Chateau Shangri-La

The owner was very kind, and breakfast was filling and delicious. The price was surprisingly low. The slope is steep, but if you leave your car at the bottom and tell the owner, he'll park it for you.

The owner was gentle and attentive, and I had a good impression of him. I stayed for one night over two days, first in a Western-style room and then a Japanese-style room. Both had a fridge, LCD TV, and air conditioning. Towels and toothbrushes were provided, as were shampoo and body soap in the unit bath. The rooms were clean, but it was a shame that dust and mold on the light bulbs and window frames stood out. There are restaurants and day-trip hot springs nearby at night, so the location works well if you're traveling by car. Be careful with parking. The stairs up to the pension are steep, and so is the slope right in front of them. I'm not sure a two-wheel-drive minivan could make it up. My car slipped and couldn't climb, perhaps because I was carrying a heavy load for a camping trip the next day. They directed me to a different lot from the usual one. Hope this helps everyone 🙇‍♂️

I woke up to birdsong, especially the beautiful Japanese bush warbler. From the hilltop location, the view was spectacular, with the Izu Seven Islands and Boso Peninsula visible. Apparently, seeing as far as Miyakejima is rare, and volcanic smoke can sometimes be spotted. I booked a no-meals plan for ¥5,940 per person after deciding at the last minute to stay another night in Izu. It was the only option, and I wanted breakfast, so I called to ask. They accommodated me, and the total came to ¥6,696. I only saw one staff member, who I think was the owner. He was gentle and polite. Though I'd ordered breakfast on short notice, it was satisfying and delicious, with a hot sandwich as the main dish. The shared bath was in a tower-like area. If someone was in it, nobody else could go in, so it was private use. The room also had a modular bath, though it was naturally small. The building was much older than it looked in the photos. Wallpaper was peeling at the seams in many places, and parts of the outside stair railings were rusty and rotten. The common hallway smelled of cigarettes, and I wasn't sure the room air conditioning even worked. The inn was hard to find after dark, and the parking lot was small and up a steep slope. At first I wondered if it could really be the right place. The stairs from the lot to the building were steep too, so I'd recommend avoiding a nighttime check-in. I felt anxious and frustrated about several things, but by morning, given all of that and the owner's kind manner, I was able to check out feeling refreshed.

The area wasn't lit at night, which made it hard to get around safely, and the place seemed short on amenities. The sea may have been nice, but that wasn't one of our aims. The B&B felt almost rundown, with steep stairs as the only way up and railings so corroded they'd come loose from their anchors, making them dangerous rather than useful. The rooms were old, poorly maintained, and felt neglected and dirty. The owner may be friendly, but he speaks little or no English and wasn't helpful.