FUFU Nara — Hotel in Nara

Savor time at Fufu and soak in private onsen.|We would go back....what we loved: |The overall design, vibe, shift from the noise of the world to the quiet luxurious (dare i say simple) delights ||Bathing in your own private hotspring bath, walking through a small bamboo forrest & garden to the restaurant each morning and evening, the smell of the wood, the just right incense, the beauty, the quailty of product from linens to food quaility.||Onsen private purpose bathtub outside on balcony as part of our Large corner room. (4 of this room type). Traditional clothing provided for guests to wear to the restaurant if you wish including the special socks and clog like shoes...we wore those once and our own shoes but loved the attire...warm, comfortable and sort of an elegant equalizer of guests. All part of the quieting....the softening...nourishing and recharging.....Fufu aims to restore, quiet the mind and body, while delighting it with subtle joys from the incense in the lobby to the food and little touches in the room. Appreciated very high quality skin and bathroom products in large eco friendly bottles. Bought some wonderful items in their store - well priced. Wish we had bought more of their 15 herb herbal tea that they serve in the restaurant.|When you go to the restaurant, you can walk through the garden - another way of shifting you and setting the tone...or you can be driven...is short but if raining....they do provide lovely pinkish plum umbrellas.|Oh and the location...edge of park, close to a beautiful shrine and yet away from the tour bus crowds|They were accommodating to my vegan needs though sometimes think they had a challenge to not have any fish dashi...but they tried.|Complimentary drinks en in room treat|Room 215 too close to road noise. If door open. Have your google translate handy as depends on who is helping you....sumimasen my Japanese is so little.|Please more vegan options without daishi.|Highly Recommend! Would like to visit another Fufu property. Thank...

The whole experience was not pleasant from the beginning of check-in awkwardness to finding the bathtub uncleared to the next morning being threatened by an assistant general manager there.

Upon check-in, we felt extremely awkward when the check-in manager 1) asked us about me and my companion's relationship and 2) requested to take a photo for two of us after room tour. It was literally the first time ever to see the check-in staff so minding their customers' business that he would want to know about relationship of their customers and would offer to take photo for us in the room even though we had NEVER requested to take one.

We were left with disappointment with the so-called hot spring water (seems to me boiling water) after so looking forward to it - water was not hot enough while the bathtub was filled with dirts. Because it was pretty late at that night, we even had to do our own cleaning using the shoe brush from the hotel to remove the dirts that had been in the bathtub for long.

Next morning as we were on our way out we were stopped by an assistant general manager. It was only 0930 in the morning and she warned us our check-out time at 1100. Not only did she demand us to check-out at 11:00 sharp but also she claimed to charge an additional fee if we were to miss the deadline. She was being unwelcoming and unhelpful and even avoided to communicate by simply saying NO and giving us a hard time, when we shared our wish to check-out at 12:00 and expressed that we had noticed most other guests' check-out time at 13:00 and 14:00. She even blamed us that "our booking did not ADD VALUE to the hotel's preference". We were discriminated and threatened.

Summing up this was my worst experience in a hotel ever that I had to write a review (first time writing). I booked this hotel in part because it was relatively new and because of the online marketing they had done promoting how great the ryokan was. After this experience, I would never stay at any of the other...

We stayed one night in FUFU Nara on the way from Tokyo to Kyoto. We took a special train - Aoniyoshi from Kyoto to Nara and it was very enjoyable ride. We took a taxi from Kintetsu Nara station to the hotel. Hotel staff greeted us right away and kept the our luggage for us until the check-in time. It is located next to Ukimido and we were able to visit Todaiji and the giant Buddha before the check-in. Once we return, we had a nice cold welcome drink. Hotel staff were very professional and friendly. It was obvious that they take a great pride on performing their tasks. Our room was super clean and modern with some Japanese touches. And the hot tub on the balcony was amazing. We contemplated between FUFU and the new Shisui, but we were very glad that we chose FUFU. At FUFU, I believe all rooms are suites and come with the private open air onsen. We did read some reviews on the noise. We did not notice too much especially after dodging so many screaming school children at Todaiji. At night, we had teppan yaki dinner for our anniversary. It was pretty cool to dress in yukata with a hanten jacket. The sandals were comfortable, also. We walked through the bamboo garden to get to the restaurant. Our chef was friendly and food was delicious. With sake pairing, we had a great time. Breakfast was served at the same restaurant, and the walk was beautiful in the morning. Food was delicious and the service was excellent. The lady who served us explained each dish very politely. It's hard to believe they are so helpful even without any tips. Staying at FUFU made our stay in Nara...