Island Hotel — Hotel in Nagano

We were very pleased with this hotel, but the thing that stands out the most is the service! The reception staff were all very friendly and able to communicate in English. This in itself is awesome, but I found that they went above and beyond. We needed to laundry on our first night, and one of the receptionists actually came with us to the laundry room (I think on the 7th floor) to help set up the machine. She knew that we would likely have trouble understanding the symbols and Japanese characters on the machine so she came to help us do our laundry! Having done laundry two other times on our trip I really appreciated this as figuring out how to use Japanese washing machines on our own during our trip was not fun! This same receptionist was also very helpful with parking (including helping to bring our stuff in form the car) and calling our cab on the last morning, coming out with us to talk to the cab driver and ensure that he knew where to take us.||||Everything else about the hotel was great too—when I try and think of something that I didn't like, all that I have is that the washer/dryer took a lot longer than expected and that in room wi-fi would be an improvement (the hotel only offers a LAN connection in your room and wi-fi in the lobby--though we got a round this by bringing a small, cheap, portable router that we hooked up to the LAN for our own wi-fi). The price was awesome—with parking, breakfast, currency conversion and taxes the price was about $96 CAD ($77 USD) per night. Location was awesome too—less than a ten minute walk from the central train/bus station and tonnes of restaurants. We also walked to the Zenkoji Temple, which is about a 25 minute walk from the hotel. Our room was very clean, and was a good size (by Japanese standards). In the mornings we had a good view of the snow capped mountains (by afternoon the fog in the mountains obscures the view). There was AC in the room, with temperature control. The included breakfast was also good. The hotel also provides an info sheet on the hotel in English which was also very helpful—it included things like the checkout time and everything that you need to know about using their onsen. I was also very impressed with the hotel's ventilation system—if you never venture onto one of the smoking floors, you'd have no idea that this hotel had any smokers in it. We couldn't smell a thing in our room or the lobby, but when we went to the smoking floor to use the vending machines, it was very clear that there were, indeed, smokers here. Without a doubt, if I have the fortune to stay in Nagano again, I will be staying at the...

Stayed 2 nights. A short 5-10 minute walk from the station, we took a taxi on arrival because of baggage and cost around Y800 but walked on departure. Well located in a compact city and easy access to circular local bus that drops off at main temple site. A typical smallish Japanese chain business hotel. Small reception area with free wi-fi via provider SmartBank and the only one that I could not use during stay in Japan on my UK smart phone even though it said connected. Booked direct (responses quick and efficient) a twin room (experience of previous visits is that a twin room provides more space than double at a little extra cost. Stayed on top floor in quite a large room, spotlessly clean, no wi-fi reception, fridge, TV with only Japanese channels, good cupboard space. Usual plastic cube bathroom. Suspect that it may have been the de-luxe twin. Had the usual Onsen and a beauty service. Given a discount when I booked early at a good Y10K pnp room breakfast included. Breakfast service in adjacent bar/restaurant, Japanese and simple but filling and changes each day eg pork balls/rice, noodles etc, toast. Raw eggs served each day but provided hard boiled when noticed we liked them although we didn't ask. Staff very friendly and helpful and one in particular spoke good English and rest adequate. Would...

Very comfortable 3 star hotel with 6 minute walk from the Jr. Station. The manager went to the extra effort of helping me with catching busses and even hand wrote options on a separate paper for me. Getting back from dinner I had a gift bag in my room with a keepsake from the hotel. The room had a fridge, kettle and a dressing gown and slippers for the onsen The onsen was clean and well appointed on the second floor with a sauna,hot bath and cold dipping bath. Very invigorating after a day's skiing! The Japanese breakfast the next day was delicious and with plenty of variety. Sadly the coffee was not to my liking and could be improved. Value hotel and customer service was what you would find in a hotel costing much more. For a great sleep ask for a floor up high..8th..and I certainly appreciated the view and the option to open the window for fresh air by which to sleep. Highly...