Hachimantai Onsenkyo Hachimantai Heights

The onsen was fantastic, with distinctive mineral-rich water. The dinner was also very high quality, and the staff were attentive and informative. Thanks especially to the staff member who showed us to our room. It’s a lovely mountain retreat, with fresh, cool air at the high altitude and beautiful trees all around.

The private room hot bath tub, with its forest view, was so peaceful. It felt worth the time and £. The staff were all attentive, diligent, and very polite. Nosaka was especially kind, hardworking, and friendly, and gave us great hospitality. The food was good too, and I’d encourage others to try the hotel for the food and high quality service.

The welcoming, pleasant staff were the one good part of our stay. Everything else was a letdown. The photos are misleading, and we arrived to a cigarette smell in the rundown foyer. Compared with the Hachimantai Mountain Hotel, where we’d stayed for 3 nights just before this, Hachimantai Heights felt shockingly run down. The room was old, tired, and uncomfortable. The western style beds had springs that jabbed into my back, and the pillows were rock hard and almost unusable. There were no USB ports, which made the place feel like it was from the 60’s. The rooms only had a toilet, no showers. It also cost a lot more than the Mountain Hotel, where most rooms had been renovated to a good standard. We won’t return and wouldn’t recommend it. This was the worst Japanese hotel we’ve stayed in.

The meal was exceptional, above average for a hotel of this grade, and the staff were amazing. But the decor and facilities are seriously outdated. The room temperature couldn’t be adjusted, and some equipment, including the onsen, needed fixing. I stayed in a regular room, though their ads show some special rooms that are modern and upscaled.