Hotele Hot Springs w: Hyogo Prefecture, Japan

Nice, modern and new hotel in Kinosaki onsen with great hospitality from the hotel owner and his staff. I was welcomed by the owner at the door when I arrived, and they even prepared a beautiful greeting card on my arrival. Welcome drink was provided and the owner recommended good restaurants and provided the USP of each onsen in Kinosaki. The room is spacious, clean and new! I especially like the Japanese style of the hotel. Yutaka and 1-day onsen pass were provided for my stay. As the next day I had to move to another hotel, the owner very kindly helped me to transport my luggage to another hotel near the JR station. Overall, excellent stay, excellent people and excellent breakfast! :) Would love to visit Kinosaki onsen again and stay with Utsuroi Tsuchiya.

We had an unforgettable stay at Matsuya in Kinosaki. From start to finish, everything was exceptional. The service was truly some of the best I’ve ever experienced—warm, attentive, and genuinely thoughtful. A special shoutout to Cho, a new team member from Vietnam who is studying Japanese. She was incredibly kind and made our stay even more memorable. Our room was spotless, beautifully appointed, and offered such a cool and authentic traditional Japanese experience. The kaiseki dinner was incredible—relaxing, beautifully presented, and absolutely delicious. We had an early train and couldn’t stay for breakfast, but based on dinner alone, I’m sure it would have been amazing. At check-in, we were given yukatas and traditional sandals to wear around town, which made the whole visit even more special. The onsens were wonderfully relaxing, and the town itself was friendly, charming, and exactly what we hoped for. I highly recommend staying at Matsuya if you want to experience the absolute best of Japanese hospitality, culture, and relaxation. Truly a highlight of our trip. We are a LGBTQ+ traveling couple and felt very welcomed.

We stayed at the hotel in October 2024. We took two rooms for two. Pros: 1. Magnificent rooms in the style of a classic ryokan: everything is very beautiful, authentic, lots of small details, notes and tips for guests, interesting trinkets in the room. We had beds, not futons, but this is not a minus - the beds are very comfortable. The view from the room (3rd floor) is of the mountains. The cleanliness is perfect, the room has everything that should be in a classic ryokan room: from tatami to a low table for relaxing. 2. Incomparable kaiseki dinner. Excellent sukiyaki breakfast (you cook it yourself). 3. The most beautiful interiors of the hotel, it is interesting to walk around it, exploring it from the inside. The hotel is beautiful from the outside too. 4. You can smoke in the rooms (we did not do this, and the rooms are not smoked at all). There is a smoking room at the entrance to the hotel. 5. Wonderful staff. All requests and complaints are satisfied within minutes. They speak English poorly, but it's not a problem, we communicated through a translator. The guys are cool, cheerful. Quick check-in, a bunch of reminders about where and when to come / what and how to do correctly. 6. There is a private onsen (we did not use it). 7. They give a free pass to 7 public onsen. They give discounts on souvenirs. 8. They give excellent yukatas for onsen, for women - they will give beautiful ones, the choice is huge. Nuances: 1. The only downside of the hotel is the distance from the center of Kinosaki (15-20 minutes walk through not very beautiful places). But! There is a free transfer from the hotel to the city center, plus there is a transfer station-hotel-station. And the walk from the hotel to the center of Kinosaki did not bother us much. 2. This is not a business hotel, so there is no washing machine, iron or shower in the room. The shower (and in fact - onsen) is shared on the minus first floor - separate for men and women.

I'm fairly certain this hotel used to be the Daiwa Royal Hotel. I've stayed here many times before, even under its previous name, but this was my first visit since the rebranding. Considering the high price, the amenities provided were quite basic. On a positive note, the complimentary drinks and snacks were a nice touch. The most significant disappointment was the 50-minute wait for breakfast. Had this not been an issue, my stay would have been far more satisfactory. During peak times, such as the busy summer holiday season, I strongly suggest they consider expanding the breakfast area or increasing its capacity. Despite the wait, the breakfast itself was absolutely fantastic. Unfortunately, this lengthy delay significantly impacted our sightseeing plans for the day.

