Yufuin Sansuikan — Hotel in Yufu

This ryokan/hotel look old and weathered from outside but beyond that, everything about it exceeded my expectations.|On exiting the Yufuin train station, turn right and walk past the tourist info office for about 7 minutes and it is located in a quiet and serene spot.|From its location, it is also just a short walk to the main street where after a 25–30-minute leisurely stroll will lead you to the two main attractions in Yufuin, the Floral Village and Kinrin Lake.|We chose the Japanese style room, which was clean, neat and fairly spacious, overlooking the mountains.|Onsen was great, (indoor and outdoor) both on the ground and the 1st floor swapping between the males and females at designated hours.|There is a communal area next to the reception counter, providing free flow of soft drinks and beer off the tap and also an assortment of snacks, nuts and other tidbits. |Highlight of our stay was the buffet style dinner with a variety of top-quality food (wagyu steak, fresh sushi, etc.) and most amazingly free flow of drinks.|Free flow of drinks not in the usual plastic cups, but beer and sakes by the bottles and unlimited flow of branded whiskies off the tap. |Little wonder that queues start forming at 5.30 even though dinner officially starts at 6.00 as last order is at 8.30. |So, for those staying here, remember to make a reservation with a dinner package.|Strongly...

This onsen hotel look rather old and tired from the outside, but besides that, everything about it exceeded my expectations. Location is just about a 6-7 minutes' walk from the train station. We stayed in the Japanese style room, which was clean, fairly spacious and overlooking the mountains.Onsen was good with both indoor and outdoor pools on the ground floor and first floor, swapping between males and females at allocated hours.As for the dinner, it was simply awesome! It was the standard buffet eat and drink all you can type, except it was not so standard with the standard food and the usual house pour. Dinner was widespread and high-quality stuff (graded wagyu steak) and a selection of whisky and premium beer lager. (Beer not the usual plastic cups BUT BY THE BOTTLES!) It was no surprise that queues start forming at 5.30pm even though dinner officially only start at 6.So, if Sansuikan is your pick, make sure you make a reservation...

A typical 70s ryokan hotel. Service was lacking -for example our luggage was carried from the car to reception but not to the room. The room was very dated with the original furniture and dirty carpet. It was larger than normal, with a large picture window with good views. Two acceptable onsens, which rotated between men and women. The evening kaiseki dinner was not great, with some typical courses (for example, tempura) missing entirely. Breakfast was a disgrace - it was buffet style with very low end food. Every expense was spared. The dining room was too small for the hotel so as a couple we were sharing a table with a large family. This might be OK in Tokyo food court but not in a GBP200 ryokan. It was a chaotic experience.||Overall very disappointing...