Rakuten STAY Nikko Hoden No pets allowed Capacity of 8 persons

The beds were comfortable, and I appreciated having a kitchen and washer-dryer. The apartment is nicely appointed, but it could use reading lights, somewhere to store clothes, and a luggage rack. The location isn't very practical without a car. The big screen was good for watching movies and TV.

Check-in was an absolute disaster, and it ruined our day in Nikko. We'd followed the pre-arrival instructions the night before, but processing our passports took an hour. After traveling from Tokyo, my family of five, including three young children, was exhausted and needed the toilet. There was nobody at reception. Then we spent another hour messing around in a small booth, scanning passport photos on a tablet just to get the check-in number. No matter how good the room is, I won't use this company again. Avoid it.

The rooms are okay, but the floors and walls are thin enough that you can hear neighbors walking and talking when you're trying to sleep. There's nothing to stop teenagers from having parties on the property late at night, so light sleepers should avoid booking here.

Our room was on the second floor and there was no elevator, which made the stairs a workout on our first day. Even so, this was a great choice for our family of five on our first night in Japan. The comfortable room gave us the rest we needed while we adjusted to jet lag. The wooden tub in the room was a favorite, especially for relaxing during those early 4 AM wake-ups without shared hot spring areas or time limits like at many traditional Japanese hotels. There's also a washer-dryer combo in the room, and a 7-11 just a two-minute walk away.