Arima Kirari — Hotel in Kobe

Arima Kirari We stayed for two nights from 17th Dec 2024, for 3 pax. Our room number was 401, facing the mountain. Room is tatami style with bath tub and toilet facilities. The hotel is designed in such a way that if you want to go to the big onsen, you have to take the lift from the reception to level 4, walk about 50m to the second lift, leave your shoes/sandals in the locker next to the lift and take the lift down to level 2. The floor on level 2 is superbly polished and you have to walk with your socks on, or just bare footed. The access for hotel guests to the lifts are via a tag that you have to wear throughout your stay. It has a small sensor to indicate your room number. The tag allows contactless purchase of items in the vending machine inside the onsen for cold milks and drinks, as well as purchase in the gift shop. When you checkout, the hotel will collect your tag and calculate the amount you spent. Note not to lose the tag as someone else might pick it up. There is a penalty if one loses his tag. The Arima Kirari hotel has two main onsens. One is opened to public and it’s a bigger onsen. Level 2 is indoor with cold dip and sauna. Level 3 is semi-outdoor with 5 different baths, including foot onsen. The hotel private onsen is more exclusive. Located on the same floor as the reception. It is indoor onsen with two onsens: the Gold and Silver bath. There is no outdoor onsens but there are two windows that you can open slightly to let the cold air inside. There was snow on the 19th Dec morning which was nice when we were inside the onsen. Our stay included breakfast and dinner. The dinner is set dinner with great presentation and delicious selection of local produced. The first night dinner we had beef grilled on hot pen with lots of vegetable and soba noodle. We have been to many different Kisaki dinners and this is easily the best we had so far. Second night dinner we chose a beef shabu shabu which was as good as the first night. Breakfast was buffet style which has a good selection of local produce. However, we will go with a set breakfast or dinner if it’s available. Level 3 is a gift shop with a large resting place with lots of declining chairs. You can relax in this area while reading some comic books. The hotel is located on a steep slope so best to get the hotel shuttle bus if you do not drive. We have seen many tourists pushing their big luggages up the slope. It’s a small onsen town outside the hotel. the shops are not well aligned so you have to walk to various places. Unlike some places like Kinosaki onsen town which was well align. As we drove so it’s easier for us to visit the places around this area, including the nearby ropeway. Overall a pleasant stay...

A friend and I were looking for a relaxed, no rush weekend onsen break and that's just what we found in Arima View Hotel. We chose this hotel specifically for a couple reasons: first, it's attached to Taiko no Yu, a large, "super-sento" style bath house. Staying guests receive free entry to Taiko no Yu from the day they check in to well past checkout on the day they leave. (Entrance is over ¥2000 for non-staying guests.) Second, the price is quite reasonable, especially considering Arima is one of the most expensive areas in all of Hyogo Prefecture. ||Overall, we were really impressed. Arima View is a large onsen hotel and there were many staying guests, so from my past experiences at similar hotels in other onsen towns, I was expecting the room to be small and not exactly sparkling clean, and for the meal to be more on the bland side due to mass production. However, everything exceeded my expectations. It seems that the hotel was newly remodeled about five years ago, and it really shows through in the cleanliness of the rooms and onsen areas. The theme of the hotel seems to be poems about Arima (maybe not that interesting if you don't speak Japanese) which is a nice touch. The dinner (we chose the cheapest course available, the chef's choice) showcased spring vegetables, and each course had a distinct flavor. Even the buffet-style breakfast was delicious and everything tasted fresh. ||I will add that Taiko no Yu was quite crowded with day-trippers on the Saturday we stayed, but cleared up a bit Sunday morning. Since we weren't in any rush and could come and go as we pleased it wasn't an issue, but for those with time constraints staying on the weekend it might be something...

A friend and I were looking for a relaxed, no rush weekend onsen break and that's just what we found in Arima View Hotel. We chose this hotel specifically for a couple reasons: first, it's attached to Taiko no Yu, a large, "super-sento" style bath house. Staying guests receive free entry to Taiko no Yu from the day they check in to well past checkout on the day they leave. (Entrance is over ¥2000 for non-staying guests.) Second, the price is quite reasonable, especially considering Arima is one of the most expensive areas in all of Hyogo Prefecture. ||Overall, we were really impressed. Arima View is a large onsen hotel and there were many staying guests, so from my past experiences at similar hotels in other onsen towns, I was expecting the room to be small and not exactly sparkling clean, and for the meal to be more on the bland side due to mass production. However, everything exceeded my expectations. It seems that the hotel was newly remodeled about five years ago, and it really shows through in the cleanliness of the rooms and onsen areas. The theme of the hotel seems to be poems about Arima (maybe not that interesting if you don't speak Japanese) which is a nice touch. The dinner (we chose the cheapest course available, the chef's choice) showcased spring vegetables, and each course had a distinct flavor. Even the buffet-style breakfast was delicious and everything tasted fresh. ||I will add that Taiko no Yu was quite crowded with day-trippers on the Saturday we stayed, but cleared up a bit Sunday morning. Since we weren't in any rush and could come and go as we pleased it wasn't an issue, but for those with time constraints staying on the weekend it might be something...