Urari Takeo Garden Terrace Spa Resorts

The facilities here are made for relaxing. There’s a gym, a meditation room with a closable pod for four people, and a massage room with some seriously wild massage chairs. On the second floor, the men’s and women’s onsens are separate. The fourth floor has a sauna with a view, a steam room, and pools with chairs and loungers in the water. The staff were incredibly helpful. Miku went out of her way to assist us despite the language barrier. Thanks too to the lovely hotel van driver, who took us to local restaurants and shops and picked us up from Takeo Onsen train station. For pure relaxation, this hotel is hard to beat!

We were glad we chose Takeo for our first night in Kyushu after a red-eye flight, even though it may be off the route for many tourists. The hotel has free lounge access for all ages, with unlimited alcohol, other drinks, and snacks. Our basic room had plenty of space for four adults and came with free iced drinks in the fridge. We paid for breakfast and dinner. The ingredients were simple and less elaborate than at other ryokans, but the food tasted better. The staff were helpful and did their best to speak with us in English, which we appreciated. It was a shame we couldn’t keep the hotel card key as a souvenir.

Breakfast was good, though it wasn’t a buffet. You can order from a free à la carte list, and I especially liked the siu mai and the really tasty curry rice. There are lots of sofas around the hotel, plus a large free lounge with beer, whisky, sake, soft drinks, juice, cake, and nuts. The staff were always smiling. Miku was especially nice, explaining how our room worked and warning us that the hot spring water was extremely hot. When we arrived at Takeo Onsen station, I asked at the information counter if they could call the hotel to arrange a van pickup. They sorted it out really well, which was handy since travelers normally don’t have a voice phone.

The kids were already saying they wanted to come back as soon as we left, lol. They loved playing in the spa as if it were a pool, and the food was really delicious. The free drinks and snacks were a surprise: beer, whiskey, wine, champagne, shochu, sake, juice, and simple snacks were all included. There was a wide range of amenities, and we didn’t have to ask the front desk for extra towels like we usually do. The staff were kind and polite, which helped us feel at ease, and the luxurious, relaxing setting delighted the kids.