Hakone Hotel

We stayed at this hotel for two nights in order to complete the circular trip on the lake, the rope way, the cable car and the local transport back to our hotel. Our room, 406, had a very nice view of the lake and the hotel was only a few meters from the wharf where the cruise left for our day trip. Our room was spacious with two large beds, a small lounge area, a desk, room safe and basic tea and coffee making facilities. The room was quite dark and the furnishings dated but still comfortable enough for the two nights, The bathroom was large with minimum bathroom products. The shower was very good with great water pressure. Breakfast was included in our tariff and it was good serving mainly Asian food with yoghurt, fruit, croissants and eggs. As all nearby restaurants and the only shop in the area closed at 5pm our only choice was to eat at the hotel. We chose to have light meals at the coffee shop and the food was very nice. We did not go to the restaurant in the hotel. All staff we encountered were very pleasant and helpful and I would recommend staying at this hotel in order to complete a day's activities in the area

Very comfortable and good size rooms. All hotels in Japan seem to have heated toilet seats which are a real comfort. Massage and hot springs available here. Breakfast & dinner buffet gave you many choices and different foods to try. Great service. Friendly and appealing atmosphere.

This was my second stay at the Hakone Hotel on the shores of Lake Ashi. The hotel, as other reviewers have said, is outdated and plenty of signs of decline despite a high accommodation charge (more than $400 a night for us). The shuttle service, so appreciated on our 2017 visit, is now gone and you have to catch local buses to go between the hotel and Odawara train station. Not fun when you don't speak Japanese and are lugging luggage. We arrived right on check-in time, but there was no-one stationed at the front of the hotel, so we had to drag our heavy luggage up a series of steps to the front door. With a nearby volcano on alert and earth tremors being reported in the news media, I asked at the desk about any emergency plan that guests should be aware of. I was told if there was a problem .. 'come to the front desk'. Right! Not impressed. Although it was very hot while we were there, guests could not adjust the air conditioning - set for winter. We were given a floor fan on request. Note that we were paying over $400 a night, so not a cheap hotel. Bar meals had gone up in price quite a bit since our 2017 stay, and no Japanese wines to taste - even though we have found some quite good ones on our travels. We were shocked to find a very major festival was on while we were staying in Hakone. We had to ask around the town to find someone who could speak english to explain what was going on and what the festival was about. Luckily, we hadn't left to tour in nearby areas, so we didn't miss it. It would have been nice if hotel staff could have told us about the festival when we booked in. Our included breakfast was very good - an excellent array of food on offer, including made to order omelettes. One of the best hotel breakfasts we had in Japan. All deficiencies at this hotel are forgiven because of the view over the Lake to Mt Fuji. The location of this hotel is superb and very hard to beat. It will remain in my dreams forever, and hopefully I will return for a third visit sometime. So I do hope that this hotel is on the books for a renovation.

Arrived at 2:30 pm on Friday 17 May 2019. Since I rrived by taxi I was the only one checking in but the girl at the front desk seemed unhappy and could not force herself to make a hint of a smile. While I was waiting I asked (politely, in a few Japanese words that I learned), where the toilets were and without looking at me, she stretched her out arm abruptly pointing towards the corner of the lobby. I was also told not so touch the air conditioning controls, albeit, by a much nicer and smiling girl. The plugs where loose and I dreaded plugging in my mobile phone recharger. The top of the bed rests were dusty and the bathroom was very outdated and unpleasant with a few sprinkles barely coming from the shower. The waiter at the Il Lago restaurant was rude and behaved like it was a curse to be there. The breakfast was average. The clerk at the front desk on Saturday 18 had a very positive attitude and helped me coordinate my continuing trains from Odawarra station. Beautiful views though but those awful Stalinist pillars of concrete really spoiled it for me.

Spacious room, comfortable bed/pillows. In-room safe, tea/coffee making facilities, fridge. Air-con ok. Complementary water x 2. Free decent Wi-Fi. Complementary bathroom toiletries. Good shower pressure. Hair-dryer. Frosted glass bathroom door which is inconvenient in the middle of the night if anyone uses the bathroom!! We stayed in 5 hotels in Japan & all bar 1 had glass doors/windows in their bathrooms, how bizarre!! Usual tasty buffet breakfast fayre including egg station. Good coffee. We had an included evening dinner in our package. The food was first class, unfortunately just not enough of it!! Bar prices expensive. Arrived at Hotel on a pirate ship, pretty random!! Stayed 1 night as part of a Riviera Tour.

Yes, it looks a bit brutalist from the outside (and the bare concrete interior in the dining area means that the acoustics, when full of diners, are poor), but otherwise this is a great hotel. If you get a room facing Mount Fuji, that's just fabulous. Otherwise use the onsen. (Hey, visit the onsen anyway!) To lie in a hot spring bath, gazing at Mount Fuji through a very large open window is a wonderful experience. Additionally, at breakfast, visit the omelette station and ask for a 'cute' omelette. I got a rabbit (See photo uploaded.) That we arrived at this hotel in a pirate boat just added to the whole other worldly experience.

We woke up in the morning to a spectacular view of Mt Fuji. The room was wonderful, the staff was great and breakfast was tasty. We did the lake cruise and viewed the beauty of the area. The hotel is right next to the bus stop which was very convenient for us.

We stayed in this hotel for 1 night as part of our Japan Tour with Riviera Holidays. Having enjoyed a day with numerous views of Mount Fuji, we arrived by Pirate boat along the Lake & our luggage came on our coach. From the outside the hotel appears as a concrete monstrosity but has some views of the lake. We enjoyed a free welcome drink of Cherry Blossom flavoured Vodka cocktail. This was good as the hotel drinks were quite expensive. We stayed for 1 night with an included tasty French-style dinner. The area is geo-thermally active, and some of our group tried one of Japan’s classic experiences – bathing in an ‘ONSEN’, a hot spring at the hotel: ladies & gents bathe nude, BUT SEPARATELY! Our room was a good size and the staff were helpful & friendly.

The hotel is a bit of a concrete edifice reminiscent of days gone by but it has a good location on the lake and early morning you can watch the sunrise over Mount Fuji behind the hills across the lake. The Onsen is a good experience.