Mifuneyama Rakuen Hotel — Hotel in Takeo

My wife and I stayed here for a night in early Dec 2016 after having spent a few days in Fukuoka and Saga. We had been to a number of mid-range to high end onsen hotels around Japan before. This one is not the best we have stayed in, but it surely pleasantly surprised us.||||The hotel is located up a small hill. We had a rental car so getting there was very easy with free parking. The decor of the hotel was basic but felt quite new and fresh, compared with many we have stayed in before. It is not a really large hotel which receive tourist groups, so it was nice and quiet. The hotel does not have elevators, but there was staff who greeted us at the entrance and then took our luggage up to our room. The room was spacious and typical of onsen hotels. We had booked a Saga beef dinner, which was served in the dinner hall. It was delicious and much much better than the buffet style dinners in other onsen hotels. The dishes were served promptly and in fact I felt a bit rushed at times but was no big problem. After dinner, we walked down to the garden, where we enjoyed a pleasant stroll through the trees and enjoyed the lighted trees with red and yellow leaves. Onsen was small though with one outdoor and one indoor pool, but given it is a small hotel with not many guests, it was not crowded at all. Breakfast was Japanese style, which I never fully appreciate, but it was nicely prepared and which I could cope with. After breakfast, we enjoyed another 2 hours taking photos in the garden.||||The price we paid was extremely good compared with other onsen stays we had. Coupled with Saga beef dinner and free entry to the garden for hotel guests, I would say this was probably the best value for money onsen hotel we...

As I tried to book the hotel two weeks in advance of the check-in date, and as a solo traveller, I had no other option but a very small room (8-tatami) with no view. And the hotel has no elevator and I literally needed to climb up two flights of stairs carrying my luggage. Perhaps it's because I do not speak Japanese, the front desk staff was not very welcoming. While my purpose of choosing to stay at this hotel was for the teamLab art exhibitions, I was disappointed that I was not given related information at the front desk. ||||It was when I tried to find the way to the garden and asked another staff about the information that I was given a hotel map showing the location the teamLab art exhibitions. I had difficulty to understand why the hotel does not display clearer information. I know the summer exhibition at the garden is a much stronger attraction, but there would be tourists like me who come at winter time and who are interested in the teamLab exhibitions.||||While I do like the teamLab art exhibition, if judging the hotel by itself, I would say it is very average. The room is tiny and I would rather pay more for a bigger room with a view. Food quality and service of the front desk is...

As I tried to book the hotel two weeks in advance of the check-in date, and as a solo traveller, I had no other option but a very small room (8-tatami) with no view. And the hotel has no elevator and I literally needed to climb up two flights of stairs carrying my luggage. Perhaps it's because I do not speak Japanese, the front desk staff was not very welcoming. While my purpose of choosing to stay at this hotel was for the teamLab art exhibitions, I was disappointed that I was not given related information at the front desk. ||||It was when I tried to find the way to the garden and asked another staff about the information that I was given a hotel map showing the location the teamLab art exhibitions. I had difficulty to understand why the hotel does not display clearer information. I know the summer exhibition at the garden is a much stronger attraction, but there would be tourists like me who come at winter time and who are interested in the teamLab exhibitions.||||While I do like the teamLab art exhibition, if judging the hotel by itself, I would say it is very average. The room is tiny and I would rather pay more for a bigger room with a view. Food quality and service of the front desk is...