Nikko Kanaya Hotel — Hotel in Nikko

We are foreigners. We specifically arranged a trip to Nikko to celebrate my husband's birthday. Having heard about the history of Nikko Kanaya, we specially booked a one-night stay on Agoda.

The positive aspects of the hotel are as follows:

The dinner included in the one-night stay with two meals was especially delicious.

The birthday cake we pre-ordered (a 9cm cake priced at 2800 yen) was beautiful and exquisite.

The night tour guide of the hotel was interesting, and we learned a lot about the hotel's history.

The aspects that were less satisfactory:

Although there are many foreign tourists in Nikko, the overall English proficiency of most of the hotel's staff is poor. They basically speak Japanese in daily conversations, especially in the restaurant. There are no English introductions to the dishes, so we can only guess, which is very unfriendly to foreigners.

Not sure if it was due to their limited English communication skills, but when we checked in, we were not informed about the hotel tour at 5 pm or the early morning walk tour the next day (500 yen per person). Although we are foreigners, we would have been happy to participate in these activities. Of course, these activities were all conducted in Japanese.

All the window seats in the restaurant were empty during dinner, but we were told they were all reserved, so we couldn't enjoy the beautiful view through the window. Even though we had informed them in advance that we were celebrating a birthday, no staff member had informed us in advance whether we needed to reserve a window seat.

The birthday cake we pre-paid for was great, but the waiter didn't bring birthday candles when serving it. So we couldn't blow out the candles and make a wish, which was very regretful.

As mentioned in other reviews, the rooms in the main building of the hotel are very old, which is not commensurate with the booking price. The staircases and corridors have an unpleasant smell. Although we are foreigners, we have stayed in many resort hotels in both urban and rural areas of Japan, and the overall hardware configuration here did not meet our expectations.

There is no separate meal set for children on the breakfast menu, and the price of a la carte items is extremely high. A glass of milk costs 800 yen, which shocked us.

In short, Kanaya Hanaya Hotel itself is very attractive, but the overall service and the feeling the hotel gives are a kind of "noble indifference". We don't know if the experience would be better as a Japanese citizen, but overall, it's not worth it for foreign tourists, and we won't choose to...

The Kanaya Hotel is a very old hotel, we knew from the beginning but when we checked in we were allotted a room in the 'new building' wing of the hotel. The carpets all leading to the room including the elevator and the room smelled quite bad. The room was large, but everything in this room was dirty, smelled musty. We ignored it but when we returned after dinner it was unbearable and we even walked up the stairs to avoid the stench in the elevator. We noticed the room immediately below us seemed to be completely renovated and refurbished. We were contemplating staying an extra night (which was available) when we checked in but upon seeing this room we decided against it. We then called reception to ask for a change in the room as the smell was too bad and a layer of dust seemed to be on every surface. There was a note given to us that we should submit the note and the key (actual key) if we want the room to be made up daily (very ODD we chose a hotel not an apartment so this was a basic requirement. The bathroom was small and when we saw the old bathtub with very obvious decaying marks we knew we couldn't stay here. So for any guests given room 250 please do not accept it. We were lucky that the reception called back and said another room was available, but we first checked it out before accepting it. The room we were shown was in the annexe building, right next to the main building and it was like a WORLD of difference. While the exteriors still had the same old world charm, the interiors was totally renovated and was a much improved experience. Our mood and stay was immediately improved and we are glad we asked for this change. Everything in the new room was vastly different, form the basic amenities, to the coffee, tea, slippers, bathroom amenities etc. etc. So we do appreciate the staff changing the room, but I feel that NO ONE should get the earlier room they gave us. We also tried the lunch in the old restaurant and opted for the 100 year old recipe for the Curry,....while it was as good as anything we tried elsewhere, it was totally not worth the price!

Overall a great location and very close to the temples, shrines and the bridge. The local bus 7 stop is at the foot of the very steep slope up...

Oldest hotel in Japan that recently celebrated it's 150th anniversary. Took the Spacia X Limited Express from Tokyo to Nikko station. Decided to walk from the station to the hotel which was roughly a 20min straight trek up a slight slope which proved to be quite exhausting so would recommend taking the cab if you have luggage. The hotel itself gives off "The Shining" vibes but in an awesome way. You can feel the history seeping through the walls. Dinner is a choice between classic French or a Kanaya original course. We opted for the French course which was exquisite from start to end with dishes served at the perfect time, temperature, and with optimum portions. The bar is a dark and moody den serving many types of whiskey and scotch as well as original cocktails. The crackling fireplace and jazz music played through vacuum tubes offers a sophisticated atmosphere. For the room, we were upgraded to the newly renovated "bekkan" which had fully refurbished interiors. The room was spacious and well furnished. The cleanliness level was impeccable and the staff were kind enough to bring in an additional stove to keep us warm during the winter night. The only drawback would be that footsteps can be heard from the floor above which can be quite noisy and also the heating unit by the window makes noises from time to time during the night. Breakfast is a traditional Western style offering with eggs cooked to your preference and choice to upgrade toasts to pancakes. You can also upgrade to a Japanese breakfast if you notify the hotel before 8pm the night before. Overall, the staff are all very professional and helpful and the hotel is beautiful and elegant. Definitely recommend staying here when...