Ryuguden — Local services in Hakone

This was by far both the most expensive and most disappointing hotels that I visited during my stay in Japan. To start with the positives: the staff at the entrance is very pro and helpful

-the view from both the rooms and the outdoors bath is beautiful

-the rooms are quite spacious.

However, there are many issues which should not be acceptable for this level of standing:

-the public bath requires guests to cover their tattoos. To be clear, I'm perfectly OK with this standard policy. The problem is that every other hotel we stayed at offered their guests tattoo covers for free. Here, we had to purchase a cover for 400¥. Being nickel and dimed on such a basic item when paying 90000+¥ for a room feels very cheap and a bit ridiculous.

-The public bath hygiene is also sub par. I visited it at 6:30 in the morning, and it had clearly not been cleaned. Floor mats and sauna towels were soggy and cold with water from the day before. I must again stress this is the only hotel where i experienced this in weeks.

-The bath also closes quite early (7:00 pm), so you can't enjoy it after diner

-speaking of dinner, it was surprisingly one of the worst meals i have had in Japan. All the meats (both fish, shellfish and beef) were much too coked and dry, most of the dishes tasted very bland and many arrived already cold. The staff was not reactive and some dishes took a long time to arrive. This is despite complying with the demand to come for diner at 6:00pm due to "the restaurant being crowded" at 7, which was already a bit surprising (one would expect to be able to chose the diner time in such a high end place). This was made worse by the fact that other table seemed to have a different and better menu, but we were never asked to choose ours. The breakfast was better but the staff was again very unreactive.

-Lastly, the hotel decoration and furniture overall look very dated, with colors and materials that feel out of the 80s and start to wear off a bit. This is not the biggest problem, but it contributes to the place not feeling very premium.

As a conclusion, this was a surprisingly cheap feeling stay, which costed 2 to 3 times the price of a comparable room and better service in other hotels. It's the only place I stayed in Japan where I did not feel like i got ant value for my money whatsoever, and that the place was only profiting from its great view and location to squeeze tourists without putting in...

I booked this hotel via a hotel reservation site.|Looked lovely in the pictures and did not disappoint.|They offer a shuttle from odawara station 3 times a day, which makes it super convenient for those traveling by bus or train.|Very lovely location with amazing views of Fuji and lake Ashi!|Staff are friendly and rooms are spacious and well appointed.|Cuisine was delicious and varied and I really appreciated their effort in being careful as I have allergies to certain spices.||Being kaiseki it can be difficult and sometimes impossible to accommodate the more severe ones due to cross contamination, so was really happy that they managed to reduce my allergen exposure by omitting certain dishes.||Would suggest to the property to suggest to those that book via an app that they may want to upgrade to the beef sukiyaki or shabu shabu… it looked amazing and I was wondering how to order it!|But we were so full from our dinner course!||As the app does not provide the menu option but the hotel website does…. Note to self is to research the property before staying.||Hotel amenities were great with ample towels and yukatas for onsen use!||Tea and coffee in room were really good and they provided a little tea time snack.||Small gift shop onsite for thoughtful gifts!!||20-30 minute scenic walk to motohakone, but they also provide a shuttle from 11-7.|Definitely a wonderful place to base yourself for exploring hakone!!||Highly...

Nestled in the heart of Hakone is a gem of a resort that would rest the mind, quieten the heart and sooth the body.||Ryuguden promises a Ryokan experience with professional hotel service. We opted for the larger room with its own private onsen, and it was like living in your own little home, with the choice to dip in the hot and soothing onsen water at any time!||The view was resplendent, with the quiet mountains, serene lake and ... Mt Fuji majestically perched between the hills. There is a ledge to sit on and just enjoy the view.||There were two large rooms, a separate tea room for two and a separate sink and fridge area to prepare your tea. Hot and cold water all prepared.||The staff were very professional, and those from Taiwan spoke both Mandarin and English fluently. ||Breakfast and dinner are provided, with high quality produce and served in the main dining hall, which looks like a high end Japanese restaurant. You wear your Yukata and the seating is reserved by room.||Breakfast is four dishes and rice, served together and with Japanese tea. Dinner is a 7-8 course of high quality Japanese food. You CBA order beer or sake to accompany.||The hotel onsen is available for guest use, as is the connected public onsen, where you get your own locker upon check in.||Great place to relax, enjoy the scenery and put your city stress away, if just...