The room was quite spacious, and the massage chair was a pleasant surprise – very comfortable to use. The room introduction was quite detailed, and it was my first time experiencing a traditional Japanese onsen ryokan. The tatami mats were interesting, and I slept well. The entire hotel felt like a museum; despite its age, it had a lot of character. I felt like I got a deeper understanding of Japanese culture, which I really appreciated. The service, apart from being led to our room with traditional Japanese bows and the room introduction, was mostly self-service. However, this was my first time staying at a 'one night, two meals' ryokan, so I'm not sure if all onsens are like this. We also didn't have large luggage, just our bags, so maybe that's why we didn't notice any issues with luggage service. On a positive note, the front desk immediately knew which pair of shoes were ours when we checked out, which was good service. On the downside, the room's air conditioning unit was so well hidden that it took ages to find, and I was cold for quite a while. The phone either didn't work or I couldn't figure out how to use it. Also, we booked the private onsen from 8 PM to 9:30 PM. After relaxing for a bit, it was already close to 11 or 12. The public onsen closed from 12 AM to 1 AM, so we couldn't use it. We needed about 8 or 9 hours of sleep, and breakfast was scheduled for 9 AM. After breakfast, from 9:30 AM to 11 AM, the public onsen was closed. When we asked, the front desk informed us that check-out was strictly at 11 AM and we couldn't use the public onsen after checking out. So, we missed out on the public onsen, which was a real shame and couldn't be negotiated. In any five-star hotel in any country I've traveled to, it's usually possible to discuss using facilities after check-out. But it seems traditional onsen ryokans are all this rigid. While that might be how Japanese people are, for a hotel of this price, and for clearly inexperienced foreigners (we were even reminded we wore our kimonos the wrong way), when asking about meal times, couldn't they have kindly informed us that we needed to plan our breakfast, dinner, and onsen times accordingly? The food was light and flavorful. I don't eat seafood, and they were able to adjust the meals to my preferences. Communication two months prior was very responsive. However, for us, it was a bit too plain; Japanese people would probably love it. This was my first trip with my husband after giving birth, and I had been looking forward to the onsen part for a long time. I was very happy on the check-in day, but not being able to use the public onsen on the second day was still a big regret.

The hotel is very clean and tidy. The room and dining area are very nice. Dinner was good, buffet breakfast was great with a lot of choices. The hotel was located on the hill so it is okay to walk down to the shops and spots located around the train station, but not quite possible to walk up back to the hotel. Shuttle bus service is available between train station and hotel upon arrival and departure. The shopkeeper of the snack shop at the train station was very nice to help call the hotel to pick us up at the station. You can also take a taxi to the hotel which cost us only 700 yen.

Enjoyed our stay and experiencing our first onsen and kaiseki! They provided us with yukatas and passes to access the public baths, also had 3 private onsens on site. Friendly staff, lots of food included in the dinner and breakfast which they serve in your room and set up/pack up your bedding, with option for continental breakfast on our 2nd day instead of japanese style. Quiet, clean and futon bed was surprisingly comfortable. It’s about 8min walk from the train station which was fine for us but there’s a bus shuttle option right outside the station, and the hotel also offer bag drop off for a small fee when you leave so you don’t need to carry them. It’s close to the ropeway that you can ride up for nice views. Also right near the best public onsen in our opinion. (Be sure to check the onsen hours we missed out on one and note 2 are currently closed for renovations). A few things worth noting - breakfast is served early, you can pick 8 or 8.30am. If you are sensitive to light, it’s not completely dark when sleeping, sun comes through the windows as it has the traditional paper screen style. Also there in not a shower in your room, you need to use the onsen showers (either the private ones on site which you can’t book so can’t guarantee availability but both times we wanted to use them we were able to, or at the public onsens.) Overall we would recommend staying here to treat yourself to some peaceful rest and relaxation.

I had low expectations for this trip and was pleasantly surprised! Firstly, the town itself is so beautiful and cozy, you can take your time and just enjoy it! Secondly, the hotel is top-notch! The service and politeness of the staff are amazing, and the hotel's interior and courtyard are beautiful! The onsen at the hotel is stunningly beautiful, with everything thought out to the smallest detail! The rooms are very authentic, as is everything else, and the breakfast buffet is amazing! The transfer service was also well thought out, and of course, the yukata is simply wonderful and fits every size! I can go on and on about how much I enjoyed it! Thank you!

The location and views are superb, and the staff provide top-notch service. The breakfast buffet offers excellent quality food, and the hot springs are clean and feature a semi-open-air bath. Overall, this Japanese-style hotel offers extremely high value for money. They even include a hot spring hopping pass for the surrounding public baths, have a wide selection of beautiful kimonos to choose from, and proactively offer shuttle service to and from the JR station. The room views are simply unbeatable. There are countless advantages, I highly recommend it!

The hotel is easy to find, right next to the Nanjing Ding plaque. The alleyways nearby are full of food options, which is very convenient. The front desk staff speak both English and Chinese, so communication was not an issue at all. The hot spring has long opening hours, and there's a washer and dryer available, so you can check from your room when it's free before heading down. I've stayed at Dormy Inn several times, and I personally feel that as long as the location suits your needs, you can book blindly without worrying about a bad experience.