Karaku, Gora — Hotel in Hakone

A very nice building, sadly spoiled by terrible food and variable service that does not match the price.

We stayed with our family at the hotel for 3 nights in the middle of a larger Japan trip focused on Tokyo. We were very excited to have a zen weekend, with our kids (12 and 9) having their own room, and my wife and I having ours, which is generally how we travel. Upon checkin, we were asked about our food preferences (for a second time, first being at booking), and we reiterated that we are mostly veg, but do eat fin fish (no shellfish), but are otherwise agreeable. One of our kids is down for anything, and our youngest is firmly in the "kids food" camp.

With that out of the way (narrator: it wasnt), we were led to our Japanese style rooms. We explained that we would like the kids room to be 2 beds (they are all two beds either pushed together or not), and ours to be one. The woman checking us in said "the rooms have been prepared for 1 adult and 1 child in each room, but you are welcome to go to any room to visit during the day". I explained that I was aware of this ability, but that our kids will be sharing. She then repeated the same sentence, in a way that felt very un-accommodating, and almost like "these are the rules, period". It was a super off putting way to kick off the weekend, and foreshadowed several other misses at the hotel. I don't need a hotel staff member telling me how to manage my children, especially in a hotel claiming to be this high end. In the end, we did what we wanted (ignoring the "rule") and everything was fine. We did need to move the kids slippers and robes and all other items manually between the rooms due to the insistence on this config. Maybe this is a liability thing because of the onsen in the rooms, but having been given no explanation for this other than a cold statement of policy, I am left only to guess. In any case, we're not off to a great start.

At our first dinner, we were seated and again (3rd time) asked to explain everyone's food preferences. By this time, my patience for this was thin. This was super unprofessional, and really broke the mood of relaxation an accommodation. I wish that was the worst thing I could say about the food. The cuisine is clearly made for instagram and not for the palate. Everything looks amazing, but the flavors are universally off, ranging from "everything kind of tastes the same" to "is this piece of fish I just ate bad?" Having read other reviews, I am confident this wasn't a one off. The food, which we were excited to try, disappointed all of us. My daughter was served fish even though we confirmed all 3 times she wont eat it, and she ended up eating 2 bowls of plain white rice due to lack of an actual kid option (hint: chicken with teriyaki sauce would have been great, same with a cucumber roll). For this level of cost and service, this is a joke. The adult meals were also massive let downs, with the exception of dessert, which was a C+.

I can't understate how much this affected/ruined the experience. By day 2 I was dreading dinner (which was largely the same menu), and by day 3 we couldn't take it anymore and hiked up the hill to a take out pizza place to get 4 margarita pizzas instead doing a 3rd day of bad food. The pizzas were the best dinner of the whole stay, and I mean that sincerely. Breakfast was also not great, which is honestly hard to do. It was fine, and compared to dinner was an achievement.

We rented a private onsen twice, and that was a wonderful experience.

The staff were highly variable, with some being wonderfully warm and helpful, and others being cold and unfriendly. On the last day, we discovered parts of the hotel that no one told us about (patio/hang out areas), which is also disappointing, as we would have spent more time there.

Summary: A hotel that is made for photos, but not so much for actual stays. Look at the photos, enjoy them, and then stay anywhere else. There's better cuisine and nicer experiences for MUCH less...

The positives:

From a location perspective, this hotel is situated in an amazing spot. You're 16 minutes away on foot from the Hakone Open Air Museum and 8 minutes away from Gora Station. From there, you can take the cable car and ropeway to Owakudani and Lake Ashi. This hotel offers a free shuttle service to and from Odawara Station 2 times per day. Make sure to talk with the staff before arriving to check if it's possible to use it since it saves a lot of time and hassle. We used this when we left and it was great.

As a warning, in case you can't take the shuttle and you're coming from Odawara Station with luggage, DO NOT take the bus. Looking at Google Maps you'll think that you'll only have to walk for a few minutes to the hotel, but in reality, you'll have to climb what feels like 1000 stairs through super narrow pathways. We had 2 heavy luggage bags and it took us about an hour to get to the top. If you can't carry your bags through this, you run the risk of getting stuck there. Just take the train to Gora Station, even if it seemingly takes more time.

When we arrived, the staff was waiting for us at the entrance and offered to carry our bags. Everybody was extremely polite. More on this later.

