Fugaku Onsen Ryokan — Hotel in Gero

We had booked Gero Onsen Fugaku through another website, and didn't realise it was so popular here with so many rave reviews. Our experience was more balanced, however. At risk of repeating some of the comments by other reviewers, below is a list of pros/cons.||||Pros: (1) Ben, the manager from HK is definitely attentive (one might argue, slightly obsessively so). We had emailed him about the shuttle from Gero train station and he provided timely response. Lu Xiao, his lovely assistant who served us food every breakfast and dinner, was an unassuming gem. Think of Ben as the wrapper, she is the real present! (2) Hotel shuttle gets you to train station, downtown, and even the Gassho Village if you arrange the day before. The trek downhill from gassho was quite nice btw, don't bother with taxi. (3) Location was fine. 10 mins away from convenience store (lawsons) and the many free foot spas (some quite tacky though). We tried nearly all of them and had a bit of fun. (4) Traditional japanese tatami room was well-kept, though a bit dated. That dial phone is ancient! (5) Kaiseki meals are massive. Unless you are a big eater, don't even dream of getting close to finishing up. Easily feeds a family of 4. Some really exquisite stuff, including local delicacies -- seafood. But don't expect top-notch food. The wow-factor here is variety, not top quality. (6) Indoor (public) and outdoor (private) onsen are both very fine. Don't miss out. (7) Being a small/mid ryokan (only 5 floors, 20+ rooms) has its benefits -- no large groups of tourists.||||Cons: (1) Ben promised us shuttle from the train station but we couldn't find the driver upon arrival. Took us 10 mins with the help of drivers from other hotels to eventually track down the shuttle driver who was sitting in his van. (2) Turns out Ben was busy attending to his Chinese visitor group back at the onsen. We were second-class citizens. (3) We asked to book private onsen but were told it was all booked out for the day, and even limited times for next day. Ben told us we should have reserved ahead of arrival, yet this was never communicated to us. True or not, we don't know, since we could never verify that info. Other ryokans we have stayed were more transparent -- write your name on the board when you check in. I suppose this is the "real" value of Ben's service, which we never received. (4) Hotel staff didn't speak English, only Ben did. So they generally seem private and difficult to find. Reception was rarely attended. Pick-up/drop-off keys to the private onsen took longer than needed as such. (5) Everything ran on time and on time only. We felt rushed every day as 20 mins prior to meals they will come knocking on the door to set things up. We loved the room and the kaiseki, but having to do it on a schedule made the trip less relaxing. The cost of japanese efficiency maybe. But hospitality ought to be more flexible. (6) Tiny bathroom -- 1/10 the size of the bedroom -- situated at the entrance. Very poor design. (7) We were okay with the dated room (nostalgic if you like) but the insulation was terrible. We had to forget about sleeping with moonlight (makes for a really nice ryokan experience) as we had to shut the balcony sliding doors every night to keep the cold out. ||||Gero is one of Japan's top 3 onsen towns. We loved it. But at this price, we expected better. Will try another...

We stopped by Gero Onsen town on our road trip around Gifu prefecture and we decided to book a night at this hotel. This turned out to be an amazing find and stay and we loved our experience there!

Food- Our booking included dinner and breakfast. The food there was amazing! All of the dishes were made from local seasonal ingredients and our server took her time explaining all of the dishes to us in English. The dinner and breakfast were served in each of the guest’s rooms.

Location/Stay- There are other hotels and ryokans in Gero and compared to the others I would say that this is a smaller sized ryokan. The facility has a lot of history but it is well maintained. The hotel also overlooks the river and located walking distance to the other local attractions and shops nearby. There is a convenience store nearby as well.

Parking- We drove and there was a parking lot behind the ryokan. You just have to let the staff know ahead of time and they will send you the GPS coordinates to the parking lot. The ryokan also offers shuttle pick up and drop off to JR stations as well.

Baths- there are two private baths and you can reserve with the hotel. There are also public baths on the lower and upper floor alongside with an open air bath. There are schedules to follow for women and men.

Service- amazing service! The staff there were all very friendly and helpful. They also provide yukatas to wear on site, umbrellas and etc. They really put in a lot of effort in providing the best...

I chose Gero for my family Onsen ryokan experience as it was on the way from Takayama to Nagoya (our final stop before heading home). Did a lot of online research and finally settled on Fugaku. I wanted to avoid the big Ryokan and chose the mid size Fugaku (hopefully more personal services) . We booked a Japanese style room with bath and toilet. The manager Ben welcomed us and provided a detailed briefing. He was humorous and his ability to communicate in English and Chinese made us feel very at home. The room was clean and adequate for my party of 5. Place was not crowded and we enjoyed the outdoor Onsen (kind of small for about 2 to 3 pax max). We booked a free 45 mins private Onsen. |We chose the Hida beef set and had an enjoyable dinner served in the room. The waitress was Chinese and so was able to explain the various cuisine to us. The food was excellent. As small eaters we find the food excessive but enjoyed it throughly. |Hotel provided 2 way free shuttle service to the train station|Overall Gero is a small Onsen town with nothing mush to do but enjoy the stroll along the river. Stay for a night to relax and enjoy Onsen experience with a Kaiseki dinner and breakfast. Not cheap but worth the money. |I highly...