Kawana Hotel

A lovely resort with an old-timey atmosphere and great service.

The onsen was great, the views were spectacular, and the staff were really nice and helpful. Service was good too. The food was okay, but the room was very outdated and the A/C didn’t work. Pretty pricey for what it is.

The hotel is old and beautiful, and the staff are polite, but they seem to assume every guest is a millionaire. The pool is nice, yet sitting on a plastic chair beside it costs 5,000 yen. It’s ridiculous. They sent us to the “free space” in a corner, far from the “respectable people”, and told us to move our bag and belongings away from the pool and into that area. A family paying 130,000 yen for three nights isn’t necessarily rich. Those 5,000 yen for two plastic recliners could cover two or three days of food for a household. A cup of coffee at the hotel cafe is 950 yen, plus 23% tax and service charge. A breakfast tray is 3,500 yen, and menu prices are crazy. There’s nowhere else to eat nearby because the hotel is secluded. You can bring your own food, but management doesn’t like it, and there’s no microwave to heat it. Be prepared to spend at least 15,000 yen per person per day on food and services like a chair!

The staff were excellent and very helpful when we needed taxis or directions. We stayed here to play the fuji golf course and had a nice time, though it isn’t easy to reach from the train lines. The pool was closed during our stay, 11 July - 12 July, which was disappointing. We skipped the restaurants because they seemed overpriced. There are a few restaurants nearby, as well as a 7-11 and lawsons. The hotel has charm despite feeling dated. Its lobby is small, with several large adjoining rooms, one of which has a very nice fireplace. The bathrooms in the rooms have been updated, but the rooms themselves could use some updating.