Hotel Matsushima Taikanso

“Delightful experience”

Charming hotel, built on a grand scale, with stunning views over Matsushima bay. From the very beginning, all staff were an absolute delight, and very kind with putting up with our poor-to-nonexistent Japanese! The panoramic views from our ocean view rooms made it very hard to leave. Rooms were… more

Charming hotel, built on a grand scale, with stunning views over Matsushima bay. From the very beginning, all staff were an absolute delight, and very kind with putting up with our poor-to-nonexistent Japanese! The panoramic views from our ocean view rooms made it very hard to leave. Rooms were also hugely spacious and very comfortable, although the firmness of Japanese pillows does take a little getting used to! The buffet breakfast and dinners were absolutely delicious, with a very wide variety. This kept everyone very happy (and full!). There is an onsen, if you're game. We were too timid on a busy weekend. The courtesy bus into town/train station made arrival/departure and exploring the township very comfortable and easy. Would 100% recommend visiting.

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“The friendliest hotel in Japan!”

We have had the loveliest of stays here! It is a very friendly hotel, and it felt like an authentic modern Japanese experience. The buffet for dinner and breakfast were amazing, with lots of fresh fish and salads. We were travelling for a special birthday, and the hotel kindly gave us a bottle of … more

We have had the loveliest of stays here! It is a very friendly hotel, and it felt like an authentic modern Japanese experience. The buffet for dinner and breakfast were amazing, with lots of fresh fish and salads. We were travelling for a special birthday, and the hotel kindly gave us a bottle of sparkling wine to celebrate, which was a lovely touch! The onsen (sento) was quite an experience. It is separate for men and women, and has a beautiful outdoor pool with views over the bay, which is highly recommended! We had a Mountain View room, but this didn’t detract from the enjoyment at all. There is not really a bar to have pre-dinner drinks, but there is a gift shop which sells beer and wine to enjoy in your room. Overall, it was a great experience and we’d highly recommend it to all travellers!

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“Panorama View of Matsushima Bay”

高台にあるから眺めが良く、立地的にも、松島海岸駅からすぐ近い。 とは言え、かなりの傾斜を上がるので、電車で来た私たちは、シャトルバスを利用。 この大観荘のシャトルバスは、松島観光中心部を経由して、ほぼ一日中循環していているからありがたいです。 ロビーは広々しています。 質問があって若いスタッフに声をかけると、「研修員」の名札をつけていました。 一緒に、その上司であろう人がいましたが、研修員に対応させ見守っている様子が、なんとも和やかに感じました。 同じ感覚が、夕食の時間にも。 男性の上司が（確か名札は菊池さん）が、若いスタッフを連れて、テーブルへの案内やブッフェの説明をするのですが、私たち… more

