Lake Side Nikko — Hotel in Nikko

I am honest it is not the best hotel on earth BUT I loved it nevertheless. You can see that it had been a luxurious hotel once and now maybe it is more likely to be booked by backpackers. But really, it was a nice stay. It really depends on what your preferences are. My preferences had been: offers Onsen and doesn't care about tattoos near the Senjogahara Marshland (戦場ヶ原 to go on a hike has a bus station close-by.

This hotel offers an Onsen (with its own water spring!) Even for people with tattoos! This was the main reason I booked the hotel. It was worth the trip!!

The view over the lake is wonderful.

You can book dinner additionally (ask the service staff at the counter). According to reviews the food is great but relatively expensive.

Alternatively there is a really tasty restaurant near-by (20-25 minutes by feet) called "Taro". Fish, meat, vegetarian or even vegan meals are available. It's very tasty there. But be aware that the last bus takes off at 6 pm from Nikko Station, so if you want to eat dinner later then that you will need to go by feet and walk next to the street. Didn't bother me, though.

There are machines with instant noodle and other food in the hotel lobby, but probably you should buy something decent in the conbini in Nikko city or at the little super market next to the Taro restaurant.

As long as you are aware about the bus schedule (last bus arrives around 7 pm, takes an hour from Nikko Station) and relatively hard availability of food (and are fine with both of these "hardships") I can only...

Disgusting ripoff. Pretty much an abandoned building that charges $300 per night. Everything is falling apart. The halls and lobby are cold. The carpets are stained with the dead bugs lying around. The rooms are draughty and everything is old and worn out. Cigarette burns and stains in the chairs? No problem... Just keep renting them out.

The onsen is disgusting and nothing like the photos online. Water looks dirty. Beautiful view? Try windows too dirty to see through... except where they're broken. Mattress covers were dirty and don't appear to have been washed between visitors. We asked for some clean ones but they said they had none left so had to wrap the futons in a extra sheets. Not enough futons in the hotel to sleep comfortably.

They don't plow or salt the front drive, so good luck getting your car up if it's icey. Also don't slip on the long staircase because noone is going to clear the ice and snow from it for you. No elevator and all the rooms are on the second floor.

Also, couldn't get the fees right and wanted to charge more than the agreed price upon check-in. Had to show my credit card receipt.

This is one of the many hotels in rural japan that just keeps renting out without investing anything in the property. One day they'll just close up for good. In the meantime, the occasional suckers will book it online based on the unrealistic photos and the fact that people are too afraid to give honest reviews.

Booking.com should be ashamed to have this...

We had a great stay (2 persons) for one night in a Japanese style room with futon. The room was spacious, and the receptionist very kind. The onsen was awesome, with hot sulfur-containing-water, coming directly from the mountains. The sulfur smell is really strong, be prepared for that! The japanese breakfast was very good, we told the hotel before we would like to have a vegetarian option and they prepared it accordingly. However there were some minor upsetting things things. The Onsen was very hot, also for other guests. I personally liked it, but it might be too intense for some. Also the cups for tea in our room were still dirty or have just been used prior to our arrival. Be prepared too eat dinner before you come here (or book it in the hotel), since there is not really anything nearby to get something. Another thing to keep in mind is, you can only get to the hotel by bus or by car, so check the bus times in advance. If you arrive after sunset, you can barely see the way in front of you, since it gets really dark in the night in the whole area. Still, we give it a 5 star rating and recommendation due to the great overall experience we got for a really good price of around 9000¥ for...