A warning ⚠️ for a low-value-for-money hot spring hotel!

Room: I stayed on the first floor, the room was big and the floor looked clean, but there was a strange smell upon entering! Musty smell? I'm not sure, but it was uncomfortable and the smell stuck to my clothes. The bathroom was a disaster! Very dirty 😨! The door, walls, and floor were covered in mold. Didn't the cleaning staff notice? Being on the ground floor and shaded by trees, the room was dark and gloomy. Plus, with the dirtiness, my kids were too scared to take a shower 🫣. When you open the closet door, it makes a noise, and when the bathroom door isn't fully opened, it makes noise too. The entire atmosphere was unsettling, and the room would make a great location for shooting a Japanese horror movie 🤣!

Hot spring: I didn't go to the public bath, but I visited the free private bath, which was old and dirty 🤢. The outdoor bathtub in the room wasn't hot spring water, but since I brought my own bath bag and covered the entire moldy wooden bathtub, I felt safe enough to soak for a bit 😌.

Food: For dinner, we chose hotpot with soy milk base, which was delicious, and the ingredients were cheap. However, the chicken was tasteless. What was I eating? The sashimi was fresh and tasty! The grilled dishes and desserts were average, but we were full after the meal. The same meal was served to both adults and children, but the kids didn't like it and could only eat hotpot and grilled dishes. Before booking, I sent a message (two months before the trip) asking about children's meals and fees, but I didn't receive a response (other hotels replied within one to two days!). Only after the trip did I check my messages and found that the hotel had replied a few days before check-in, saying that if I didn't respond, they would charge the kids as adults 🤬. I don't understand why, if there was a distinction between adults and children, the front desk asked for the children's ages and didn't confirm the choice with the guests 😒. There was also a waitress who treated us differently from Japanese guests, which I understand, but she didn't need to be so visibly unhappy and seemed like we owed her something 😤. Even before finishing our meal, she came to clear the dishes. To avoid making her angry, we kept saying thank you and were afraid of her! As for breakfast, I won't comment on it. The fish was Instagram-worthy but hard and tasteless, and the pickled vegetables were fun because we could guess which one was set-up 🤪. Only the sashimi and dessert were tasty, but maybe we didn't appreciate the other dishes 🤣!

Staying at this hotel is not a hunger strike, that's for sure! Drinks were available all day in the lobby, and we could enjoy the scenery leisurely. Meiji milk and coffee drinks were available on B1, and popsicles were available on the first floor and B1. From 6 pm to 7 pm, there were meat buns and Japanese dumplings, which were quite tasty 😋! After eating dinner at around 9 pm (dinner started at 8:30 pm), ramen was available at 10 pm, and the kids thought it was better than dinner 😏😅.

Transportation: After taking the mountain train to Kowakidani, we had to rely on the hotel shuttle bus, as we couldn't walk there. It's a ten-minute walk to the 雕刻之森 museum bus stop , and then you can take a bus to get there in one stop.

Staff: Most of the staff were nice, and my two stars are for their hard work. Thank you for your hospitality!

To sum up, paying over 5,000 Hong Kong dollars to stay at this hotel, I don't think it's worth it! I stayed at two hotels this time, and compared to Hanaori in 桃源台, I would give this one a 50 out of 100, and the other one an 85 out of 100.