Hotel Urashima — Hotel in Nachikatsuura

Stayed here one night especially to experience the famous cave onsen.||Noticed this hotel is listed as different properties under Tripadvisor in both the hotels and bed and breakfasts options.||Actually, Hotel Urashima is one big hotel with different buildings.||||I stayed at Hotel Urashima Sanjokan (山上馆) which is the building right on top of the hill.||It is also the newest building in this hotel.||I chose the only set of connecting western type rooms for my family of four in the Sanjokan building.||||We had our own car and based on the instructions on the website, drove to the hotel carpark which is situated about 17mins walking distance or 5mins drive to the pier.||There were shuttle buses waiting at the carpark to ferry hotel guests to the pier for the shuttle ferry to the hotel.||As we had booked the rooms in the Sanjokan building, preliminary checkin and registration of passports was done at the main reception in the main building.||We then proceeded to reception of the Sanjokan building on level 32 to get our room keys.||||There are different color tapes running along the floor of the whole properly which you follow to the various buildings in this hotel.||We followed the green tape leading to the very long escalator up the hill to Sanjokan.||||Our connecting rooms has a king sized bed in the main bedroom and two twin beds in the other.||Both rooms had views of the sea and that was the first thing that struck our eyes as we entered the room.||Each room has it's individual mini fridge and kettle, cups etc.||The bathroom in the main bedroom is Japanese style, separate toilet and bathing area and a very nice vanity area with two separate sinks.||The other bathroom is much smaller with western style bathroom, sink, toilet and bathtub all in the same room.||The housekeeping is a bit scanty. My main bathroom's body soap bottle had a tiny bit left and wasn't refilled when we checked in and they had forgotten the bathmat in the second room which is an annoyance because my daughters had nowhere to wipe their wet feet after stepping out of the bathtub.||Other than that, the rooms are basically clean.||||We book the package with room stay and buffet breakfast only as we wanted to try the different baths in this hotel and didn't want to be restricted by set meal times.||Tried out the famous cave onsen first, you can take an elevator directly from our room on the 33rd floor to the 1st floor where the cave onsen is located. From the 1st floor lift lobby, it is only a very short walk to the cave onsen.||We were quite looking forward to try the cave onsen but unfortunately that was dampened when we saw a cockroach-like insect but much paler in color and with numerous legs at the washing area.||Also, no shampoo and conditioner was provided in the washing area, only body soap.||We were already unsettled by our encounter with the insect earlier and didn't relax and enjoy the cave onsen which is a pity.||||We also tried out or looked in on the other baths in the hotel. I remembered one bath was quite disgusting as the bath was filled with sediments and an oily film on the surface of the water.||I wonder if they clean the baths everyday.||The bath that we enjoyed the most is the one on the 32nd floor. It's got a very nice view of the sea from the smallish outdoor rock bath.||||Buffet breakfast was a mix of Japanese and Western.||The omelette station was quite popular and always had a queue.||Other than that, the other items were the usual standard fare, nothing memorable but enough to fill you up.||After breakfast, we took a walk to the viewing deck of the Sanjokan building before checking out at 11am. ||Checking out was similar to checkin. You need to take the shuttle boat back to the pier and then the shuttle bus to the carpark to pick up your car.||||My impression of this hotel is that it's a bit similar to those Las Vegas big hotels with it's arcades games and souvenir shops.||The only thing missing is the casino!||It's a big impersonal hotel and caters to hoards of tourists and Japanese on holidays.||It's an interesting experience but I probably won't return for a...

There is so many amazing details and things I could say about this hotel. We knew this was going to be a great stay, because when we checked in, they asked if we had dinner. Now, at this point, it was about 10 pm. They told us to come back down in 10 minutes. We went to our room to drop off our luggage and to settle in. The room style is amazing, topped with a great view! After we were done, we went back downstairs and were ready to eat. They led us to a little restaurant, but when we walked in, we were instantly surprised. They had already prepared a meal for us! We enjoyed the delicious delicacy and I even got a free stuffed turtle! Later, we went back to our rooms and had a great nights rest. The next morning, we wanted to go to the town, so we took a little boat there. When we came back, we wanted to relax, so we decided to check out the onsens. Now, this hotel was known for their cave onsen, so thats the one we decided to go to. It was amazing. There was a beautiful view overlooking the ocean, and you can take it all in while relaxing in a nice warm hot hot spring. Now, another thing is that this hotel is massive! We took a fast speed elevator to go to the too of a mountain! How it all works is that half the hotel is on ground level, and the other half is on the top of a mountain! We visited a shrine and later overlooked the entire town at a observatory. Then, on the way down, we planned to take the longest escalator in japan back down, but it was broken! We walked all the way down on the stairs, but had a great time doing so! I wanted to ride he escalator so bad though, that we took the whole thing back up! It was so fun and I absolutely loved it. We ended taking the elevator down. This was an amazing hotel and we had a great time. I would 100% stay again and highly recommend it! By mias 11...

Gurl… this place is a vibe. Where to begin? Well, they have this kitschy boat that takes you to the island the hotel is on, which I dunno, maybe is supposed to feel fancy and exclusive but instead was irritating and janky. The ferry only runs a couple times an hour and gets crowded, so if you’re trying to get a spot during check-in or check-out times (which of course you are), make sure you budget a whole lotta time. ||The decor inside greets you like something that, much like the ferry, probably once felt fancy but now feels like a set for a 1970s TV show. The reviews referencing Bond movies are spot on. The bright neon lights of LAWSON, the hotel gift shop (one of many), smack you in the face while you wait for a good, long time to check in because, recall, everyone got here at the same time on that crowded, janky ferry (that, like, is it supposed to look like a duck?). Once you do check in, you find out that, PSYCH, this was check in part one and then down the hall with you to another check in and line. Bring a book! ||The room itself was aite? Good view of the ocean and a good size. But boy, did it STINK! Some unidentifiable smell that, the best I can place, is some amalgam of sulfur from the onsen, maybe seaweed?, and good, old-fashioned mustiness. Could not rid the room of that scent. It was there to stay. ||Dinner buffet sucked. Could say more, but that’s basically it. Food quality was mid to poor, and everything was cold from sitting out too long. The spaghetti was so bad that I took one bite and spit it out. Spaghetti! How’d ya mess that one up?? ||The onsens are pretty cool, if a bit dated. The onsen in a cave is kitschy but I dug it. But overall, been to other onsens with a better general vibe. ||A hotel past what was likely a prime heyday that now is stinky and...