Karuizawa Hotel Longing House

The location is decent, with a 7 eleven less than a five minute walk away. I stayed in a room in the western new building, which was fine, and the hotel itself has a lot of character. The Halloween decorations were a nice touch. The way my checkout was handled really upset me. I’d booked from Friday to Monday, but after a medical emergency on Saturday night I had to leave for Tokyo. I went to the lobby, checked out, and said I understood there’d be no refund, which was fine. They still charged me for Sunday breakfast even though I’d left Saturday night. Since it’s a buffet, not a custom order or limited seating, I thought that was absurd and felt they took advantage of my situation. I wouldn’t recommend the hotel to friends or family because of this.

We booked this hotel for a getaway, but the state of the lobby and public facilities was poor as soon as we walked in. The room was worse: stains on the carpet and sheets, broken bathroom tiles, and black and pink mold. The bathroom surfaces, TV, desk, and walls also clearly hadn’t been cleaned properly. Since the hotel advertises its bathing amenities, cleanliness should matter. We couldn’t trust the facilities and decided not to stay, even though we had only seen the room. The staff were unhelpful and seemed unconcerned. They offered only a 7,400 yen discount on a room that cost 36,000 yen. The assistant manager showed no concern or basic hospitality skills. We’ll be contacting the company further.

If you want a countryside-style hotel instead of a modern city one, this is a great fit. There’s a Thai restaurant about a five minute walk away, and I had some of the best chicken of my life there. Definitely a must try.

The breakfast was pretty decent, and the reception staff and people at the breakfast venue were kind. That was the upside of our stay at the Chalet of Regret last weekend. The place looked like a fake Swiss chalet imagined by someone who’d only seen Switzerland on a blurry postcard, with decor straight out of a yodeler’s garage sale. And those pillows felt stuffed with crushed dreams and leftover parking lot gravel. My neck is still ready to file for divorce.