高台にあるから眺めが良く、立地的にも、松島海岸駅からすぐ近い。 とは言え、かなりの傾斜を上がるので、電車で来た私たちは、シャトルバスを利用。 この大観荘のシャトルバスは、松島観光中心部を経由して、ほぼ一日中循環していているからありがたいです。 ロビーは広々しています。 質問があって若いスタッフに声をかけると、「研修員」の名札をつけていました。 一緒に、その上司であろう人がいましたが、研修員に対応させ見守っている様子が、なんとも和やかに感じました。 同じ感覚が、夕食の時間にも。 男性の上司が（確か名札は菊池さん）が、若いスタッフを連れて、テーブルへの案内やブッフェの説明をするのですが、私たち客に対してだけでなく、研修員にも親切で感じが良い。 この上司の下だったら頑張ろうって気になるし、本来のサービス業とは、なんぞやを学べるのでは、と思いました。 ホテル（旅館）の格付けに関わらず、良いホテルは従業員の教育が徹底しているだけでなく、いかに客に心地よいサービスを提供できるかにあると思います。 泊まったのは、海側和洋室。 古い旅館で年季が入っているんだろうな、と不安でしたが、リノベートしたらしく、思ったより綺麗で広さも十分でした。 松島湾を臨むパノラマヴューも申し分なし。 冷蔵庫は空で、お水のボトルはありませんでした。 残念。自動販売機でお水は160円。 トイレ、バスルームは別で、綺麗でした。 館内着はクロゼットに浴衣がサイズ豊富に揃っていました。 大浴場は、温泉ではなく沸かし湯で残念ですが、浅めのインフィニティ露天風呂は気持ちがよく、松島湾を一望でき良かったです。 男性用、女性用と朝晩入れ替わらないので、景色は男女ともほぼ同じなのでしょう。 サウナはありませんでした。 夕食はブッフェにしては具材が良く、期待以上の充実したディナーでした。 切り分けて頂いたローストビーフは、お上品に薄く一枚とかじゃなく、ドンとサービス精神良し。 火が通り過ぎてる？と思ったけど、柔らかくて美味しかったです。 松島なので蒸牡蠣やカキフライも。 そして大ぶりの海老チリソースも良かった。 お刺身は、まあまあ。 ちょうど苺フェアをしていて、デザートは苺三昧で嬉しかったです。 反面、朝食はイマイチ、というか、まあ一般的。 お値段以上の滞在でした。ありがとうございます。 The hotel is on top of the hill over looking Matsushima Bay. The panorama view is just wonderful. The location is close to Matsushima Kaigan station, however, since it is quite a steep climb. If you come by train, I suggest you to take a complimentary shuttle bus provided by the hotel which runs through the Matsushima tourist area almost all day long. The lobby is spacious. When I had a question and approached a young staff member, she was wearing a name tag that read "trainee." and she was with her boss. I felt a pleasant feeling that her boss was watching over her with smile and kind manner. The same feeling happened at dinner time. The male boss (I believe his name tag is Mr. Kikuchi) with the young staff lead us to the tables and explains the buffet. He is kind and considerate not only to us customers, but also to the trainees as well. Being trained under this boss would likely understands what a customer service industry is like. Regardless of the rating of the hotel (inn), I believe that a good hotel not only has thorough employee training, but also the ability to provide considerate service to guests. I stayed in a Japanese-Western style room facing the sea. I was worried that the inn would be outdated, but it seemed like it had been renovated, and it was much nicer and spacious than I expected. The panoramic view overlooking Matsushima Bay is also perfect. The fridge was empty and there were no water bottles. disappointing., though. Water from the vending machine costs 160 yen. The toilet and bathroom were separate and clean. As for in-house wear, there was a closet stocked with yukata in a wide variety of sizes. The public bath has boiling water rather than a hot spring, but the shallow infinity open-air bath was pleasant and had a great view of Matsushima Bay. Since the men's and women's bath facility do not change in the morning and evening, the scenery is probably the same for both men and women. There was no sauna. Dinner had good ingredients for a buffet and was more fulfilling than I expected. The roast beef that was cut into pieces was generous amount , moist and tender. Since it's Matsushima, famous steamed oysters and fried oysters were offered. And the large shrimp with chili sauce was also good. The sashimi is okay. There was a strawberry fair for dessert, and a full of strawberries made me happy. The breakfast was ok, or rather, it was average. Over all my stay was more than worth the price and enjoyed very bit of it. Thank you.

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“Very nice hotel in a wonderful little town in Japan”

Nice shuttle bus to and from the train station. Although the hotel is "only 15 minute walk", the last 1/4 mile is uphill so if you are dragging roller bags like us, that 1/4 mile is a bear. And you walk thru a 1/4 mile tunnel too, so its not a great walk. That said, its a nice hotel with a nice … more

Nice shuttle bus to and from the train station. Although the hotel is "only 15 minute walk", the last 1/4 mile is uphill so if you are dragging roller bags like us, that 1/4 mile is a bear. And you walk thru a 1/4 mile tunnel too, so its not a great walk. That said, its a nice hotel with a nice public bath. Restaurant was great on site. And there isn't really any place near by to eat as its rather secluded. Great view of the mountains and Sendai Bay. Very competent. The doors to the room aren't fitted all that great. While I didn't hear hallway noise, you can see a gap between the door and the door jamb so its a bit alarming, but no problems.

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