Hotel shiki no yakata NASU

On my first visit I had the best room; on the second, I stayed in a room one level below it. Both stays were wonderful, and dinner and breakfast were excellent. I heard the chef had changed, but the food was still delicious. The open-air bath at Shiki no Yakata is small, but it has a quiet, refined feel. I could also use the open-air bath at the sister hotel next door. Soaking there at sunrise was amazing. I'd definitely like to visit a third time.

I stayed here quite some time ago. The seasonal French meals were elaborate, and I thought dinner and breakfast alone made the stay worthwhile. I'd like to come back in another season and try the different dishes. Though there are plenty of inns in Nasu, this one had a particularly relaxing atmosphere. The rooms open onto an outdoor corridor, which gives each one a sense of privacy and calm. The in-room hot spring was a little old but clean and relaxing. There's also a large public bath. With so few rooms, it was always empty when I went, even in the morning.

The room and open-air bath were nice, but late at night, around 10-11 pm, I found the footsteps overhead unsettling. They seemed to come from the staff's route upstairs. The shuttle arrangements between the front desk and driver were badly coordinated in both directions. On the return, I had a reservation but couldn't get on, so I had to find my own way back. For such an expensive hotel, the service disappointed me, and it didn't feel worth the price.

The restaurant's female staff were cheerful and smiling, and the French food was delicious, with local produce and plenty of seasonal vegetables. The bath in the room was nice, too. But the small outdoor bath only fit two or three people and had no view, so it hardly felt like an open-air bath. I happened to be alone there, but wouldn't have been able to relax with others in such a tight space. This was my second stay, and a standard room cost about 42,000 yen per person. Last time it rained and staff came to my car with an umbrella to get me. This time there was no such consideration, and I found the staff unfriendly and businesslike. The boiler on the terrace was noisy and unsettling. The bar hours and massage prices also differed from what the room information said, and the total cost felt too high. I stay at many ryokans, but the employee training here was so poor that I don't want to spend another yen there. I won't stay again.