Le Grand Karuizawa Hotel&Resort

Beautiful rooms, wonderful staff, and stunning food. I wish I'd stayed longer. The only letdown was missing the onsen: last entry is at 21:15, and the dinner courses take almost two hours. Even starting dinner at 19:00 meant I couldn't make it.

We had a lovely view and a comfortable room, but the staff member who showed us to it was in such a rush, spoke loudly, and wasn't polite. That cost the stay two stars for me.

We were very happy with the stay overall, but I never did get to use the onsen, which was one reason I booked the resort. At the Yamanoue Suite, it wasn't clear how to call for a buggy, and there usually wasn't any staff visible nearby. It was inconvenient, and cold in winter, so I didn't try. We had a three-night package with breakfast and dinner. We missed the first breakfast but went to the other two. There was a decent selection, though it was much the same each morning. Dinner was a French set menu that changed every night. We ordered one child's meal to share between our two boys each evening. It was impressive, though not all of it suited toddlers, which was fine since it wasn't meant to be a toddler meal. The staff seemed to understand that our 18-month-old twins couldn't sit long and served us efficiently without compromising service. There was some confusion about dining times because of the language barrier, but it wasn't a big deal. We rented a car and booked the Yamanoue Suite Twin because it had a separate room where the toddlers could sleep while we did other things. It was very large, and the boys were delighted to run around and explore. Unfortunately, although an email had said two cots could be provided, the hotel could only supply one paid cot per room, probably for safety reasons. Luckily the beds were very big, so we were able to co-sleep with each child without any problem. There was no view from the room, though the resort itself has a stunning one.

The onsen water was fantastic, especially for the skin, and every employee gave great service. Rooms and common spaces are very spacious. On the downside, breakfast was pretty bad, about on par with a Route Inn, and the mattresses felt cheap and quite worn. The hotel is a bit out of the way, but from spring through fall there's plenty of outdoor space to sit and enjoy the nature and slightly remote setting.