Nikko Kanaya Hotel

I stayed one night at the Nikko Kanaya Hotel, and it was truly memorable. From the moment we arrived, the service was outstanding – attentive, thoughtful, and personal. We were personally escorted to our room, given a small tour of the hotel, and the staff even anticipated our needs. When we mentioned we were going to an onsen, they brought us towels and water bottles to take along. The six-course dinner in the evening was exquisite, beautifully presented, and full of flavor. The combination of historic charm, warm hospitality, and delicious food made this stay unforgettable. Highly recommended!

Super nice hotel. Room was spacious and clean. Toilet was gorgeous and spotless. Bed was nice and firm. Luxurious historical hotel. Definitely get the annex building. My family had a spectacular stay, keep in mind that your calf might tear apart walking your way up to the hotel due to a steep incline. (But definitely worth it)

Stayed here as part of an inside japan tour, so ive no idea how much it coats. It was all partnof a package. Really enjoyed the old time charm and fittings. A key for the door! Haven’t had one of those since the 80’s! Lovely lounge and dining areas. Fabulous food. Loved it

Beautiful old hotel. The dinner was fabulous- so elegant and wonderfully delicious. The grounds are picturesque Best thing is the location. It is up a steep hill so walking up and down is a challenge for older knees. That being said once down the hill, it is a short walk to the famous Shinkyo Bridge and across the street from the bridge is the Toshogu Shrine complex.

Stayed 23 October 2025: We booked this hotel because of its significance in the area as well as its location right at the entrance to the heritage area, making for an easy start to our exploration the next day. The staff were very friendly (with quite reasonable English). Unfortunately, for the price we paid, I would have expected much nicer rooms than the one we got. We had a twin room in the main building, which was one of the less expensive rooms but still cost us double what a night in our Tokyo hotel did. I understand that the hotel is old (part of its selling point) and that they are working towards renovating all areas, but the condition of the hallways and rooms in this area is very poor. Cracks in the walls, strange musty smell in the halls, and the rooms honestly felt no different to a cheap pub room back in Australia except more spacious. Considering we chose this over a more traditional ryokan-style stay due to the hotel’s history and significance, despite being more expensive, it was quite a letdown. After weeks of small city rooms we were looking forward to a more comfortable stay and it wasn’t what we got. It’s a shame autumn is late this year, because at least the view from our room over the courtyard was lovely!

The hotel is very pretty from outside kindergartenjd the garden is spectacular. My room has been refurnished so it is it isv bea beautiful. Food is good too. Just that the place and my bath tub is quite ancient. Overall , a memorable stay

I visited the historic Nikko Kanaya Hotel to carry out some work on the facilities, and I was truly impressed by how spacious and well-maintained it was. The building exudes a sense of history and elegance, and everything is kept spotlessly clean and in excellent condition. You can really sense the pride and care that goes into preserving this classic hotel.

We are foreigners. We specifically arranged a trip to Nikko to celebrate my husband's birthday. Having heard about the history of Nikko Kanaya, we specially booked a one-night stay on Agoda. The positive aspects of the hotel are as follows: 1. The dinner included in the one-night stay with two meals was especially delicious. 2. The birthday cake we pre-ordered (a 9cm cake priced at 2800 yen) was beautiful and exquisite. 3. The night tour guide of the hotel was interesting, and we learned a lot about the hotel's history. The aspects that were less satisfactory: 1. Although there are many foreign tourists in Nikko, the overall English proficiency of most of the hotel's staff is poor. They basically speak Japanese in daily conversations, especially in the restaurant. There are no English introductions to the dishes, so we can only guess, which is very unfriendly to foreigners. 2. Not sure if it was due to their limited English communication skills, but when we checked in, we were not informed about the hotel tour at 5 pm or the early morning walk tour the next day (500 yen per person). Although we are foreigners, we would have been happy to participate in these activities. Of course, these activities were all conducted in Japanese. 3. All the window seats in the restaurant were empty during dinner, but we were told they were all reserved, so we couldn't enjoy the beautiful view through the window. Even though we had informed them in advance that we were celebrating a birthday, no staff member had informed us in advance whether we needed to reserve a window seat. 4. The birthday cake we pre-paid for was great, but the waiter didn't bring birthday candles when serving it. So we couldn't blow out the candles and make a wish, which was very regretful. 5. As mentioned in other reviews, the rooms in the main building of the hotel are very old, which is not commensurate with the booking price. The staircases and corridors have an unpleasant smell. Although we are foreigners, we have stayed in many resort hotels in both urban and rural areas of Japan, and the overall hardware configuration here did not meet our expectations. 6. There is no separate meal set for children on the breakfast menu, and the price of a la carte items is extremely high. A glass of milk costs 800 yen, which shocked us. In short, Kanaya Hanaya Hotel itself is very attractive, but the overall service and the feeling the hotel gives are a kind of "noble indifference". We don't know if the experience would be better as a Japanese citizen, but overall, it's not worth it for foreign tourists, and we won't choose to stay here again.