Arima Onsen Taketoritei Maruyama — Hotel in Kobe

I gotta say, Taketoritei delivers. from the professional staff, the beautiful and speacial traditional rooms, to the relaxing onsens, to the AMAZING food from the kitchen...just wow. it was just what we needed after a week in the hustle and bustle of Tokyo and Kyoto to "reboot."

Their website is very user-friendly and fully in english. You have a plethora of packages to choose from and we went (nearly) all-out with a night in a traditional ryokan with kobe beef tenderloin dinner and breakfast plan. If you are on a romantic getaway as a couple, honeymoon, etc, a room with a private onsen inside might be nice, but given you can reserve private ones at the resort for an hour at a time, I don't find the extra expense needed or worth it. And honestly, for the huge suite we basically got, private baths, and fantastic high-end meals we got, a cost of ~$340 a person didn't seem outrageous - heard you can spend much much more for a fancy ryokan experience. No, the meals arent served in your room, but you are in a private dining room and the experience is phenomenal. I selected the forest (?) view over the city and I think that was a great choice.

A few days before our reservation I received an email confirming everything and details to get there. After you arrive at the Arima Onsen station, you head up the hill a little ways to the information center on the left corner where they will call for your pickup on the free shuttle. They come QUICK. The hotel is close, but up a VERY steep hill so the shuttle is great.

If you arrive before check-in, you can drop your bags off and take the shuttle back down the hill to walk around the little shops. It is very touristy, but nice window shopping and lots of free samples offered. But keep your stomach empty if you got an included meal!!! They feed you like royalty in great abundance. Once you reach your check-in time you will be given tea, a little snack, the rundown of the hotel and get to pick out your robe to wear around the hotel and your take-home gift bag that you use for your belongings goings to the onsens. You will also get to select your first reservation for a private onsen. You get to reserve one at a time, when you turn in the key you get to pick another.

Best ones to experience? #2, followed by #1. These are the larger outdoor areas with both gold and silver, larger baths. Did one of the indoor ones (sliver bath only) after dinner to see the city lights, which was nice too, but not nearly as amazing as #2 -- and I bet #2 is amazing at night as well. (did #3 at night which was cool but much smaller baths and garden space. grab a beer from the vending machine and relax at the onsen at night - its lovely!

The food: Just wow... such a talented kitchen. I hadn't expected the kobe beef to be a self-cooking scenario, but it was quite fun. Our server barely spoke english and I had no idea we has foie gras on the plate (id never had) and thought it was some kind of butter spread. oops. But the multi-course meal was nothing but top ingredients with a modern take on traditional cuisine. as a huge foodie: i give a resounding stamp of approval. we selected american breakfast (japanese breakfast just isnt my thing) and it was equally amazing and huge. come with huge appetites. They even had a welcome note on the outside of the door in english for us :)

every morning they have a mochi making ceremony that is a lot of fun. if you have kids, they get to join in the fun. for a one night stay, we got to experience 4 of the private onsens, which i think is pretty good. not many of the staff speak fluent english, some not at all, we were the ONLY westerners there during the stay...which all made me feel like I selected a very authentic, non-commercial "touristy" ryokan. Definitely a lovely,...

Travelling to beautiful Kobe and my friends and I were fortunate enough to book a large room for the three of us to share. We had a large suitcase each, but they arranged a pick-up shuttle from the Arima Tourist Centre in the middle of town, just a stone’s throw away from Arima station. I do recommend taking them up on the offer of the shuttle services, as the hotel is up a very steep hill, and during summer with heavy bags it will be very tiring.

The moment we arrived at the hotel, I knew immediately that we would receive wonderful service. We were greeted promptly and kindly, and the staff spoke fluent English. Our bags were delivered to our room while one of the staff spoke to us about the services they provided, as well as the information about the onsen and the town.

Our room was absolutely lovely, a traditional tatami-floored room with beautifully comfortable traditional chairs and pillows. While we set our bags down, refreshed and went out to explore the town, room service laid out our futon, which were very comfortable to sleep on later that night. The view of the town from our window was very nice, although I suppose it differs for each room - regardless, view doesn’t need to count for quality when you have a beautiful town to visit on foot.

I could find absolutely no fault with the staff members - every single man and woman who worked for the hotel was polite, incredibly helpful, and cheerful. They help you with recommendations and booking restaurants in advance, and they shuttled us to and from the location. We had a delicious okonomiyaki dinner in town and the hotel gave us a number to give to the restaurant owners so they could call the shuttle for us to get back. And they always serve you with a smile!

We wanted to visit Mt. Rokko, and booking a ticket through the hotel for the rope car was half price through them. Also, we had missed the bus to get to the station, but a staff member immediately jumped into the shuttle bus and took us there himself. It’s these small, kind gestures that really make a stay in a place like this worthwhile - the kindness of the staff and how they go above and beyond to make your stay as pleasant as possible.

The onsen baths are amazing! My friend and her husband book private onsen (which allows you a plentiful 45-minute slot) so they can get some privacy, but I experienced the ladies’ communal onsen and it’s very enjoyable. The foyer of the baths have baskets to put your personal belongings in, and a huge stack of towels for drying off. The washing area is clean and well-stocked with shampoos and body washes. The onsen themselves are excellent - the indoor one with clay-red water is soothing and hot, while the outdoor one is a little cooler (still pleasantly warm) and overlooks a lovely garden - perfect for relaxing. Once you’ve soaked enough, the foyer area also contains an area for moisturising, drying your hair and finishing up your toilette before coming back out into the world feeling like you’re floating. I may have been cheeky and bathed a couple of times a day, but there’s nothing better than a good soak after exploring the town!

Thank you for your...

I made this reservation about 10 months before our trip and was blown away with how nice it was. Since it was not the typical US chain hotels I stay, I was not sure what to expect. The room was not ready when we arrived so we waited in the lobby for about 20 minutes. Not a problem - they had complimentary soda, snacks, ice cream and cappuccino. That is not something you typically see at a US hotel. Justin at the front desk who speaks perfect English and knows a lot about American sports, walked us to our room. He and everyone else are so relaxed and and calm, which is exactly the feel of the entire hotel. Justin came to our rescue when we did not have cash to pay for dinner at a restaurant. Of course, we paid him back but he helped us out of an uncomfortable situation. On a side note, what we did find out as Arima is a small town many places only accept cash so make sure you visit the ATM! Now for the highlight - the in room onsen. We did not want to leave, it was amazing to have an onsen in the room. While the other onsen in the hotel are just as incredible, having one in the room that you can dip in and out of whenever you want was something that we have never experienced and it was the highlight of our trip to Japan. We loved the hotel, we loved the town and we loved our room. We have to come back to Japan but we need that room! I am writing this review since we have absolutely nothing negative to say about this place. Everything was incredible. There was even a free laundry machine in the building in case you want to do laundry. There are free drinks in your room of all kinds if you want water, beer, soda or juice. There is cable tv in your room. There is a free shuttle bus that will pick you up at the bus station and bring you to the hotel and to the town and vice versa. There are plenty of restaurants in the town where you can eat at. Everything is easy easy easy. You can also walk into the town, no problem, it is about a 10 minute walk, there is a google map that you take a photo of with a shortcut. If you can, stay more than a night. One night was...