Rakuten STAY TERRACE Hakone Kowakudani

Getting around Hakone on foot isn’t easy, so having a great hotel mattered to us. This room felt personal and was incredibly well equipped: three screens, two onsens, a steam sauna, a telescope, and a fridge stocked with excellent wine. Customer service through the iPad was prompt and great. Housekeeping isn’t available for stays under three nights, which was a bit inconvenient. I understand the self-driven cleanliness and tidiness they promote in Japan. We had an amazing experience, and I’d recommend it to anyone visiting the Hakone area.

During our five-night family stay, the breaker tripped four times. It seemed clearly tied to the hotel’s electrical system and room management, not anything we did. The lack of urgency made matters worse. No one checked on us unless we called, and I had to contact customer service repeatedly to get anything done. On the first night, around 12:30 AM, it tripped while we were only using the AC and TV. Power came back briefly, then went out again and couldn’t be restored. They said the hotel was full and refused to move us, so my family spent the night without heating or AC until dawn. That’s more than uncomfortable for a family, it’s a basic safety and hospitality failure. On the evening of day three, after we’d been told maintenance would fix it, the breaker tripped again while we were making dinner. Staff apologized but offered no real solution or follow-up. Then on day four, the day before checkout, there was another outage. We were left in the dark while the team discussed things, and they moved us only after I insisted several times. I emailed afterward to ask for compensation and got no reply. I travel to Japan often, and this was my worst hotel stay. If you want a stable, comfortable stay with proper support in Hakone, especially with family, pick another hotel.

The place was comfortable, with huge beds and a nice view. It came with a washer and dryer, and the tub was already full of hot water. There was also a hot footbath outside on the balcony. Hot springs and a convenience store weren’t far away, and it was a nice spot to eat and drink.

The private outdoor footbath, hot spring tub, and sauna were all fantastic. The tub water initially came out cold, which confused me, but it warmed up nicely after sitting for a few minutes. This is a self-service hotel, so luggage forwarding isn’t available. We went from Tokyo with just backpacks, which worked much better since Hakone trains are usually packed and awkward with big suitcases. They send the check-in details and access passcode by email one to two days before your stay. It’s about a five-minute walk downhill from the station. In some places there’s no sidewalk, so you have to walk along the road.