunch, but I never used it.

The vast majority of their guests seem to be from Japan and China, many on group package tours.

There is an unadvertised dive operator on the third floor that seems to cater mostly to Japanese.

Bottom line for me: Fair price, convenient location, everything worked as it should, basic but clean room, and hot water for showers.

Tip: For breakfast, make the 15-20 minute walk to Cafe at the Park by the American Memorial Park. The best breakfast in Saipan. Tony Roma’s is also a popular dinner spot, but get there early to avoid the queue.