TOTO Seawind Awaji — Hotel in Awaji

I really want to like this place a lot, really. I mean, from the pictures and the concept, this place sounds like paradise in the middle of the mountain. Well, while it technically is (architecture-wise), the hotel is very basic and without much amenities. So unless you prepare yourself for a very basic stay, you may not enjoy staying here very much.||||Designed by Tadao Ando, the architect who did a couple of other landmarks in the same island as well (Awajiyumebutai, Konpukuji Temple, Westin Awaji, etc), the hotel building is very beautiful, echoing the same modernistic lines of his other designs. The vast sea view against the mountain was also the most welcome view off the dining room balcony. You can just stay there for hours just looking at the gently crashing waves.||||Now,.... getting to the hotel is a bit of a hassle if you are not driving. What you can do once you reach the bus stop at Awaji IC at the tip of the island, is you can take another bus from there to Tsuna Port. (There is an English-speaking tourist information inside Awaji IC building. You can get directions and map from them). Once you reach Tsuna Port, take a taxi to the hotel. The property is about 10-15 mins up the mountain and it costs about 2,000 yen. I dont think it is accessible by foot as it is quite a steep slope.||||The hotel building and grounds are actually quite small. It has 8 levels, with guest rooms on level 2 and 3. The reception is on level 8. The lift to go down to the guest rooms area is outside the reception area. While it's a beautiful design and allows guests to see the breathtaking ocean view while walking the bridge to the lift, I can't imagine it's very practical when it rains though.||||Food was elaborate, creative, beautifully cooked and instagram worthy, but to be honest, they did not taste very fantastic. But if you do not opt for breakfast or dinner in the property, you have to drive/cab out to town to find alternative food. ||||One thing to note though, the hotel actually had several different types of dinner sets, which you can choose by stay package. But this was not an option in Bookingw.com. It was just shown as "Breakfast and Dinner included", without any dish option. So this was quite disappointing, really. It'd be great if there were dinner set options.||||The room was very spacious. The in-room amenities were adequate. There was whirlpool bathtub in the bathroom, with a toilet TV (and remote!), so you can enjoy your soak. If you get bored of the bathroom, after washing up, you can soak at the public whirlpool bath pool on level 3. ||||The room has a balcony, but the view isn't that great, because the ocean view you are expecting, is blocked by a row of tall hedges. Maybe it was for safety reason (pretty sure the hotel is on a cliff), but surely there are other ways to keep guests safe?||||Also, make sure you buy everything you need before you reach the hotel. There is a mini market at Awaji IC, but I dont think there is any shop (even convenience shop) in Tsuna Port. But best option is to buy your necessities at Maiko station, there is a big supermarket there. || ||In short, come prepared if you want to stay at the hotel. And expect to have very quiet and rather boring evenings (unless you are driving in, of course). The view is wonderful and the hotel design is beautiful, but next time I'd rather stay at the Westin Awaji coz it's not really worth...

We stayed in the TOTO Seawind Awaji hotel because we wanted to stay in a hotel that has been design by the architect Tadao Ando (and we wanted to see Awaji island).||We stayed in a maisonette room that had two floors.||On the top floor was the entrance, a toilet and the bathroom. On the bottom floor was the kitchen (no plates, knifes, or chopsticks!), the TV, the living room and the bedroom.||The maisonette has traditional Japanese bedding, i.e. futons.||On the bottom floor, there was a toilet, too.||||We liked the room. It was quite bright even though we had bad weather.||Unfortunately, almost all floors are on the second floor and you cannot see the sea from your room.||||We booked a package with dinner and breakfast.||Both was delicious. Especially the dinner, which was a multi-course feast for all senses.||All but some... the dining hall was concrete, too, what made it very loud and unpleasant.||The staff was friendly but not very capable.||For the price you pay we expected not only delicious food but good service, too.||At dinner, the staff tried to give us the same plate twice, forgot our ordered drinks and part of an other course.||||In a ryokan (traditional Japanese hotel) your futons (bed) are prepared for you while you have dinner.||When you come back to your room, you will find everything prepared.||Not in this hotel!||This is a shame because a ryokan has the same cost but higher service standards.||||The hotel onsen / ofuro is sub-standard by size and equipment.||||To sum up: We enjoyed our stay, but it was much too expensive for the...

We stayed in the Hotel for two nights.||If you keep a few things in mind, the stay can be very pleasant. ||Do not try to communicate too much with the staff. They do speak a few words of english, but do not know how to use it. ||Do not try to ask for things. They will simply not be able to do it. ||Book an Evening meal for every Evening of the stay. Right when you arrive. Afterwards it will be too late. ||We were refused Dinner at the second evening because we did not decide on it when we arrived. Because the Dinner is 8000Yenper person we wanted to try it out first, before we booked it for two nights. Nobody told us that we have to decide right away for the whole stay. Which brings us to the bigger Problem:||The Hotel is on top of a very remote mountain. If you do not have a car, reaching it will be very difficult. You will have to take at least two busses and walk a kilometre in between the stops and then take a Taxi for the last five kilometres up the mountain. (5000Yen) Also, there is no convenience store or restaurant within that five kilometre radius. You basically have to walk ten kilometres down and up a very steep mountain if you want any kind of food. ||Despite it having almost 30°C outside, the pool was not cleaned.(Dirt, leafs, spiders) This means that they do not want you to swim in it. ||So basically, if you do not buy food before you make your way to the hotel, you will have to plan 8000Yen for Dinner and 1500Yen for breakfast. Both of which...