Hoshino Resorts KAI Hakone — Hotel in Hakone

We had a western room for three (two parents and our daughter - toddler age). We were due to stay for three nights but left a day early.

I’ll start with the positives:

Quite possibly the best two nights sleep I’ve had in years. Comfortable beds in a very peaceful and place. Beautiful onsen and one of the original seven in Hakone. The room was much larger than advertised and we had plenty of space.

Unfortunately, none of that outweighs the negatives:

The location, whilst beautiful, is very far outside of Hakone. Whilst we knew this in advance of booking we had no idea how difficult booking taxis / getting around would be and this should be made clear to guests when they check in. The day we left, we attempted to book a taxi the evening before and then again the next morning; however we were told it wasn’t possible. After waiting in reception for 50 minutes, and being presented with the bus timetable three times, we were eventually able to book our own on an app. The reception team were incredulous when we found our own solution. For a hotel in the middle of nowhere, they simply must have more options to get guests around other than offering a bus timetable, which is not practical when you have a toddler and several bags (not least because the hotel’s driveway is incredibly steep). Have a minibus which someone on shift can drive and charge guests for it… something other than nothing.

The meals are authentic but they really should offer basic, western options e.g. a continental breakfast instead of a traditional Japanese one. Our daughter ate nothing as it just wasn’t palatable for her.

For the price, the items in the fridge should be complimentary.

The WiFi is dreadful and doesn’t reach the rooms 90% of the time.

The staff, whilst friendly, are very over the top. It took us 45 minutes to check in because we had to go through far too many details. Such as when we would have breakfast / dinner each day. We weren’t able to go to the room on our own, we had to be shown and take the lift and wait for someone to follow. We’d had a stressful train journey and just wanted to settle ourselves…

The location, as mentioned, is lovely. But there really should be more outdoor space given you’re in the hills. It’s very disappointing that you couldn’t walk anywhere around the hotel.

There is some serious updating that needs to happen in some of the overlooked communal areas e.g. the lifts. They smell and clearly haven’t been renovated.

Overall, our experience at Kai Hakone was beyond disappointing. We saw the hotel in a magazine and feel like it must have been a paid for inclusion as nothing lived up to expectations and we were so looking forward to the few days there.

If you want to go, spend one night to experience the onsen and the view but 100% rent a car (which is another headache in Japan - look this up in advance). I wish we’d stayed somewhere else in Hakone; despite having the best sleep of my life, the times I was awake I was frustrated,...

We had a western room for three (two parents and our daughter - toddler age). We were due to stay for three nights but left a day early.||I’ll start with the positives:||Quite possibly the best two nights sleep I’ve had in years. Comfortable beds in a very peaceful and place.|Beautiful onsen and one of the original seven in Hakone.|The room was much larger than advertised and we had plenty of space.||Unfortunately, none of that outweighs the negatives:||The location, whilst beautiful, is very far outside of Hakone. Whilst we knew this in advance of booking we had no idea how difficult booking taxis / getting around would be and this should be made clear to guests when they check in. The day we left, we attempted to book a taxi the evening before and then again the next morning; however we were told it wasn’t possible. After waiting in reception for 50 minutes, and being presented with the bus timetable three times, we were eventually able to book our own on an app. The reception team were incredulous when we found our own solution. For a hotel in the middle of nowhere, they simply must have more options to get guests around other than offering a bus timetable, which is not practical when you have a toddler and several bags (not least because the hotel’s driveway is incredibly steep). Have a minibus which someone on shift can drive and charge guests for it… something other than nothing. ||The meals are authentic but they really should offer basic, western options e.g. a continental breakfast instead of a traditional Japanese one. Our daughter ate nothing as it just wasn’t palatable for her.||For the price, the items in the fridge should be complimentary. ||The staff, whilst friendly, are very over the top. It took us 45 minutes to check in because we had to go through far too many details. Such as when we would have breakfast / dinner each day. We weren’t able to go to the room on our own, we had to be shown and take the lift and wait for someone to follow. We’d had a stressful train journey and just wanted to settle ourselves…||The location, as mentioned, is lovely. But there really should be more outdoor space given you’re in the hills. It’s very disappointing that you couldn’t walk anywhere around the hotel. ||There is some serious updating that needs to happen in some of the overlooked communal areas e.g. the lifts. They smell and clearly haven’t been renovated.||Overall, our experience at Kai Hakone was beyond disappointing. We saw the hotel in a magazine and feel like it must have been a paid for inclusion as nothing lived up to expectations and we were so looking forward to the few days there.||If you want to go, spend one night to experience the onsen and the view but 100% rent a car (which is another headache in Japan - look this up in advance). I wish we’d stayed somewhere else in Hakone; despite having the best sleep of my life, the times I was awake I was frustrated,...

We had a western room for three (two parents and our daughter - toddler age). We were due to stay for three nights but left a day early.||I’ll start with the positives:||Quite possibly the best two nights sleep I’ve had in years. Comfortable beds in a very peaceful and place.|Beautiful onsen and one of the original seven in Hakone.|The room was much larger than advertised and we had plenty of space.||Unfortunately, none of that outweighs the negatives:||The location, whilst beautiful, is very far outside of Hakone. Whilst we knew this in advance of booking we had no idea how difficult booking taxis / getting around would be and this should be made clear to guests when they check in. The day we left, we attempted to book a taxi the evening before and then again the next morning; however we were told it wasn’t possible. After waiting in reception for 50 minutes, and being presented with the bus timetable three times, we were eventually able to book our own on an app. The reception team were incredulous when we found our own solution. For a hotel in the middle of nowhere, they simply must have more options to get guests around other than offering a bus timetable, which is not practical when you have a toddler and several bags (not least because the hotel’s driveway is incredibly steep). Have a minibus which someone on shift can drive and charge guests for it… something other than nothing. ||The meals are authentic but they really should offer basic, western options e.g. a continental breakfast instead of a traditional Japanese one. Our daughter ate nothing as it just wasn’t palatable for her.||For the price, the items in the fridge should be complimentary. ||The staff, whilst friendly, are very over the top. It took us 45 minutes to check in because we had to go through far too many details. Such as when we would have breakfast / dinner each day. We weren’t able to go to the room on our own, we had to be shown and take the lift and wait for someone to follow. We’d had a stressful train journey and just wanted to settle ourselves…||The location, as mentioned, is lovely. But there really should be more outdoor space given you’re in the hills. It’s very disappointing that you couldn’t walk anywhere around the hotel. ||There is some serious updating that needs to happen in some of the overlooked communal areas e.g. the lifts. They smell and clearly haven’t been renovated.||Overall, our experience at Kai Hakone was beyond disappointing. We saw the hotel in a magazine and feel like it must have been a paid for inclusion as nothing lived up to expectations and we were so looking forward to the few days there.||If you want to go, spend one night to experience the onsen and the view but 100% rent a car (which is another headache in Japan - look this up in advance). I wish we’d stayed somewhere else in Hakone; despite having the best sleep of my life, the times I was awake I was frustrated,...