Hoshino Resorts KAI Matsumoto — Hotel in Matsumoto

We recently completed another vacation with stays in the Grand Hyatt Taipei, the Westin Seoul (should not even be included in this group of hotels because we would not return), the Conrad Tokyo, ANA Crowne Plaza Kanazawa, and the Kai Matsumoto--so we had a chance to compare several hotels. We stayed 1 night at Hoshino Resorts Kai Matsumoto. We highly recommend staying here if you are looking for a private onsen experience in Matsumoto. However, we want to lower people's expectations by pointing out the GREAT and just Good. Yes, the overall experience was awesome! We loved our onsen, and the garden terrace. (TIP, the afternoon sun was beating on us around 4pm. It wasn't that it was too hot, we were there early April when it was quite cold. But the sun was in our eyes which made it uncomfortable to soak in the onsen. So ask about that and try to get a room that doesn't have that problem, if possible.) The garden was beautiful, and we can only imagine how awesome it would have been if the cherry blossoms were in full bloom (we were just a little early, but we can't complain too much because we caught full bloom in Tokyo). The room is very nice (but we have stayed in nicer rooms at other hotels) and the staff set up the futons while we were downstairs for dinner. As others have mentioned, the hotel is a good 20 minutes by taxi from the train station (and from the castle) so keep that in mind when planning your stay. We upgraded to the special Wagyu dinner, and while everything was beautifully presented (and we loved the temari ball bowls), the food was just good, not great. Please don't expect Michelin quality food. As long as you keep that in mind, you will be fine. We LOVED that the hotel brought out a glass of champagne and special decorations to celebrate my partner's birthday. (Thanks goes to Mieko at the Conrad Tokyo for informing Kai Matsumoto about James's upcoming birthday!) Unfortunately, we missed the concert because James was not feeling well. Lastly, I can't remember the gentleman assigned to help us our first evening. But he showed us around our room after we checked in and he was our server for dinner. He was EXCELLENT! Good English, and great attitude and excellent customer service! Overall, we highly recommend visiting! Just don't set your...

We recently completed another vacation with stays in the Grand Hyatt Taipei, the Westin Seoul (should not even be included in this group of hotels because we would not return), the Conrad Tokyo, ANA Crowne Plaza Kanazawa, and the Kai Matsumoto--so we had a chance to compare several hotels. We stayed 1 night at Hoshino Resorts Kai Matsumoto. We highly recommend staying here if you are looking for a private onsen experience in Matsumoto. However, we want to lower people's expectations by pointing out the GREAT and just Good. Yes, the overall experience was awesome! We loved our onsen, and the garden terrace. (TIP, the afternoon sun was beating on us around 4pm. It wasn't that it was too hot, we were there early April when it was quite cold. But the sun was in our eyes which made it uncomfortable to soak in the onsen. So ask about that and try to get a room that doesn't have that problem, if possible.) The garden was beautiful, and we can only imagine how awesome it would have been if the cherry blossoms were in full bloom (we were just a little early, but we can't complain too much because we caught full bloom in Tokyo). The room is very nice (but we have stayed in nicer rooms at other hotels) and the staff set up the futons while we were downstairs for dinner. As others have mentioned, the hotel is a good 20 minutes by taxi from the train station (and from the castle) so keep that in mind when planning your stay. We upgraded to the special Wagyu dinner, and while everything was beautifully presented (and we loved the temari ball bowls), the food was just good, not great. Please don't expect Michelin quality food. As long as you keep that in mind, you will be fine. We LOVED that the hotel brought out a glass of champagne and special decorations to celebrate my partner's birthday. (Thanks goes to Mieko at the Conrad Tokyo for informing Kai Matsumoto about James's upcoming birthday!) Unfortunately, we missed the concert because James was not feeling well. Lastly, I can't remember the gentleman assigned to help us our first evening. But he showed us around our room after we checked in and he was our server for dinner. He was EXCELLENT! Good English, and great attitude and excellent customer service! Overall, we highly recommend visiting! Just don't set your...

The Kai Matsumoto is a very fancy ryokan with a high level of service. From the moment you arrive, you can expect total relaxation as they take charge of your baggage, and settle you into the hotel. We booked a room with an in-room onsen, which was lovely. Our rooms were huge, with multiple tatami mat rooms, a nice bathroom, separate sink area, shower area, and then the outdoor onsen, made of stone and filled continuously with hot spring water. The bath products they provided were wonderful, and we loved spending time in the refreshing onsen waters, with the chill air of the mountains as a contrast to the hot waters. ||||The meal was very fancy indeed. They made a less fancy meal for our son. You do not eat in your rooms, but inside a private dining area. It was a lot of food, and I did get stressed out feeling I couldn't eat all of it. But maybe that wasn't necessary to worry so much about. I liked most of it- it was very creative, with interesting ingredients and lovely presentation. I have eaten widely around the globe and there were several new things I had never tried. There were a few things I didn't care for, but I suppose that would be true even for a Japanese visitor.||||The room had lovely yukatas of high quality for all three of us.||||If I could go again, I would not recommend going at the beginning of the trip, because while it was very relaxing, we were far too tired and jetlagged to really enjoy the wonderful kaiseki meal. ||||I was less thrilled with breakfast, possibly because horse mackerel is my least favorite fish and breakfast was a whole horse mackerel along with an onsen egg and some pickled vegetables. I'm more of a yogurt and coffee girl, but you know, this is the ryokan experience (and no wonder the Japanese people are so longlived, their diet is so healthy). Again, breakfast was very well made and presented, with great service.||||I wasn't able to use the public onsen, which looked to be quite large with a number of differnet baths, because I have large tattoos that wouldn't be easily covered by a bandage. They do allow tattooed visitors to enjoy the onsen with a hotel-provided 2" x 2" bandage, but I didn't know how to cover my armband and I didn't want to offend anyone, so I stayed in our...