Kamikochi Alpen Hotel — Hotel in Matsumoto

I stayed 2 nights in July with my adult son.||||Because I don't speak or read Japanese I use third party booking sites, usually booking.com because I find it user friendly.Because there wasn't much available on booking.com I used Japanican. Only Japanese style rooms were offered.I paid 63,000 yen for 2 people for 2 nights, breakfast and dinner included.||||This is a medium size lodge with about 30 rooms on 2 levels above the ground floor with its restaurant and gift shop.It is centrally located and not far from Kappabashi bridge.||||Our room, 332 was a corner Japanese style room with wonderful views.It was quite large with the nice scent of tatami.I found the futons not very comfortable, even when using 3 futon layers! Another ryokan I stayed at had a high density foam base layer and that was much more comfortable.The only chairs were Japanese style on the floor.||||I found the room not very comfortable because of the uncomfortable futon and lack of a Western style chair.They do have western style rooms and that would have been more comfortable for me.||||The air-conditioning is centrally controlled and was too hot on warm July days.The temperature was cool with the windows open.The bedding was a thick down duvet, suitable for winter and not appropriate for warm July conditions.A lighter duvet would be better.||||Our room had a private shower and separate toilet.The public bath was small and too hot for me.||||Meals were served in the dining room with panoramic windows.I found the food to be okay.Not particularly high quality.They did provide an English menu for dinner which was thoughtful. ||||Staff was very friendly and genuinely helpful,with some English.||||A big negative was no WiFi in the rooms.Only on the ground floor or second floor public areas.||||Kamikochi is well worth visiting.My favourite walk was Azusa Gawa right shore path with boardwalks through Dakesawa marsh to Myojin pond (worth the 300 yen entry fee). ||||I would stay here again but in a...

This trip to Kamikochi resort in the Japan Alps was decided by me all of a sudden at 10pm and at 6am had to leave Tokyo and had no hotel booked for the night! but Kamikochi has a Hotels Association who knows where there are rooms still available in the town and given the exorbitant prices of all hotels in this town they recommended me Alpen Hotel where I could have a somewhat fancy capsule bed in a dormitory for $110 a night including hot spring, dinner and breakfast. Lucky that only one more person was sharing the dormitory and it was way cooler than I expected! It was the 2nd time in my life to not have a private room but actually there were curtains around the bed and charger for the phones and all in all new and very clean as the hotel was renovated in 2018! For a single room you would pay $260 and some $450 for two persons so you understand that we don't talk cheap here! The expensive rooms also get even cooler food sets! The SPA hot spring was a great relief after a day of mountain trekking and they even have a cute gift shop! Most of all I am so very thankful to the staff who were so kind to let me walk around with their Croc shoes after I ruined my feet in my boots during climbing that difficult rocky trail and they even allowed me to take their shoes to home as I threw my boots away right there! Immensely grateful to ALPEN HOTEL for the Croc shoes and for being so wonderful with me throughout my stay! Can't wait to go there...

Location is great, just 10 mins from the bus terminal and center of Kamikochi. I stayed in the dormitory style female room for 1 night. It was very warm and cozy, and I was able to get a good night's sleep. The room and the shared bathroom looked like they just had been renovated, so they were clean and nice. The shared bath/onsen was also on the same floor, also very clean and enjoyable. The night I was there, they had a jazz performance at the lobby. I also enjoyed the sitting areas -- they were perfect for reading and chilling. My room came with breakfast and dinner, both great and used seasonal local ingredients. ||||My only gripe is that I paid 13,000 yen for one night. I know Kamikochi's expensive and it was peak season, but for that price, a bath towel was not included -- it costs 200 yen extra. The bed was also completely unmade and you had to put in the sheets and cover by yourself. ||||Lastly, I was seated with a couple of my room mates and they received a slightly different dinner/breakfast than mine. I checked the website afterwards and saw a plan for the same room for ~10,000 yen, so that might be the plan my room mates had gotten. For 3000 yen, I got a few more small dishes like pickles but everything else, including the main wagyu beef course, was the same. I don't think the 3000 yen was worth the few extra dishes, so definitely opt for the cheaper plan...