Nara Hotel — Hotel in Nara

After the 50 mins journey on the early morning Kintetsu train from Kyoto, we rejoiced at arriving in Nara with the park-like atmosphere and the ubiquitous gentle deer roaming along the pedestrian pathway. We had a lovely stroll to Nara hotel passing the serene Ara pond with the lush greenery. Soon we arrived at the entrance to Nara Hotel. There is a bus stop opposite to this entrance. We walked up a short distance along the gentle slope to the main entrance of the hotel. We left our day bag here and walked to Todaiji temple. The weather was cool on that day and we saw many deer being fed with the senbei biscuits sold around here. After a day of sightseeing and an early dinner at Kura at 4 pm, we strolled back to Nara Hotel passing numerous interesting shops such as Cat Goods Store. Near to Hotel Obana is a sign indicating the short-cut back to Nara Hotel. We were pleasantly surprised to see so many vintage cars at the carpark. We learnt that the participants of the Destination Rally (May 7-May 30) were staying at this hotel for a night. The hotel was built in the style that blends Japanese and German architectural design by Kingo Tatsuno. This design philosophy is reflected in the combination of the torii gate and the fireplace seen in the lobby. Audrey Hepburn took a photo at the grand staircase with the unique Japanese style chandelier. We stayed at the main building. We toured the Sakura room to look at piano played by Albert Einstein, the Grand clock with the lovely tones played every 15 mins. Especially beautiful are the radiators found along the corridors and Sakura room which were installed in 1914 to replace the fireplaces. We loved wearing the white pyjamas provided in the room and soaking in the bathtub after a long day of walking. ||Breakfast was a highlight of our stay here. Mikasa is an elegant dining room and we chose the Japanese option with porridge. The presentation was dainty and the food was delicious. We took the free 8 am shuttle to the JR Nara Station to take a train to Tenri Station to do our walk of the...

Though my reservation was for a non-smoking room, I was given a room that was clearly a smoking room, or a non-smoking room that someone had smoked in anyway. If the latter, housekeeping had to have noticed the stench of smoke when they turned it over. It was so bad that my eyes started watering after less than 5-10 minutes in the room. It was exceptionally disappointing given that this was the hotel I was most excited about visiting on my trip to Japan. After complaining, the manager did switch my room, but there was no apology or real make-good. I was given a ‘drink certificate’ for the bar, but I don’t drink, which I told them. I booked the hotel through Expedia rather than directly through them, and I wonder if that’s why I was given a bad room.||At breakfast the next morning, I requested a table by a window in the main dining room after seeing that several window tables were open. My waitress conferred with the host, and I saw her point at the open tables in the main room, but the host (or head waiter?) had my waitress sit me in a side room at a table that had a partial view…of another part of the hotel. To top it off, the breakfast was not good. I selected the Western-style breakfast, and I received a runny French omelette and undercooked French toast along with a few other items. Disappointing all around.|On the plus side, the hotel is gorgeous, and the front desk staff was friendly. The hotel has a rich history, which I appreciated, and the location next to Nara Park is incredible. For those reasons, I wish I could recommend the hotel, but I can’t.||Visiting the hotel for coffee and dessert could be worthwhile if you’re interested in the hotel because of its history, but I recommend...

We stayed here for 2 nights so that we could spend an entire day in Nara rather than rush a day trip to Nara. I think that this was the right choice for us as Nara Park is worth the investment of time, it is stunning and there is a lot to see.|The hotel and its location are both beautiful. Many famous people have stayed here over the years (Charlie Chaplin, Albert Einstein and various members of the British royal family, including Princess Margaret, amongst others). There is a display near reception which details the history of the hotel.|The hotel does feel its age so if you are after something modern and funky this place probably isn’t for you.|The hotel is situated a short walk (a kilometre, maybe a kilometre and a half) from the main area of Nara town where all the restaurants are so unless you are up for the walk (which was lovely) be prepared to eat in one of the 2 expensive on-site restaurants or catch a taxi into the main area of town.|The hotel does provide a shuttle service which we used to get to the train station with our luggage on the day of our departure. I don’t think that this was running in the evening though.|Breakfast was included in our rate and was a fairly elegant and entertaining affair, vegetarians can cope (just) but vegans will struggle as it is quite egg-based. We elected the American breakfast option so I cannot comment on the Japanese breakfast option.|Our room was large and very comfortable. My main criticism of this hotel (and the reason why I have only given it 4 stars) is that the aircon throughout is set very low - it was cold in the hotel but quite warm outside. So if you stay here in summer don’t forget to...