Hoshino Resorts KAI Unzen — Hotel in Unzen

We’ve been a fan of Hoshino’s Kai since my first visit to the Aso version during COVID. Since that stay, we’ve been to Kirishima’s, Beppu’s and Unzen’s (now twice). As far as I know, Unzen’s WAS my wife’s favorite. All I know is that it’s now my least favorite. All of the issues could be fixed with better management, which as far as I can tell, is inadequate at the Unzen Kai. Some of the men seem to have a bad attitude about their jobs. I understand they’re working outside in the cold, but really, in the service industry, they should be more professional and friendly. Please take a look again at your staff’s training. We ordered the upgrade on the food at ¥5,000 per person. At one point during the course, we were served a plate of local delicacies—not one them had any flavor. I cannot recommend this upgrade at all. Next, what’s the deal with no soap in toilets in the rooms?! It’s 2025; don’t you understand that germs cause people to get sick? Finally, the biggest issue by far was the door to the rotenburo; it is in need of serious maintenance. I had trouble both opening and closing this door. To top it off, when attempting to close the door for the final time when returning to the indoor ofuro area, the door was so heavy and hard to close that I slipped with my full weight. My right foot slammed into the lock at the bottom of and got cut and started bleeding. I put several tissues and wrapped it up with the toe socks provided by Kai. I sat in the ofuro lobby to wait for the pain to subside, but it did not. I limped back to my room, and told wifey what happened. She went to the front desk to get something to clean and dress my cut. They brought 4 small bandaids and an open bottle of antiseptic liquid. No contact was made from staff again until checkout when they asked how I was doing. Two days later I was still in pain and my foot was turning blue. I feared an infection, so spent 2-3 hours looking for and visiting a doctor in Nagasaki who gave me a prescription for antiseptic, ointment and antibiotics. As I write this, it’s 6 days after the incident, my foot is still in pain, the cut is not quite closed, and parts of my foot are now purple. Dear Hoshino, please fix these issues at your Kai “resort”.

I cannot recommend the Unzen Kai.

EDIT: 7 weeks later, pain is almost gone; I still have a scar and bump on my foot. Manager responded to our complaint, “hope you have a speedy recovery.” Well, nothing about it is “speedy.” 2nd worst hotel experience, ever (cf. LV’s...

This was my third KAI visit. Unzen appears to be a popular onsen village and the KAI sits right in the middle next to a major hot spring site where huge plumes of steam are visible. There is a mountain right behind the hotel where you can see the plumes but it appears there was a slight land slide which led to a portion of the top part of the mountain to slide down. This obstructs the view from the rooms from the hotel, but overall it wasn't a big factor during our stay.||The hotel building itself is literally a box. KAI almost appears to make it a point to make their buildings not stand out architecturally.||OK, so not much for the hardware, but the software was awesome. All the people at the hotel very kind and cordial. We tried to use the onsen as much as possible and thoroughly enjoyed it. Even the smoking area was nicely set up.||We stayed in the corner room but if you are travelling as a couple, I would go for the regular rooms. The corner room did not appear to be much more roomier because it has an elongated layout: door - bedroom - bathroom - living room.||Special mention to the two bottles of Kirin Heartland beer in the fridge - very necessary after an onsen session.||Meals at the dining area were great. I was surprised that there were some courses which were identical to ones I saw at other KAI properties. But they were all well made and nicely presented.||Shuttle service from Nagasaki airport is available and very convenient.||If you are interested in Unzen as an onsen hotspot and the type of water they have on offer, this would be a good property for a...

Wonderful experience from start to finish. I was pleasantly surprised by the meals, and found all the staff to be incredibly kind and professional (and very much appreciated the ease of communication in English, despite my limited Japanese proficiency). I highly recommend a stay here, and hope that those who do will also support the local community and the regeneration efforts after the landslide in 2021, including the lovely little home-style restaurants in the town. It is absolutely worth the journey from Fukuoka. The travel library and store were also a nice surprise, and the quality of publications and local delicacies did not go amiss. My only small qualm was that I wish there was a way for those who booked the private onsen rooms to more easily access drinks/ice. There was plenty of provision for the public baths to ensure people would stay hydrated but felt this was a little difficult for those bathing in-room, particularly as staying hydrated is so important while bathing at onsen. The staff, chefs and whoever designed the menu are an absolute service to this hotel. I’ve travelled Japan a lot over the years, including onsen and ryokan, and the 2 meals I ate at this hotel were the best meals I have ever had in Japan, and were explained and served at a pleasant pace and in perfect English. I will recommend this location to any friends visiting Japan...