Hakone Kowakien Ten-Yu

“Not quite 4* but better than 3* !”

Our 2 night stay last November was a bit of a mixed bag. We arrived well before check-in time but our luggage was safely stored. The receptionist was very helpful giving us maps and bus timetables so we took the hotel courtesy shuttle which dropped us off right outside the Open Air Museum where … more

Our 2 night stay last November was a bit of a mixed bag. We arrived well before check-in time but our luggage was safely stored. The receptionist was very helpful giving us maps and bus timetables so we took the hotel courtesy shuttle which dropped us off right outside the Open Air Museum where we spent a lovely afternoon. Afterwards we walked to Gora station and the courtesy bus picked us up from there to take us back to the hotel. There is very little near this hotel apart from a convenience store and a few other hotels so bear this in mind if you want to eat out. We stayed in a superior twin east facing room on a high floor with a tub on the balcony, very clean, quiet, comfy beds and nice views. We weren't told that we had to request the room to be serviced and only found out when we returned late on day 2 after being out all day to unmade beds! The gardens are beautiful (we stayed during autumn with gorgeous foliage colours) so do make time to visit them and there is a nice foot spa area just around the corner from the main entrance which is easy to miss. There is vending machine in the lobby for free icecreams/ice lollies as well as complimentary coffee, juices and sparkling wine. We stayed on a half board ( breakfast and dinner) basis and this was the area where we felt most disappointed. Our travel agent had secured us reservation times for a later dinner time (7 or 7.30pm) The buffet dinner was virtually the same for both evenings and not a great of choice if you preferred Western cuisine though the freshly cooked tempura was good. They offered an unlimited drinks package during dinner and so pleased we didn't take it as we had enough trouble trying to get even one drink during dinner! The restaurant felt like a canteen and you were expected to clear your table and put the tray back in the cart, not a very luxurious experience. Breakfast again offered few European choices as catered mainly to Japanese tastes but there were some pastries so we didn't starve! Tip: The Hakone Loop - we were advised to avoid the queues that we should do the "Loop" the opposite direction that most visitors take and this worked very well, starting in Hakone instead of finishing there and ending at Gora (after taking the funicular train down to town) where we simply used the hotel shuttle to take us back to the hotel at the end of the day. To get to Hakone, reception staff will tell you the bus times and which one to get (they run approx every 20 minutes) and the bus leaves from down the hill at the Kowakadani stop on the right hand side just across the road at the junction/bend. Overall Hakone is a very nice place to visit for a couple of days and the hotel was quite conveniently situated for our needs but the catering aspect let it down for us.

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“Great room disappointing kaiseki dinner”

Nice hotel, the room was comfortable, the onsen was great, lovely setting. But the package with the kaiseki dinner was disappointing. The meal was pretty bland. Breakfast was very nice though. Tour buses delivering lots of guests really kind of broke the zen ambiance too.