Hoshino Resorts KAI Kinugawa

Underwhelming room and below average services for a luxury hotel.|We paid over US$700 for a night and its such a big disappointment, never gonna stay with Hoshino Group again!!!!||The room is relatively small comparing to other hotels within the same range, size of the open air bath is incredibly small, more like a bathtub. There's no cold plunge pool nor sauna in the public bath. ||Services is far from okay given the price. They don't have exclusive shuttle bus for hotel guest and had to charge 300yen per person. The shuttle bus is shared with other hotels within the region. And you will have to walk approx 5 mins on a bumpy road with your suitcases after getting off. ||it was their peak season during our stay as it was the Japanese national holiday. They might be understaff but NO ONE was there to greet when we get off the tram. Our suitcases was transferred back down while we were trying to get some help. We request a taxi for the next day and they initially informed us there's a chance they won't be able to as the time we asked is their hush hour. (even tho they managed at the end). It's hard to communicate with their staff in English at times and we were feeling left out on the activities they offered as they were all in Japanese. And this is not expected from a large scale luxury hotel chain. ||We found our stay so disappointing and dissatisfying especially given how much we paid. We would avoid all the hotels within Hoshino Group at all cost in the future.

We had lost faith in the whole Hoshino group with this stay at KAI. This hotel is not worth the money nor the hype, especially if you are not Japanese speaking guest. Services is what truly left us speechless, not in a good way. To get to the hotel, you gotta take a taxi or a shuttle bus from the train station which cost 300yen per person. The shuttle bus does not only serve guest from this hotel but others within the region. The bus dropped us off 5 mins away from the actual entrance and the road is super bumpy when you're walking with suitcases. We were asked to wait to get on the tram to reach the property itself and when we arrived, there's no staff greeting us and we had no idea where to go nor what to do. Our suitcases were still in the tram on a trolley. We had to go to the reception and asked. By the time someone came out, our suitcases already went down with the tram. We had to waited to be checked in and there was a welcome drink corner but no one had explained anything to us while we waited so we just helped ourselves. The room itself is underwhelming, the open air bath is tiny.I'm lucky to be a short girly to find it okay. But if you're someone taller than 160cm, you will definitely find it uncomfortable. I can't imagine how a full grown man can fit inside, let alone if you're couple and want a dip together. We were asked by the staff if we need to book taxi or shuttle bus for the next day and we opted for taxi. During dinner, they told us the time we were requesting is their peak hour which they might not be able to arrange one for us and will have to let us know the next morning. (they did managed in the end). They have different activities (some are paid) that you could join but they're all in Japanese and we can't help but feeling left out. At times the staff are struggling to communicate in English so I do not recommend this hotel if you dont speak any Japanese. It was the Japanese national holiday and we understand they were busy. But giving the price we paid and the services we received, this hotel is such a disappointment and we will never stay with Hoshino group again.

This is our second time staying in a Hoahino Resorts Kai. The room and service are excellent Our room is very spacious for three persons and it is a corner room. The room view is excellent. The staff service is attentive, friendly and helpful. The dinner and breakfast are both amazing. Our dinner is a local cuisine of Hot Pot with duck and eel. The whole course of dinner is full of surprises of savouring dishes with abandon of local ingredients. The breakfast is also a local Japanese food and let us experience the traditional Japanese breakfast. We are totally surprised with the Natto. This Natto does not the strong pugent smell that we usually cannot withstand. This Natto is exceptional to us. There is a small side note for the taxi ride. It is worth mentioning the Hotel central garden. The autumn leaves have two different view in the day and at night. The autumn leaves are so calm and relaxing. The Onsen is not crowded and relaxing at the waiting area providing apple juice, black bean tea and popicles. Hotel staff had already informed us the taxi will be late. In the end, the taxi was very late for more than 25 minutes. We decide to walk to the station as we have sufficient time (16 minutes) to walk from the hotel to the station. Eventually, the taxi has come and we rush back but the taxi refuses to take us to the station as we cancel our ride. We just make the decision of point of no return that we can have a leisure walk to the station with under 25 minutes and catch our train back to Tokyo. We recommend that hotel should remind the taxi company be on time and give the guests sufficient time for a back up plan. BTW, our fully charged legs (after the Onsen therapy) we managed to arrive and catch the train on time😁!

At this price point, I felt my staycation experience is boring and disappointing. Upon arrival at the front waiting area, we waited almost 20 min just to wait the cable car to reach. No one serve welcome drinks or even send luggage’s to our room. We do it all on our own. It says it’s 4 star rated hotel, the service is questionable. The dinner that is served takes forever to come, the taste of the eel soup is questionable too. As for Japan standard, I don’t feel it’s worth the money for this staycation. The hotel staff speaks minimal English and hard to communicate. I would say the hotel is ok if could come at low season with low rates, otherwise don’t speak big money just bored and sleep in the room. They don’t have any facilities besides onsen for guests. So ya… it’s disappointing

I don’t feel if it’s worth the claim of being a 4 stars rated hotel. Upon arrival, waited 20 min for our turn to get into the cable car & send to main lobby, then when we reached the lobby, no one served welcome drinks, no one send the luggage’s to the room. Hotel is boring, nothing to do besides looking at the trees and onsen. Hotel dinner is just so so, taking forever to serve, but breakfast is quite good. I saw reviews every where saying that this hotel is very famous and outstanding, but turns out it’s quite disappointing. Just nothing much to remember about. I won’t recommend anyone to come during peak season. Unless it’s low season with much cheaper price. Our room rate is approximately 90,000yen per night. I think they can do better job than just this.. 🫠

Nestled along the shores of Lake Chuzenji, some rooms offer breathtaking views of the lake and the majestic Mount Nantai. The Japanese-style rooms are spacious, featuring tatami flooring, scenic areas, and comfortable beds, perfect for enjoying the beautiful autumn leaves! A special thanks to the two staff members, Lisz and Yuka, for their excellent service and fluent English in introducing each dish. They were truly professional!

Our checkout experience on the final day left us deeply disappointed. When attempting to board the tram back to the hotel, staff curtly instructed my 11-year-old child and me to step aside for verification—twice, with two different staff members. Both interactions were delivered without a smile and in a harsh tone that felt unwelcoming. The first incident occurred after returning from our Kinugawa River trip, and the second when retrieving items from our car. Despite providing our room number, we were ignored. When we asked for clarification in English, no explanation was offered—surprising given Hoshino’s extensive English materials throughout the property and website, and the presence of several English-speaking staff members. At this price point, guests should feel recognized and comfortable during routine security checks, which are completely understandable. The positives: Two staff members went genuinely out of their way to make our stay memorable. While the checkout experience prevented me from noting their names, their kindness and hospitality exemplified what Hoshino service should be. To those two individuals: thank you. .

We absolutely loved our stay here. Beautiful / massive rooms, DELICIOUS kaiseiki dinners included in our stay, and the hotel grounds were so beautiful & zen, you’re in the middle of a forest. So relaxing & we loved the onsen