Kamikochi Imperial Hotel

This hotel was the perfect base for hiking around the Japanese Alps. The hotel has an alpine lodge vibe which makes it very comfortable. I recommend trying the famous beef curry which was delicious. The hotel was spotlessly clean and the staff so friendly and helpful. A big thank you to Iwasu, Mastu (spelling??) in the lobby and Tomita who served us at breakfast. All had excellent English, were very professional and helpful and had great sense of humour. I cannot recommend this hotel strongly enough!

Service: Service overall from the staff was excellent. Room: I did not find the room relaxing at all. You can hear the room next door or above every time they run the bath, turn the taps on, flush the toilet. You can also hear their TVs and when they wake up at 5am talking. Just way too noisy for me and I didn’t feel like I had my privacy. Doors constantly slamming out in the hall were also irritating. The little chocolate in the room was a very sweet touch and the amenities were excellent. The beds were way too hard. I sleep on my side and it really hurt my hips. I tried to use an extra duvet as padding but it didn’t help much. The pillow deflates as you sleep on it so I woke up with a sore head. Overall the room was a huge no-no for me. Dining: The French dining room was cold because we were seated next to the window. In the morning it was also cold. The breakfast was average and some of parts were overcooked. Dinner however was very good both nights even though the prices are phenomenal. Overall it was an interesting experience and a piece of history but I would not stay again and do not recommend for a younger couple as the guests are mostly 50-80+.

The staff are fantastic, very attentive and efficient. We had the Japanese dinner, and the staff were very helpful explaining what to do and what the food was, though the poor chap in charge of my area while I was doing shabu shabu was very concerned because I was too slow getting the ingredients out of the pot 🙈 We were gifted a photo frame and a picture was taken at dinner to fill it, this was for our wedding anniversary which was very sweet. We were also served surprise red rice dish at dinner for this also. Dinner was an experience. One of the ladies serving us dinner was absolutely lovely, and we saw her the next morning, I wish we had gotten her name but her English was excellent and she was so friendly and explained to us something we had seen on a train earlier in the week to do with archery. Breakfast was very formal, the staff were brilliant again.

In short, the hotel is far too expensive for the experience. Two good points: For the most part, the staff are very attentive. The hotel has a Swiss-chalet style which is not often seen in Japan Bad points: The rooms don’t have air-conditioning so we were too warm all night even with a fan. While pleasant enough, the rooms still felt old, especially the bath. Really bad points: The food is prohibitively expensive. I would understand a small markup because of the remote location, but charging 3600+ for a very basic beef curry + rice and 1100 yen for a cola(!!) is inexcusable. And this is the “casual” restaurant. At these prices I would expect a very high quality of food but even the egg on the carbonara I got was over cooked. Also despite ordering in Japanese, the wait staff messed up our dessert order and assumed what we wanted without showing us the list. They then argued that we didn’t understand even though they didn’t show us the dessert menu. — If you want to visit Kamikochi, stay just outside the valley and get the early bus in. I would only recommend this place if you hate money.

Good: 1. Service was considered good despite a long waiting time during check-in process. 2. Room was well-maintained despite the old age of the hotel. No digital lock for the door; unlocking to be done with key. Manual locking was required whenever we leave the room. 3. Heater in room! ideal for cold nights. 4. water pressure in the shower was good. 5. premium amenities (toiletries + choco + one-time disposables) Bad: 1. quite a walking distance from the main attraction(s). 2. Poorly lit roads at nightfall (we got caught in the dark as we were returning too late from the Kappa bridge. 3. small lift and there was only one lift (though you can choose to take the stairs since there is only 3 levels) 4. we opted for the kaiseki dinner, and it was ridiculously expensive for that portion size. most of the dishes were 2-3 bite size. service was below average too; waiters were just standing around and watching us eat; pretty uncomfortable experience. there is a difference between being attentive and being intrusive. 5. no in-built onsen. this was the only hotel we stayed in thus far which didn't have onsen.

waiting for the rain to stop a very peaceful 30mins thankfully bought the chocolates souvenir, despite our overstuffed luggage later on, it turned to be the little light-up during an exhaustive journey to the States

I visited the Kamikochi Imperial Hotel the first time over 50 years ago and this was the first time staying at the Grand Dame of Japanese hotels. Built in 1933, you feel as though you have stepped back in time. Cars are not allowed at the hotel so be sure to coordinate transportation with the bus and taxi companies. Everything works like clockwork. We stayed in a beautiful room with sitting area on the second floor. Cocktails in the bar/lounge are memorable and the multi course continental dinner complete with souvenir menu is like cruising on the great ships of the past. The great Dining Room is more spectacular in the morning when the light comes through the diamond glass. They could use a dimmer switch at the dinner service. The hotel is right on the main walking trails and we hiked for hours in the afternoon and the next morning. If you time your arrival right, be sure to see the lighting of the fire ceremony in the lobby with the bellows. Everyone gets involved and it feels like the grand celebration after a sumo win. Reservations are next to impossible for this seasonal resort in the heart of the Japanese Alps, but if you score a reservation, SPLURGE on the experience. There are other accommodations in the valley but nothing compares to the great Grand Dame of the Kamikochi Imperial Hotel. GH

1. Courteous, smiling, helpful staff 2. Many minute details attended to either in services or in the room（which many good hotels might otherwise ignore) 3. Elegant and classical 4. Tasty cheese cake and signature beef curry Definitely would want to come back again!