Location: Very close to the airport, which is barely noticeable as only turbo props fly in and out of there. Also isn't far from the ferry port.||||Service upon arrival: I was pleased that a driver was waiting with a sign near the clearly labeled Pricia Resort bus.||||Check in: I was able to check in 1.5 hours prior to the regular check in time, but it is also in the low season. High season at this resort is July 1-22 Sept each year.||||Room: I was in a two story category "C" building, on the second floor. There was a winding metal stairway to get up to the second floor. Glad I don't have problems getting up and down stairs! My room was so so size, probably 200 or so square feet total, with a small living area, two single beds which were VERY low to the floor, and a bathroom. I was impressed at how nice the combination fridge/freezer was. The freezer section was a pullout drawer which could fit a lot of items I was given three keys, one of which was a small wooden peg to slide into the on/off switch for the A/C unit. I took it off the key chain and left it in so my room would stay cool. The other key was for the room, and the third was for the in room safe. There were also two small sofa/futon like pieces of furniture, a small desk, and a coffee table. In adition, there was a 32 inch tv which had 5 Japanese language stations on it. There was wifi access in the room. I tried to ask the front desk about the connection as the download speed was no more than 2-3 mbps, yet the upload consistently showed 35 mbps or so! Also, interestingly enough there is a small church located in the middle of the "C" units. If one stays there long term there's a laundry building too.||||Facilities: This can safely be called a resort as there is a tennis court, small convenience store on site (prices aren't bad for most items, but alcohol is VERY expensive), multiple vending machines (can't live in Japan without them!) a swimming pool (only open 9:30am-5pm) which was old and only about 4.5 feet deep, two massage places (Aeraki which accepted women only or couples and Maeinplay which was Thai massage that allowed singles or couples of either gender), two restaurants one Mediterranean themed place that was open for lunch and dinner, and "Piki" a Japanese restaurant open for dinner only. One also could make a reservation for the BBQ meal. I did that on my first night there and luckily it was the only evening I was there with a decent view of the sunset! It was yakiniku style in which you cook your own pieces of raw meat and veggies on a small gas grill. It was very good but also very expensive. There is a pretty nice beach which looks nicer during high tide with kayaks, paddleboards, jet skis, etc for rent. In the main building where one checks in, there's a buffet breakfast served each morning along with the conciege desk, baggage storage, reservation desk to sign up for dive trips, etc. I was surprised at how good the buffet breakfast was with a decent variety of western and Japanese dishes each morning.||||Yoron island: I rented a car through the resort concierge desk. I was happy to present a coupon my travel agent (on a military base in Okinawa) gave me for 50% off a 6 hr car rental. Honestly though, the island is pretty tiny and 2-3 hours would have been more than enough time to get a good looks, take some photos, etc. The island is very rural with a population of about 6,000. The extra time used was spent having lunch, getting snacks/beer at grocery stores away from the resort (for cheaper prices I may add), and being a shutterbug.||||Overall assessment: I give this destination a solid 3 rating. When comparing Yoron to Kume island I prefer Kume. My three night stay on Yoron was way too long, one or two nights would have been sufficient, I did get a good package deal including roundtrip ferry tickets between Okinawa and Yoron, three nights stay with breakfast each day through a travel agency though. A three night stay may have been just right had I been there with family or friends and/or went on several dive trips.||||Future of the resort: It appeared that some better maintenance such as power washing more of the mold off of buildings/sidewalks and replacing rusted through A/C units still on some buildings being used by guests could improve things. Also, the pool area is a joke and really only suitable for small children with their parents if the current is strong in the ocean. That's unlikely to happen as most of the island is well protected by reefs. The current pool area could be easily converted into more outdoor evening BBQ seating/bigger outdoor bar and people wouldn't notice.||||I didn't mind that 99% of the hotel patrons were Japanese (one other American family there) the resort is used to English speaking guests from Okinawa/Tokyo as there are English translations everywhere, but I doubt I'll be back again, was nice to see another island however. My back was killing me from the low/hard bed and...
Read more
Learn more insights from Wanderboat AI.
