Sunriver Oboke

Breakfast had plenty of choices and was delicious, and the onsen was okay, with a nice view though it felt small. The room was a much worse experience: I counted seven bugs as I entered, five in the hallway and two on the curtains inside. They sent a staff member to catch the visible ones instead of changing our room, and two more appeared later that night. The Wi-Fi connected but had no internet. We stayed two nights. The first dinner, the Iya Valley course, was good. On the second night we were told there would be some menu changes, but for the same course and price we got two fewer dishes. Dessert had changed from cake to just fruit, dashi rice to plain white rice, and seven sashimi slices to three. When we asked, staff insisted there had been no mistake with the food. The room was 1/5, Wi-Fi 1/5, onsen 3/5, breakfast 4/5, and the second dinner 1/5.

The corridor was under renovation while the hotel remained open, with rooms still being rented on one side. A foul smell filled the whole floor and drifted into my room. I asked to move, but the hotel refused outright and ignored the problem. Their attitude was very bad and felt completely irresponsible. I contacted KLOOK customer service in KL. They were polite but didn’t fix anything, then offered just 10% compensation as a coupon, which felt meaningless. I won’t book through KLOOK again.

The onsen was the best part. It was nice, and I imagine the view would make it worthwhile, though I was there at night and couldn’t see it. Wearing the provided kimono added to the whole experience. The train themed room was certainly surreal, laid out like a carriage with railway items, a diorama, and actual train seats. The beds were Japanese mattresses on the floor. The room smelled odd and the diorama was dusty. The staff member who greeted us struggled a bit with English and confused us about the dinner time, so we missed the meal and ended up getting instant noodles at a convenience store.

At first, the place has a quirky Faulty Towers sort of feel, but its charm grew on me. The building sits oddly on the edge of a gorge above a stunning river. Our twin Japanese style room had a sitting room and was very nice, though a little rough around the edges. The Onsen facilities were great, with a lovely forest view, and both the staff and breakfast buffet were exceptional.