We stayed in a West Wing-Twin Room which we upgraded to the 6th floor for an extra charge, which was well worth it. The view was absolutely stunning. The room itself was spotless, as you would expect from a 5 star hotel. Extremely spacious, with all the amenities that you could think of available to you. The beds were big and one of the best we've had in Japan. The star of the show is of course, the onsen on the balcony and it's just as good as it sounds. The entire hotel looks like a museum and it's impossible to find something to complain about in this regard.

The negatives:

Be aware that the check-in process was a bit longer than at other hotels, in case you have other plans. It took about 30-40 minutes for the whole process to be completed. You also need to pay some taxes that are not included in the price (they accept credit cards).

Maybe this is gonna sound like a weird complaint, but I feel like the staff is...way too polite. Combine the fact that Japanese people are already culturally very respectful with a 5 Star hotel and you get this surreal level of politeness that can make you feel uncomfortable. You're going to see the staff doing deep bows and thanking you repeatedly for nothing. If you're into this type of treatment, then you're gonna love it. If there's a place where you're gonna feel like a king, this is it. We're more into laid back atmospheres and this was a bit too much for us. It's clearly not a "negative" per se, but something to keep in mind.

The kaiseki dinner was one of the things that we were most excited for and sadly, as others have mentioned, it was the biggest disappointment of our stay. I'm not exaggerating when I say that 90% of the food that was served to us had.. no flavor. It's as if the chef was afraid of using any sort of spices. We didn't leave the restaurant hungry, but we didn't leave it satisfied either. We've eaten cheap sushi and wagyu beef from markets that were unbelievably tasty and here, they literally had no taste to them. Not sure if the ingredients are at fault. For breakfast we opted for the western option and that was very good, so at least there's that.

Another thing that bothered me is that you get no drinks included with your kaiseki dinner, which is a bit strange, considering that there's an open bar in the hotel where you can grab drinks free of charge. The prices for drinks at the restaurant are.. well.. 5 star worthy, so you're going to have to shell out even more...

l’ve been traveling to Japan for decades, and I was shocked by how disappointing Hotel Gora Karaku was, especially for a (alleged) ryokan at $1,000 per night. ||The food, service, and onsen—all the elements that define a high-end ryokan experience—were simply not there.||Firstly, the food was inedible. At a traditional ryokan, you expect haute cuisine, specifically kaiseki—an intricate, multi-course meal that celebrates seasonal ingredients and precise preparation. Kaiseki is meant to be a slow, thoughtful experience, showcasing Japan’s culinary artistry. Instead, Hotel Gora Karaku served what I can only describe as cafeteria-grade food, rushed to our table like a fast-food joint. Every dish lacked flavor and refinement, making the experience unpleasant and disappointing. When we asked for a refund for the uneaten meals during the stay , the staff showed no empathy or effort to amend the situation, which is deeply uncharacteristic of Japanese hospitality.||The service was equally appalling. For a hotel charging such a premium, I expected meticulous attention to detail. Instead, housekeeping was neglected: towels were left on the floor, coffee cups were uncollected, there was hair in the sink, trash was not removed, and robes were carelessly left around the room. Coffee station wasn’t even refilled or cleaned in our room.||It was evident that there was no care or pride in the upkeep of this place, and these are the basics I’d expect even at a mid-range hotel, let alone a supposed luxury ryokan.||The onsen facilities were subpar as well. The cold plunge wasn’t cold, and the hot bath was lukewarm at best. Part of the beauty of a ryokan is a well-maintained, soothing onsen experience, but Gora Karaku couldn’t even provide that. Didn’t even provide razors or toothbrushes in the onsen. And quality of amenities (soaps) were that of a Cozy 8 - prison soap. ||Additionally, the location was inconvenient, far from anything in Hakone except the train station, making it feel more like an isolated tourist trap than a destination worth visiting. ||It was telling that I didn’t see a single Japanese guest in the lobby—it was all tourists, probably unaware of the quality issues until they checked in. I’m disappointed at myself for not doing better research.||This place is cashing in on its location and pricing without providing the heart or quality that defines a genuine ryokan experience.||Hotel Gora Karaku feels more like a two-star hotel priced at five-star rates, entirely taking advantage of visitors unfamiliar with what a true ryokan should offer. I feel sorry for tourists that come here and think this is Japanese hospitality and a Japanese Ryokan - or that this is what their food is supposed to taste like or service is supposed to be.|| There are far better options in Hakone that provide real Japanese hospitality, and I highly encourage future travelers to seek out those places instead.||And to the hotel - please don’t bother posting one of your generic responses to this review - your words are hollow - the time to fix this was when I was there and brought up the issues - any response from you at this point further confirms your insincerity. You should be banned from...