River Retreat Garaku

I had the most incredible stay at River Retreat in Toyama with my friend Millie! From the moment we arrived, the staff went above and beyond to make our experience unforgettable. The dining was absolutely phenomenal, every meal was beautifully presented and bursting with flavor. The onsen was pure bliss, and the massage left us completely relaxed and rejuvenated. Every detail, from the service to the atmosphere, was perfect. We truly felt cared for and spoiled the entire time. I can’t recommend River Retreat enough, it’s the perfect escape for anyone looking for luxury, relaxation, and impeccable hospitality!

The most incredible and authentic Japanese high-end hotel I have stayed at. A living art-museum, with intentional rooms, a large record selection and incredible sound system in the lobby, phenomenal amenities and delightful food.

An unusual and delightful property. The owner uses the hotel as a repository for a vast collection of contemporary art, and it’s super fun to explore the sculptures and paintings throughout. The lobby boasts an amazing high quality stereo system with actual vinyl albums that the staff will put on, and the sound is exceptional (pro tip, sit in the middle of the room to optimize the acoustics). Some of the staff speaks English better than others. A related point is that much of the hotel is only labeled in Japanese – making it challenging to operate light switches, find the ladies’ entrance to the spa, etc. The hotel has an onsen. The hotel has a large repository of kimonos (“yukatas”) and the staff will come to your room and tie the obi into a magnificent bow in the back if asked. Despite some logistical challenges figuring out the hotel, it is a special property and I'm giving it 5 stars because of the art, music and unique vibe.

The architecture and atmosphere is like a five-star hotel in USA. The rooms are so spacious the bathroom so amazing the view is phenomenal. Everything about this hotel is wonderful. Surrounded by beautiful artwork. You will truly enjoy your stay here.

We’ve stayed at a number of onsen hotels and ryokans over the years and this is one of the best. We had a small incident with our rental car and the staff went above and beyond their call of duty to help us resolve it. One gets used to high service standards in Japan but the staff here takes it to another level. ||The hotel design is excellent and well thought out. The only reason why I wouldn’t say it is “the best“ is that their Japanese restaurant serves modern Japanese style meals. (We didn’t try the French restaurant.) By modern Japanese style, I mean the food is beautifully presented with some fusion/creative twists. It’s a matter of personal taste but we like traditional Japanese dinners at ryokans with a lot of fresh seafood and nabe/shabu shabu meat dishes. Japanese style breakfast was amazing though. Overall, nothing to fault River Retreat Garaku. I wouldn’t hesitate to stay here again if I’m in the region.

Was here for lunch at the Levo restaurant last year and was very much impressed by the quality offered by the hotel. Thus decided to return this year and stayed at the hotel and tried Levo again. Did make a good decision as the first step into the hotel was treated like VIP. No need to stand in front of the reservation desk albeit being led to seat comfortably at the lobby. All the rest was being taken by staff while one could remain seated and to enjoy a welcome drink.||||There were two different hot springs with both indoor and outdoor pool. The outdoor one was facing the river and so extremely relaxing to enjoy the hot spring. In the morning. One added advantage was that free coffee and other non-alcoholic drinks were available for guests.

Wondering retreat, beautifully designed. Dinner and breakfast was very yummy and the service was fantastic! I am thankful to all the staff for trying to speak English to us as our Japanese was very limited.

The Good: ||||-- The lobby is magnificent. The fireplace is especially inviting since we visited on a snowy day. Most of the public areas (the living rooms, the library, etc) are terrific. Art is thoughtfully and tastefully displayed throughout the property. ||||-- Staff is unfailingly polite and helpful and most can speak some English. ||||-- We had both our dinner and breakfast at the Japanese restaurant (which is top notch). Both meals were delicious, beautifully presented in nice surroundings, served by very attentive staff. We can't comment on the French restaurant on site since we didn't dine there. ||||-- The public bath isn't huge but since this appears to be a quiet ryokan it never seemed occupied much (though we did stay on a week day, perhaps it's more crowded on weekend....). I really enjoyed having the outdoor bath all to myself, on a cold winter evening with the unmelted snow just outside the bath. The torch is a great touch, really adding to the ambiance. There are also sauna and steam rooms. ||||-- The property is relatively easy to reach. It's only a 20 minutes drive from the Toyama airport or a 40 minute drive from the JR Toyama train station. The hotel can arrange taxis for you at a very reasonable price. ||||-- The property have a number of colorful/beautiful yukatas (casual kimono) and belts to choose from, which makes it a fun experience particularly for female guests. This is a distinct feature that I have not seen in any other ryokans in Japan. I hope management values this feature and continues to update and expand their collection of yukatas. Staff members are available (on request) to help you put on the yukata and tie the belt properly. ||||- The public baths are open pretty much 24 hours except for brief period of time during dinner hours. ||||-- There is a cafe area that serves light snacks during the day and there is a bar area that provides free beverages throughout the day when the cafe is closed. ||||The Not So Good: ||||We stayed in one of the bigger suites (No. 201). It was spacious and comfortable and has everything you need, though not entirely satisfying. There's a strong musty smell in the room upon entering (another suite we visited also had the same smell, perhaps this is a property-wide issue?), and the suite is showing its age. The walls are in need of a fresh coat of paint and the decor and furnishing of the suite are a bit dated. The tiled bathroom/jacuzzi room, while large, feels quite 1990s/early aughts and the style just doesn't work with the rest of the suite. The white window shades in the bathroom also appear a bit dirty. The bathroom part of the suite is also not heated, which pretty much precludes our use of it during our stay. It comes with shower facilities but it was just too cold to shower in there. It probably would have been fine if we fill up the jacuzzi tub with hot water and bathe in it, however we chose not to do that since the tub is HUGE and it seems such a waste of water to fill it up. Overall the bathroom just isn't very inviting to us, which is quite a pity because it occupies a large space and has a lovely river view (which is why we chose this suite to begin with). We felt like we paid for a large amount of space that we didn't get to use...||||Conclusion: Overall this ryokan has potential to be a truly magnificent property, but the rooms/suites are in need of a renovation and refurbishment to really distinguish itself and put this hotel on the map. (And it really does deserve a place on the map!) Whoever built it clearly had a grand vision for this property and I feel perhaps I came here 10 years too late and it's somewhat past its prime? At its current state, I feel it is not really living up to its potential. Hopefully, with the Hokuriku shinkansen now operational, more travelers will discover this somewhat under-the-radar ryokan, which means more revenue and more incentive/resources to be re-invested in it. I look forward to seeing it return to its former glory. ||||.