Hotel Hanabi — Hotel in Toyako

Spacious room with fantastic view, but terrible customer service experience . .

The facility is a bit older but in a nice location right next to the lake. Room on 7F was a good size and had big windows with a great view of Toya lake and the nighttime fireworks. No complaints about the room. Onsen is not great (no lake view and lots of flies in the outdoor rotenburo) but passable for a quick rinse and dip.

Customer service is what really bothered us. The hotel is relatively busy with a lot of international tourists. Noticed some staff were condescending toward non Japanese speaking customers at reception check in(male). At breakfast we arrived 5 mins after their cut off entry time and a male staff yelled at me “hurry up then” as I was explaining that my partner had arrived earlier than me. Ive never been yelled at by any hotel staff and his attitude was shocking - would have rather he refused my entry than yell. The customer is not always right but shouting really crossed the line.

Afterward I decided to go to the reception to file my complaint but funny enough the staff who shouted at me was the person who received my complaint. He apologised by saying It is because I interrupted his sentence which is why he “buchigire” - “went nuts” at me. It did not make me feel any better possibly worse after spoken to the same guy again.

It is sad to see a decent hotel so poorly managed and I would not stay at this hotel again.

To note - there are some nice staff too, but we had very bad experiences with some of the staff...

From Toya Train Station Bus Stop (immediately visible when you exit the Train Station), you can take a bus/taxi. I chose the cheaper option which costs about Y340. It's about 7 stops to Toyako Onsen Bus Terminal (serving as a transport node at Toyako Onsen) and another 3 stops to Motomachi Bus Stop (2 minutes walk to Hotel Hanabi). Travelling time by bus is about 20-25 min, but subject to waiting time (take note of the bus service timings). Google Maps works well to provide suggested travelling route and timings.I booked a single room for one night that was clean and served it's purpose. It felt a lot like a hostel than a hotel but has an onsen. My booking included a buffet dinner and breakfast which was critical as there weren't many food options around the area. Both buffet had a wide selection to cater to Asian/Western food preferences. There's a 7-Eleven that is about 5-10 min walk away. There's a Tourist Information Centre at the Bus Terminal. The Bus Terminal is also reachable by walking which will take about 15-20 min. Hotel Hanabi is one of many lodging options along Lake Toya, and just walking outside the hotel, I was already able to capture the nice photo of Mount Yotei.During the time I was there (mid-end Apr), there were no bus options so the only way to travel to Usuzan Ropeway was by taxi booking done at the hotel reception.It costed about Y1900 one-way and took about 15-20 min. Once I was done visiting, another taxi booking is done at the Usuzan Ropeway counter to the next...

Hotels in this area were pricey, but this particular hotel seemed to offer acceptable price considering its lakeside location, room type (capacity and lake view).||No wonder… This hotel was quite old; and probably needed renovation soon. Room door was still manual button lock without any other devices (deadbolt, latch, chain), so don’t forget to lock the door when you leave and ensure to have room key with you. Also, parking area was quite limited with small entrance and dark at night.||All that said, view from my room was peaceful and beautiful. There were fireworks at night during my stay, so my kids were excited to see all 3 sets, one of which was directly from this hotel. My room was spacious enough for 2 adults and 2 kids with a small table and 4 chairs looking over the lake.||With lakeside location, it was lovely to just come down from a room and have a walk along the lake for fresh air and peaceful atmosphere. Onsen was good and bigger than most I had ever visited. Second floor offered indoor and outdoor areas.||Breakfast and dinner were organized in time-slot arrangement, so crowd control was quite well managed. A selection was ok, but seemed to be exactly the same every day. If you chose half board or full board over your 2-3 days stay, prepared to deal with the same set of...