GAHAMA terrace

The staff were friendly and the service was great, especially Thao, who served our dinner at gahama. The food had some hits and misses, but mostly hits, so no complaints. We ate at gahama one night and seikai the next, and preferred the food at gahama. Its private room for both dinner and breakfast was a big plus. We stayed on the 10th floor in a room with an onsen and jacuzzi. The onsen was mostly covered in nasty black stains and looked nothing like the website photo, so we ended up using only the jacuzzi on both nights.

The bugs made this stay extremely disappointing. We paid 5,449 HKD, around 702 USD or 619 EUR, for one night with Kaiseki dinner and a Japanese-style breakfast. The dinner itself was delicious, but the service rushed us through its nine courses. We arrived at 7:00 PM as requested and were told to eat before checking in, which was fine. The email said last order was 7:30 PM, but the waitress kept bringing each new dish before we’d finished the previous one. I asked her to slow down, then asked again when nothing changed. She blamed us for being late and said last order was 7:00 PM. I showed her the email, and she apologized and told me to ring a bell when we were ready for the next course. The rushed pace took away from the meal. We booked the Seaside Maisonette, with indoor and outdoor hot springs divided by glass and a net panel meant to keep insects out. The shower is in the indoor hot spring area, and there’s no other shower or bath in the room. When I undressed, I found four spiders, several flying bugs, and lots more crawling on the walls. I was frightened, but had no choice but to shower with them around me. There were three spiders by the hot spring too, and when I finally stepped in, the water was scalding and burned me. There should be a warning about the temperature and instructions to test the water first. We called the hotel, and they offered us another room. My husband checked it and found the glass and net panels shut tight with no bugs in sight. I was too shaken to use the hot spring again, though, and then found two spiders in that room as well, one upstairs and one downstairs. My husband caught them, but I still felt uneasy all night. The next morning the front desk didn’t acknowledge the previous night or offer an apology or any care. Breakfast was bland, and the fish had so many bones it was hard to enjoy. Despite the tasty Kaiseki dinner, the rushed service, infestation, scalding water, and lack of care left us deeply disappointed. I can’t recommend this hotel based on our stay.

The room was huge and clean, and ours had a private onsen with an ocean view. So relaxing and vibey ❤️ There’s happy hour in the lounge with live music and free cava, white wine, and red wine. The little snacks were really tasty, especially the Oita mushroom dish. It was a little hard to have a conversation in English with the front desk staff, but the place was so nice I couldn’t bring myself to take off a star.

My room was phenomenal, large and comfortable, with an onsen and a patio. It’d be a great place to bug out on a romantic getaway. Breakfast was delicious and had tons of variety, and the staff were super friendly and took care of everything I needed. Beppu was an amazing city, and this hotel made it even better. One of the nicest places I’ve stayed while traveling in Japan. Highly recommend it for a visit. It’s worth every penny.