Hoshino Resorts KAI Yufuin

Very nice resort with simple elegant style with a backdrop of stunning terraced rice fields. We saw ducks, frogs, deer on the premise. Beautiful place. During check in, the front desk staff were a bit curt but quickly we were greeted by a most friendly and helpful Kawamoto San who went to great lengths to help us secure a booking at a kayaking tour at Yufugawa Gorge. Even though her English was marginal but she did not hesitate to use Google Translate to make sure all the details were correct and we appreciated her so much. These are the details and staff that make a place memorable. Food was good but not mind blowing. We preferred the breakfast over dinner. Some suggestions for the management to consider: 1. More flexibility for meal times. As we were slotted into a 5:30pm dinner and that restricted our time to do activities during the day. 2. Conduct walking tours of the beautiful grounds 3. Compile a suggested activities list for the surrounding area Overall a very pleasant stay

Honestly the food is amazing, the people who give it a low rating likely have unrealistic 3 Michelin Star ⭐ standards. For a 4 star hotel and for the price, it's excellent value. I found their dinner to be very delicious, and we have been to many Hoshinoya hotels (which are 5 star) and found their dinner to be comparable. Again not as good as a 5 star hotel but still very excellent. We had stayed 2 nights and they change the dinner menu the second night. Same for breakfast, you eat a different menu the second day. My only issues were: 1. the ricefields and grass were completely burnt (likely due to last years hot summer) and hopefully they grow back or get replanted. I asked the staff and they replant the ricefields every June 2. The dining area accepts babies and children which is amazing if you have kids, but if you're expecting a romantic quiet dinner you may not find it there depending on who your neighbors are. My baby certainly made a few loud noises but the staff were so lovely and ran over with baby food, a fabric baby book and toys, to keep my baby entertained 3. I wish lunch was an option but they only have breakfast and dinner. If you're hungry for lunch you may need to venture outside of the hotel

We stayed in this resort for one night, and the entire experience was so memorable and unforgettable. ||The resort is located exclusively uphill, overlooking gorgeous rice terrace and beautiful mountains. ||Once you arrived at the hotel and guest room, you'll notice everything is so well thought of and nicely designed. It gives you the calm and tranquil atmosphere. Every corner is visually pleasing.||Our room was overlooking the beautiful rice terrace. It was spacious and immaculately clean. Super comfortable bed, pillows and duvets. One of the best sleeping experience we've ever had.||Service staff was great, polite and very attentive. ||F&B was simply excellent. We had dinner and breakfast at the hotel, and they were sumptuous and delicious. ||RECOMMENDATIONS:|1. Utilise the hotel car pick up service from the train station|2. Experience the in-house Onsen |3. Take part in all of their in-house activities, including the sunrise exercise. It's really fun!||Overall, it was a stay to remember. ||It was also an excellent introduction to Hoshino Resorts. ||We are off to explore other Hoshino properties in the world!

Hotel surroundings and cleanliness was top notch.Dinner and breakfast set were amazingly tasteful and filling. Food served was fresh and served based on our eating pace. All the staff are all well versed with English and friendly with our request.The onsen itself was great but the entrance to the men and ladies onsen was just next to each other. Ladies privacy could be easily violated as the main door was the see-through type. We were not feeling quite comfortable with the entrance layout.

Stayed 2 nights at Kai Yufuin. We stayed at the Villa with Outdoor Onsen. The room is immaculately furnished, and it is in a pristine condition.||The entire Resort is very architecturally crafted and very pleasing to the eyes. The resort was built upon a terrain where paddy field becomes your daily views for you to soak in. In early spring however, it is just the terraces with ponding of water.||We bought a Half Board plan (Breakfast & Dinner). The Western Breakfast honestly was underwhelming and the Japanese Breakfast didn't change a single bit for my 2 breakfast. The Kaiseki Dinner, it was ok but nothing much to shout about compared to other Japanese Traditional Ryokan's Kaiseki Dinner we have tried. The portion of the Western Breakfast is "limited" and if you are a big eater, you are going to be very disappointed and if you wish to order more that will cost you extra even if you just asking for more "bread". We find it unbelievable and unacceptable, as the entire accommodation price is not cheap especially the room category that we paid for.||In each dinner, we asked for more pickles for the rice. The next day, we have to keep asking. They don't observe your "preference", service wise they are far from "service excellence" in our opinion.||We wanted to book for the shuttle to town, that is also the shuttle they feeder their customers to take the intercity trains or highway buses hence it is always fully booked. They should increase the shuttle service for popular period during the day.||Our biggest disappointment was when I present them a 10,000 YEN (equivalent to 70 USD) to break into 1,000 YEN, they responded "We don't provide this service". It is not that they don't have the notes, THEY JUST DON'T WANT TO DO IT. I find it absurd and a big shame to Hospitality industry.||Hardware - Perfect, Software - Underwhelming in a few incidents noted above.||

I guess Hoshinoya has many different levels in their group, and this one is not on the top side part. This location has good interior and view. For our stay that we paid for inclusive meals both dinners and brekkies, and we think the dining experience needs to be improved in comparison to other Hoshinoya locations. We know rice dish is one of the famous dishes for its texture in Japan, but the one we had in breakfast was not up to par which had too much moist. The last picture is to show how disappointed it was for the rice dish’s presentation. The dining area ventilation is not circulated well, there was strong food smell on your cloths after the dinner. It’s a must to take a shower after leaving the dining room unless you don’t mind sleeping with the smell. Not many activities provided by the hotel, mainly just enjoyed ourselves with the view to relax. Don’t come with people you are not familiar or uncomfortable, or your time here will be tough. Overall, the crew is friendly, and we were still happy for the nice view and vocation mode of atmosphere in the mountain; however, to stay in the same hotel will not be our choice anymore.

The onsen hotel was incredibly relaxing, with excellent service and a beautiful natural setting. The room design was lovely, and the welcome drink was delicious. The meals were stunning, though I wish there had been more explanation about the breakfast ingredients—perhaps the staff were just a bit shy about using English.

A beautiful place designed by Kengo Kuma and the staff are well-trained in hospitality. Our 3 nights stay in the outdoors Onsen room went by smoothly. Any feedback were handled well by the staff. Food is nicely presented with delicate portions but I guess tastes can vary. A little crowded, very popular with Japanese and foreigners. Well-deserved stars and I hope the Hoshino group keeps expanding to consolidate other dated & badly-run ryokans to better Japanese tourism