The Ritz-Carlton, Nikko

Stayed 4 nights. Great location and beautiful property. The rooms a very large and have plenty of storage for luggage. Comfortable bed and seating in the rooms. As you'd expect, nice amenities about, great shower etc etc.||The property is located on the edge of Lake Chuzenji but is fairly isolated at the town is rather small. Some walkable sights (Chuzenji Shrine and the Italian/British villas and the falls (they were essentially not flowing during our visit).||The hotel can arrange simple excursions as well.||There are multiple venues for eating there. While the food was good, it is difficult to order anything a la carte. This means you will have elaborate multi course meals with a lot of food. Only exception we found was the bar where there was a decent a la carte menu. ||The hotel actively markets to families with small children so expect the usual sounds and activity that comes with that. This extends to the bars and restaurant.||The check in process took 15-20 minutes and despite us being comfortable seated during the process, it seemed totally unnecessary. ||The staff were mostly helpful with one exception, a person named David loved to talk about himself, seemed insincere, and provided us information that was just not factually accurate.||Bottom line: nice stay and good location - keep in mind the limitations above!

World Class! Gorgeous location. Phenomenal service. Every detail is so deeply considered. We spent two nights here to decompress and rejuvenate after two weeks working in Nagoya and Tokyo. It was beyond our expectations. The aesthetic is minimalistic and it completely allows one to relax. The onsen bath was pure joy. I did not want to leave. Every staff member was just lovely. I’m honestly so completely impressed. I can not imagine ever staying anywhere nicer.

Abigail from the activities department was amazing. Super positive, cheery, and kind! We were super happy that she guided us for both of our activities. The motor of my bike shut off during the middle of our cycling trip and she happily let me use hers even though it meant that cycling uphill would be really tough for her. She even left me a special message in our cycling photo album. Thank you so much! ❤️❤️❤️ Hotel had a great view and overall good service. Only thing disappointing was that I asked for a birthday plate but the staff kept forgetting. I had to remind them three times for the plate to be delivered… Hope this can be improved!

While this property has spectacular rooms and common areas, our 2 day stay was not pleasant. Service was very uneven and bureaucratic, many smiles but not helpful. Dining was incomprehensible. Our rate included meals, but when we arrived there were almost no reservations available, even for breakfast. However, when we did dine, the restaurants were almost empty. One night we had to eat dinner in the bar of their second restaurant. No effort to try to accommodate us. Very inflexible. We were told the hotel was at 60% occupancy. No sense of hospitality. This was part of a 20 day trip in Japan and the only bad hotel experience.

Vikas was so nice; despite us arriving very late, he offered us the warmest welcome. He made us feel like home at the hotel. Cherry was also extremely helpful, helping us check out. Overall it was a terrific experience

Style. |Japanese minimalism yet magnificent and luxurious ||Setting. |Stunning Lake Chuzenji, at 4163 feet altitude and 534 feet deep — Bragging rights as highest natural lake in Japan||Explore. |Nikko’s shrines and beyond ….Tochigi. Two of my most memorable trips to Japan were in Tochigi. ||Rooms. |Room 422. Room faced Daiya river with a partial lake and torii shinto gate view. Impressive mini bar with Gaya wine and Ruinart champagne. Bathroom designed so that you can make the soaking tub a semi outdoor sanctuary. My only regret was not being here for another night ||@ the hotel. |Tranquil and gorgeous minimalist newer hotel opened 2020. Indoor outdoor onsens. The outdoor onsen had lovely healing milky onsen water, is drained and scrubbed clean daily between 12-2 pm||Food & drinks. |Kaiseki dinner at the Japanese restaurant. Pretty decent meal but had better kaiseki in other Tochigi hotels/ryokans||Prices. |$962||Rating. |5/5

Excellent setting! Service was also wonderful. The Lakeview suite was thoughtfully designed. They were accommodating with any requests I had. Marriott Bonvoy elite recognition was them doing the bare minimum according to the Bonvoy ToS. Kaiseki dinner was good, but overpriced for what was served. If you're used to super hot temperatures in Japanese onsens, you might find the temperature a little lukewarm (akin to western jacuzzi temperature).

We were in Nikko and wanted a nice, warm meal because for some reason most of the restaurants near our hotel were closed early. And we had a not-so-good experience the night before. We figured if anyone can meet our gluten free challenge, the Ritz can. Boy, was I completely wrong!! We tried the Lakehouse which was practically empty but the hostess claimed that they were completely booked up. Was awfully empty to me. Where were they? So we proceeded to check out the bar menu when we came across a seemingly helpful staff person. He claimed the bar was all booked up. That was empty too. So much for the superior hospitality of the Ritz. Makes me think twice before ever considering a Ritz ever again. Didn't know you had to be a guest to eat there. Never felt to unwelcomed but the syrupy apology was so disingenuous. So much for Japanese and/or the Ritz hospitality.