Verified review
6/10 Good
Verified traveler
Mar 3, 2017
Great hotel, but no station pickup/area shuttle
Our experience at Hotel Ryutouen was mixed. Our traditional Japanese-style room was great and the staff was overall very kind and helpful. We also enjoyed the hotel's public bathing area. However, I would not be able to recommend this hotel to those traveling in Japan without a car. Here is why...
The hotel listing says that "Free train station pickup" is available. Yet, when we called the morning prior to our arrival, we were told that we needed to confirm with them at least 3 days prior to our arrival. I find this to be a bit unreasonable. Rather than being picked up as planned (which was one of the reasons we booked the hotel in the first place), we had to arrange our own transport from the train station, which by bus is about 1000 yen per person round trip and obviously more by taxi.
The hotel listing also states "Free area shuttle." When I inquired about this, I was told they do not have a shuttle. However, the shuttle van was sitting in the parking lot, so my guess is that they may offer this during peak times when they have enough guests to make it worth it to them. This was pretty disappointing given that the hotel is a bit remote and even their own restaurant was not open the evening we stayed there.
Apart from the transportation issues, we enjoyed this hotel and would recommend it to anyone who has their own vehicle.