Location: should’ve sensed it when our local taxi driver said that he had never heard of the place. You don’t get any view or anything, it’s located deep in the “woods”, yet you can see that they try to make the place seem cute by having some tea tables around.
Amenities: the spa runs on a reservation system. You are given two time slots a day, one in the morning and one in the evening. Since it’s private, gender is not an issue. HOWEVER, hygiene is very concerning. I understand that each reservation is 50 minutes long, and they have only 10 minutes to clean up before the next party. We found a ton of hair inside and outside the water. You can see all the UFOs floating around you as you bathe, and I’m not talking about just hairs and leaves.
Also in the room, hair was everywhere, the floor, the table, the little cabinet. The setup was standard, futon, tea table, etc.
Since we have been to many ryokans around Japan, this lacks authenticity, but it can translate to westerner-friendly.
Overall, we’d recommend paying a little bit more for a better experience.
Hôtel vieillot, mal entretenu et sans confort. Chambre sans charme. Le papier peint jaunâtre est décollé par endroits. Un avis récent le signalait, mais cela n'a pas été arrangé.
Et surtout... Pas de douche dans la chambre. Oui, vous avez bien lu : dans cet hôtel hors de prix, pas de douche dans la chambre ! Seulement un lavabo dans un étroit petit passage menant au WC ! Aucune des chambres n'a de douche, m'a précisé la réceptionniste.
Court inventaire de mes autres déceptions :
- Mini-frigo vide. Même pas de bouteilles d'eau. - Onsen extérieur à l'image du reste, avec de belles toiles d'araignées au-dessus des douches - Eau des onsens pas assez chaude, surtout dans celui de l'intérieur. En revanche, la pièce est insuffisamment chauffée. Il y fait froid. - Dîner qui se voulait kaiseki mais qui s'est révélé très en dessous de nos attentes. Le pire a été le petit déjeuner auquel nous n'avons pas touché car tout était préparé à l'avance et les assiettes déjà garnies attendaient les clients sur les tables. Depuis combien de temps ? Mystère ! La saucisse et le bacon étaient froids, évidemment. Quant au reste... rien de très appétissant !
De tous les hôtels réservés pour mon séjour au Japon c'est celui dont j'attendais le plus. Ryokan, onsen, repas keiseki... Cela faisait rêver. Au final, c'est une très amère déception. 500 euros, au cours actuel du yen ! 500 euros !!! Je n'ai jamais connu un rapport qualité-prix aussi mauvais.
Ho trascorso una giornata con amiche ad hakone, soggiornando nella struttura. Check-in alle 18.30. Ci hanno gentilmente posticipato la cena alle 19, servita al tavolo, nella sala comune. La cena era prevista alle 18, ma non riuscendo a raggiungere la struttura in orario, non è stato un problema posticiparla. Al momento del check-in o anche più tardi, si può prenotare gratuitamente l’onsen privato. La struttura è dotata di un onsen interno e due esterni, prenotabili anche per più volte durante il soggiorno, senza un limite. Le docce si trovano nella zona degli onsen. Le stanze sono dotate solo del wc e di un lavandino. Camere dotate di sapone viso e mani, olio struccante, asciugamani, phon, spazzolino e dentifricio. Onsen dotati di bagnoschiuma, shampoo, balsamo, olio struccante, crema corpo, maschere per il viso, cotton-fiock. All’ingresso nella struttura vengono fornite le ciabatte e uno yukata per persona. Colazione a scelta tra internazionale e giapponese. Cena abbondante, gustosa. Personale gentile.
Amongst the very expensive accommodation in Hakone this is great value. We had family room for the two of which has queen size comfy western bed, single bed and then atami mats for anyone else. Room includes toilet, basin, but not shower. Book 45 min sessions in 1 of the 3 private onsens which are fabulous. Opportunity to book two sessions at night and one in the morning. Each has showers where you clean yourself, (soap and shampoo etc provided), rinse off and then relax in onsens. Of the three the two with outside onsens were our favourites. Very classy, traditional, but very easy for non-japanese with everything very obvious from removing your shoes as you arrive, to toilet sandals (who knew they were a thing), to the guidance for the onsens. For the dinner (88,000 yen each) need to book two days in advance (which we didn’t). Definitely take a taxi from Gora station (600 yen) as it is a decent walk uphill. Not the place for you if you have bad knees/mobility issues, but otherwise for the private onsen experience this was fabulous. To get back to Gora need to walk for 12 minutes but mostly downhill. For easier walk back take the cable car up to second stop after Gora and walk from there. Recommend two nights and definitely get the Hakone free pass. wifi was great.
We had an amazing time. We booked the deluxe family suite with our own bathroom and it was plenty of space for 7 people (5adults, 2kids). We also booked the half board and got breakfast and dinner every day which I highly recommend. It was not only delicious but also a lot of food! The private onsen was amazing and we didn’t have a problem getting the times we wanted. It was clean, hot and relaxing. There are two ways to get to the ryokan from Gora. One is with taxi, it’s 600yen and about a 5min ride. The other way is by taking the train from Gora to Koen Kami then walking 6mins to the ryokan. The walk is very easy. We took the taxi when we had luggage but then walked when we were exploring. The staff was very friendly and accommodating. We celebrated a birthday and they went out of their way to get us a cake. The hotel was also kid friendly with toys that you can take to the room. One women at the front desk spoke perfect English. Will definitely be coming back
