This is our first time stAying at this property because we had 3 adults so we paid more money for a larger room with larger beds via Booking.com.
We wanted the Onsen experience in a nearby town close to Tokyo by train so decided on Hakone. This hotel has very nice Onsen both outdoor one and an indoor one. The onsens appear to have been renovated so it is quite modern. The water is about 42 degrees and it is indeed very hot. The outdoor one overlooks the mountains and nature so it is very relaxing. Everything here was very clean.
Now for our guest room 465, it was a huge room with 3 beds, 2 of which are large doubles while then3 rd bed is a single. All use nice crisp clean bed linen with nice duvets.
The big negative of our room and all guest rooms from what I can see is that all the furnishings are totally outdated from 26 years ago. The ceiling lamp fixture looks like it was from a garage sale, the wood in the room are all dark and smelly and old. The washroom sinks and bidet were all very clean but badly stained and old. From the washroom and our hallway we can smell this sewer stench and it is probably emitted from the old plumbing of this building. The hotel was built 26 years ago and the guest rooms reflect that as it has not been updated at all.
Our room had a nice view of the golf course and mountains with a decent sized balcony but it’s too bad the room is so old and outdated. Thanks to the diligent housekeeping staff, our room was very clean despite everything being run down and old.
When we booked via Booking.com, it include a buffet breakfast and it was quite good. Very good coffee, excellent pastries like chocolate brioche and mini Belgian waffles, great fresh fruits like pineapple and oranges that were so sweet, along with western items like different types of eggs, sausages, ham that tasted a bit strange to me, potatoes, finch toast and amelette station.
There was also salads, lox, a Japanese food area with rice, curry sauce, congee, grilled salmon and mackerel, pickles, tofu, and potatoes cooked with pork. Just wished they had some Chinese items like siu mai, shrimp dumplings, and gyozas.
The hotel is far away from the shopping street at Hakone Yumoto Station. We took the public bus from hotel to the station stop to shop a bit and it was 860 yen one way per person. Ridiculously expensive to ride the bus in Hakone. The hotel has a free shuttle that will drop you off at the bus stop near the hotel but it is a very short walk.
There aren’t any really good restaurants nearby the resort so you either have to eat the dinner buffet at the resort for 5500 yen pp or 5000 yen pp if staying at the hotel with a discount. The buffet was okay but I did not feel that it was worth the price paid. The roast beef was the highlight of the buffet along with the pork shabu shabu but other items were not that tasty.
This is a golfing resort so if you are a golfer, this place would be perfect. We stayed 2 nights which were plenty for us and we noticed the property has regular bus tour groups staying just overnight before moving on the next morning.
We would not go back to this property unless it undergoes a major overhaul in upgrading and renovating the rooms and common areas. It is long overdue and I hope the Prince Hotel chain will consider in investing in this property as it can be a beautiful one from 26 years ago when it first opened its grand doors.