Tokyu Harvest Club Kyukaruizawa — Hotel in Karuizawa

Harvest||||I stayed at this hotel for two nights with my wife and three naughty kids (7,4, 2 years old). Actually, my brother had a wedding party in the hotel and we all attended with my family.||||Looking through trip advisor before we stayed, there were only few reviews written in non- Japanese language. This is because the hotel is for member ship only and I didn’t know this until we arrived. During the stay I saw only Japanese in the hotel, which is not common in tourist place these days. Looks like you can book through few booking providers currently for non-member ship guest but a little bit overpriced (we are also not membership guest). ||||The room is very spacious (really!) with kettle and micro wave. It is even enough for a family of 5 person like us. There is a small shop in the main entrance area so you can buy some food. Decoration in the hotel is gourgeous but not too much, which is great. guests seems mainly senior and not so many kids like us. The 50% of cars inside the parking lot are foreign manufactured ones, wow!||||For the food, we enjoyed the breakfast, dishes in the wedding party and ala carte dinner. The breakfast offer lots of choices (Japanese, Western, Chinese), ala carte is also good but not big portion. The service is excellent and staff are helpful. We had small rain in the wedding party but eventually sunny, it was a wonderful place to have such a party.||||The natural hot spring is what I am looking for. It was good but it was a little bit simple considering the number of the guest and the quality of the hotel facility. We were together with my family every time and attending the party so we didn’t use other facility but I believe it is a good spot to relax and get some cool in summer vacation in Karuizawa. It is 5 min by taxi to get famous...

The hotel is located at Kyu Karuizawa (so not the immediate area around Karuizawa station), roughly a 15-minute walk to Karuizawa Ginza where all the shops and cafes are. While it's best to have a car to get there, you can also just walk from the hotel and be at a stretch of restaurants in 5-7 minutes heading toward Karuizawa Ginza.||||The reception area of the hotel is nice and large. Outside, there are many green areas with chairs and tables for guests to sit and relax. The hotel has free parking with plenty of spots. Free WiFi throughout the facility.||||Reception service was fine though not particularly helpful by Japanese standards. They even forgot our breakfast coupons.||||The room was relatively large and modernly furnished. The lighting was too dark though. As our room was on the ground floor with trees overhanging, light was at even more of a premium. Still, room quality was good overall.||||Public hot spring bath has indoor and outdoor baths. They were better than the standard business hotels and comfortable though nothing exceptional. It also has a swimming pool but I did not check it out.||||Breakfast was surprisingly poor in terms of choice and quality. I have had much better buffets at business hotel chains that cost 30% less. A lot of stuff was made in large batches and then just sitting there to get cold and mushy. It was truly one of the few times I struggled to find something to eat. ||||Overall, I picked Harvest because I wanted a bigger room, but the service and breakfast were disappointing. For the amount paid (roughly 20,000 Yen for a twin room with breakfast), it was just ok. Maybe I should go back to Dormy...

This time I chose the old Karuizawa Harvest Festival Hotel, which was a surprising choice. In Karuizawa, a city full of beautiful buildings, the old Karuizawa Harvest Festival Hotel has a beautiful exterior and interior that is no less beautiful than any other hotel. The room also has a beautiful forest view, and the atmosphere is very comfortable. The facilities are very complete, the public hot springs and breakfast are impeccable. Most importantly, the considerate and warm welcoming attitude of the hotel staff makes us, a group of travelers who have come all the way to Karuizawa, feel like we are being received by caring friends. So heartwarming. I personally highly recommend this hotel. If you are coming to Karuizawa, I highly recommend choosing this hotel...