Hakonenanase — Hotel in Hakone

We stayed in a Suite with Semi Open-Air Cypress Bath during March of 2020. The whole experience was absolutely wonderful and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend staying here! ||We are from the UK and as with many places in Japan it goes a long way to speak a little Japanese and learn as many customs as possible whilst you enjoy their beautiful country. ||We stayed for 2 nights, and I will try and break down each part of our stay!||Food - You get your own private dining area which was super romantic and a really lovely touch. We opted for one Japanese style breakfast and one Western breakfast, and as much as I loved the Japanese experience, my other half was grateful for the western breakfast the second morning, so I would definitely recommend this to western travellers. However the evening food was absolutely spectacular, an incredible mix of different types of cuisine with a menu to explain what you are getting, even if there are sparse instructions on how exactly best to eat some parts of the meals! (I think that is all part of the fun and the staff are happy to help try and explain, even with limited English!) The wine and drinks are quite expensive, but living near London, this didn't faze us as much as it seems to some other reviewers!||Room and Bath - The in-room onsen looked so inviting and we were incredibly excited on seeing our room as it was pretty spectacular with gorgeous mountain views. Our ONLY gripe was that the bath was INSANELY hot when we first got into the room and only Daenerys Targaryen would be able to get into it! However it did cool over the course of the day and we very much enjoyed not having to leave the room to enjoy the bath! ||Private Onsens - We also made use of the onsens on site that you literally just walk down to and if one is available you lock the door behind you and it is all yours. We visited quite a few onsens across Japan and it was an absolutely luxury to be able to use one together with my other half as most (all) other onsens are gender specific and public so it is a very different experience. I am truly glad I got to experience both!||I would honestly say that if you are trying to save a few pennies, don't go for the tub in your room and just use their ones on site. They are private, clean, and each one is slightly different which is a fun thing to experience. ||Location - the hotel is up the hill from the town of Hakone and you do need to familiarise yourself with the Round Pass bus system and where to get on and off. Again, we found this all to be part of the adventure, but I can appreciate that if you aren't used to looking at maps and timetables, you may get a little lost/frustrated! If you were short on time, this might not be the hotel for you, but if you have a few days to explore, relax and enjoy, this is 100% the hotel for you. Definitely not a traditional ryoken, and perhaps geared more towards a Western audience, but hey, we were that, and we had an incredible time. Can't wait to go back. Thank you to everyone who made our stay an...

A great relaxation trip. Easily accessible by bus or train, hotel staff are exceptionally courteous and speak good English. They also speak a few other languages that I can't identify (heard them conversing with other guests). There are public gender separated baths, as well as private family/ couple baths. You don't need to book the bath, just check that there is no one in there before you go in. We had a family room with 2 western style beds and 2 futons. The room (53) is a suite which faces the mountains. There is a comfortable sitting area and desk. The bathroom is split, the toilet is near the room entry, the rest are further in the room. My room had a double sink with plenty of counter space and a large mirror. The shower is separated from the bath, which is a large, traditional-looking wooden private onsen bath. The bath area is open to the cool mountain air, but can be kept secluded by blinds. The bath water comes straight from the hot springs. It is a low sulfur content hot spring therefore the water doesn't smell. The water runs continuously. I believed the public bath is closed for cleaning during the afternoons. The public bath also has a nice massage chair. Breakfast and dinner are both extremely delicious meals. Fresh ingredients, including a good variety of vegetables. I am sad to say that although I loved the vegetables, my digestion could not handle the amount of fibre and so I ended up with diarrhoea after the second day. #wurf but unpleasant. There is a vending machine, and a snack and souvenir area when you can buy extra food/drink. Honestly, I'm too full after meals to even think of snacks. Decor is a little dated, and there are areas where the age of the establishment shows. The whole feel of the place is a slightly confusing mix of eastern + western design. Pros: service, language skills, food, baths, view, room space, comfortable bedding, accessible location. Cons: food (so many vegetables! If you're a meat person/picky eater you won't appreciate it as much), decor. Neutral: price? This is the first time I've spent this much on accommodation. I don't know what...

Had an excellent two night stay at Manatei.

We stayed in a twin suite (two twin beds, but they were pushed together when we got there) with a private onsen. The room was very large, including a sitting area and large bathroom. The in-room onsen was amazing and probably the best part of out trip to Hakone. We had a view of the river that runs past the hotel from the onsen.

The public and family (first-come-first-served) onsens were less remarkable than our private onsen, but if you don't have an in-room onsen, I'm sure you'd appreciate them. The water in those onsens was much hotter than our in-room one (too hot for me personally). My girlfriend raved about the massage chair in the women's onsen.

We had four meals at Manatei, all of which were excellent. Our dinners were a several course meal patterned after the five tastes and a Japanese hot pot. Our first breakfast was more traditional Japanese while our second was western-style.

Service was excellent and staff was fluent in English, letting us avoid needing to use our broken Japanese in most circumstances :)

The hotel was easy to get to. The buses can be a bit confusing and Google Maps directions to not currently understand them all. The hotel sends an email on reservation with instructions that made this easier. Be sure to pick it up a bus map from both bus companies (Hakone Tozan and Izuhakone) for all the routes as they both stop near the hotel and go different, useful places. The buses are a bit cramped for taller persons or those with luggage but they come to the stop next to the hotel surprisingly often.

The train station at Kowakidani is also close (a ten minute walk at most) and the staff will offer to drive you there (although unless you need assistance or have large, non-carryable, luggage, it is an easy walk).

If you are planning on visiting the Hakone Open-Air museum nearby, do not follow Google Maps walking directions as there are apparently wild pigs that live in the forest area they have you walk through! Either walk up and take the train for one stop or...