Kamenoi Hotel Tazawako

“Beyond it’s old glory yet still a good budget hotel”

Like many Ski Resort Hotels in Japan their glory days have come and gone . This is the only hotel left in a row of ghost buildings in this Tazawako Ski Resort Area. This is a Big Budget Hotel that is like a Cruise ship . Buffet dinners and breakfast . There are lot of Bus Tourists that come and go … more

Like many Ski Resort Hotels in Japan their glory days have come and gone . This is the only hotel left in a row of ghost buildings in this Tazawako Ski Resort Area. This is a Big Budget Hotel that is like a Cruise ship . Buffet dinners and breakfast . There are lot of Bus Tourists that come and go . The best Part is the Onsen or Hot Springs Bath . The Service is good ( though for Japenese Standards low ). The rooms are rudimentary . In the end you get what you pay for and the price fits the offering . If you want to ski there is really no other overnight option close by. They also have a shuttle to the bus and ski station which practical.

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“Great onsen and sand bath”

This hotel was a 2 hours drive from Akita airport. So, there is an old wing and new wing of the hotel. We followed the GPS by car and got to the old wing. Entered the building only to find the lobby abandoned and desolate. I saw an old woman walking around so I asked her where check-in was. She t… more

This hotel was a 2 hours drive from Akita airport. So, there is an old wing and new wing of the hotel. We followed the GPS by car and got to the old wing. Entered the building only to find the lobby abandoned and desolate. I saw an old woman walking around so I asked her where check-in was. She told me I had to walk to the new wing through a very shabby looking corridor. After a bit of confusion and heaving of luggages, we got to the main reception and checked in. (PS, if we drove to the new wing, there would be no need to walk in shabby corridors and the new lobby is actually quite decent.) One staff was helpful and even went to collect our car from the old building to park in front of the new building for us. Staff speak no English so we spoke in Japanese. The young lady who checked us in did not look very happy and did not smile at all. However, another lady who gave us a guide of the hotel facilities and led us to our rooms was very nice. She was also present for our breakfast and dinner as a server. The room was quite big but old. It was a traditional japanese style room. Someone would come into our room while we had dinner downstairs to make up our futon for us (which alarmed us a bit that they entered without asking). And will put the futon away in the morning for us. They provide tea and little snacks everyday. There was an indoor onsen which includes a bathing area. An outdoor onsen which does not have a shower area. There is also a special sand bath where you are buried till your neck in warm sand to remove impurities from your body. Later, you are required to wash your hair and rinse your body with water but no body soap for at least a few hours. This sand bath requires reservation at the reception and is about 1050yen plus entrance fee of 450yen. Dinner was really good. They were very nice and helpful to accommodate my partner's dietary needs. It will be best if you inform them beforehand. My partner however was a little annoyed with one of the servers who cooked his fish (It was shabu-shabu, so we should have done it ourselves) and broke his rice crackers into the soup when he was looking forward to do it himself. (She seemed to be in a hurry and wanted to get over and done with. Also, because my partner did not understand her, there was some misunderstanding. She might be trying to be helpful? But he did not appreciate her touching his food with her bare hands after cleaning the table next to us.) Breakfast for the first day was buffet style but the consecutive days were served as a set. Which seemed like leftovers from the buffet on the first day. Overall, we had a great time. The staff were helpful, we had a traditional experience, and the food was overall good. Water from the tap is mineral water from the mountains so it is safe to drink. The water made my complexion glow.

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“Average”

I've been here few days ago with my mom. The staffs were kind and atmosphere was nice and warm. Kaiseki as dinner was great and breakfast was fine like as normal Japanese style. We enjoyed taking enzyme baths and also onsens. The things that I was disappointed were there was no shower facilities … more

I've been here few days ago with my mom. The staffs were kind and atmosphere was nice and warm. Kaiseki as dinner was great and breakfast was fine like as normal Japanese style. We enjoyed taking enzyme baths and also onsens. The things that I was disappointed were there was no shower facilities at outdoor hot spring and indoor hot spring was not spacious.

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