Nikko Station Hotel Classic — Hotel in Nikko

Not a bad place to stay if visiting Nikko for a couple of nights to do the shrines and maybe Tobu world and arriving by train. Just a minutes walk from the main station (the small station is opposite). Buses to the shrines are just across the road and a few eating places in the area. The staff were very friendly and helpful and if checking in early you could leave your luggage with them. The room was clean and quite a decent size in Japanese standards and has everything you need for a couple of nights stay. Beds are slightly on the firm side but comfortable enough, we asked for extra pillows as only one provided. Air conditioning is good, small fridge, kettle, flat screen TV. If you opt not to have housekeeping they still leave fresh towels outside your door which is handy as they are very thin and don’t dry that easily. Our room was very quiet, we had room 403 and did not have any noise from the street outside or neighbours. Breakfast is simple, has Japanese hot foods or for us English there was cereal, bread for toasting, yogurt and fruit. There is a small bakery a few doors down if you wanted pastries and in the lounge area in the hotel you could get complimentary tea and coffee throughout the day. When we visited in October most the restaurants nearby seemed to close as soon as the tourists left around 5 so not many places open in the evening and those that were kicked out at 9pm so I would make sure you are out by 6.30/7. I would recommend the Italian in town called “Gigli Trattoria” and suggest you book early to secure a table. If you really get stuck there is a brewery/cafe next door to the hotel called Kitchi. The enthusiastic owner has only been open for about a year and makes delicious cold craft beer, he also offers a few snacks along with 2 hot dishes of a sort of beef stew and a keema curry, they are not huge portions but are very good and will fill a gap. There is also a small bar for drinks...

Every time I visit Nikko, I choose to stay at this hotel due to its excellent location near the JR train station, which means minimal luggage hauling, and its proximity to the Tobu bus station making sightseeing very convenient. The hotel offers comfortable accommodations, including a relaxing hot spring bath. Previously, I was always impressed by their high-quality breakfast buffet, which offered a wonderful variety of options that provided enough energy for a full day of exploring Nikko's attractions. However, during my recent two-night stay, I was quite disappointed with the breakfast service. The dining room now only serves small pieces of bread with butter and jam, boiled eggs, vegetable soup, tiny portions of salad, and extremely thin slices of ham. This is drastically different from my previous visits, where they offered fried eggs, sausages, ham, curry rice, an impressive salad bar, miso soup, and bread - all of which were appetizing and worth trying. There was also a noticeable reduction in staff. While I understand hotels may face operational challenges, my friend and I paid full price for both accommodation and breakfast, and we expected value commensurate with our payment. I sincerely hope the hotel will quickly return to providing the excellent service that was once their selling point. If the current situation continues, it might be better to offer room-only options without breakfast included. Maintaining this reduced service level could disappoint loyal, returning customers and potentially lose their patronage. I have attached photos comparing breakfasts from my previous stay with this recent visit to illustrate the significant change in quality. I genuinely hope you can return to your previous standards...

The reason why I chose this hotel is that it is close to Nikko Station and the website claims that the rooms can enjoy the elegant view of the antique station. So I sacrificed part of my trip and checked in early before the sun went down. I wanted to make coffee in the room and enjoy some romantic atmosphere with my wife.

Unexpectedly, when I entered the room, I found it was on the "back side" of the hotel, facing the telephone poles and the roof, and the space was narrow.

I Immediately went downstairs and requested to change to the "JR Nikko Station View(JR日光駅を眺め)room listed on the hotel's official website.

After some negotiations, the senior staff on duty at the counter insisted that there was no room to change, and also suggested that we can cancel the reservation unconditionally.

Since our protest was ineffective, we had to sit in the lobby and look for other hotels.

The lady at the counter suddenly appeared, handed us a key, asked, "Is this okay?", and then took us upstairs gently and kindly.

The new room was actually a side room with windows on two sides, overlooking the distant mountains and Nikko Station. It's spacious and comfortable!

We are glad that we worked hard changing the room and were lucky enough to stay and have a great time.

The hotel's equipment is elegant, and the Western-style catering chef prepares the meals carefully. His omelet is especially unforgettable. Shaking the pot vigorously, it is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The team is worthy of praise.

Aside from the discomfort of the negotiation process, this is a hotel worth...