5-Star Hotels in Hakone

I live with my family. There is a one-year-old child who is very happy to wear a little yukata for the child^_^ The rooms are very nice and the view from the terrace is great. The guest room’s open-air bath is also very comfortable. The consideration for children and the customer service of the staff are great, so I really want to come back again.

Facilities: Excellent Cleanliness: Good Ambiance: Comfortable Service: Good Located on Gora mountain, there isn't much to explore nearby, but you can take a pleasant walk along the road with fresh air. The hotel facilities are excellent, and the half-board (two meals and one stay) is fantastic; both breakfast and dinner were delicious! After a satisfying meal, we enjoyed a very relaxing dip in the hot springs. The lobby offers tea and coffee, and in the evening, there are various snacks, alcoholic drinks, and other beverages available. The staff are very friendly. Overall, we are extremely satisfied.

This time, I brought my parents for a vacation, and after looking at many hotels, we finally settled on Suishoen. It was absolutely the right choice! The room was very new and spacious, with a private onsen inside. A stream flowed just outside the balcony, and we enjoyed soaking in the hot spring while listening to the sound of the flowing water. The mini-bar offered a great variety of new drinks and snacks. My parents soaked in the onsen twice a day, and their skin improved noticeably. On the first day, we chose the Kaiseki dinner, and every dish was impeccable. On the second day, we went for Teppanyaki, and my mom raved about it; it truly lived up to Michelin standards. There's a Lawson convenience store right outside the hotel, and a 7-Eleven about 500 meters away. We bought the Hakone Free Pass, and the hotel even dropped us off at the train station. We took the mountain train, the ropeway, and the pirate ship – we experienced it all! This Hakone trip was very satisfying!

As a Korean family living in the United States, we stayed here as a family of four with our two young children (40 months and 21 months old), and overall, we had a truly memorable experience. We booked through Trip.com, and because there were no clearly stated child occupancy policies during booking, we reserved the room as 3 adults. This later created some confusion during check-in, which I will mention below, but aside from that, nearly everything about this hotel was exceptional. First, the positives: The breakfast was outstanding—worthy of its Michelin Guide 2025 recognition. Every meal was beautifully prepared, thoughtful, and delicious. We chose a traditional Japanese-style room with tatami flooring, and for our family with young children, it was perfect. Being able to remove our shoes and comfortably live on the floor felt especially natural and relaxing as Asians, and parents with little children will understand how convenient and comfortable this setup is. The location is also excellent—within walking distance from Gora Station, where the mountain railway arrives. Even with two small children, the walk was very manageable. The onsen experience was wonderful, and the guest lounge available from morning until 10 PM was another highlight that made the stay feel luxurious and comfortable. The dining area itself deserves special praise. Enjoying breakfast and dinner while overlooking the beautiful inner garden pond was peaceful and elegant, and the restaurant service team was abundant, attentive, warm, and professional. It truly felt like top-class hospitality. Now, one disappointment: During check-in, one female staff member wearing a headscarf made several comments that felt unnecessarily cold and transactional. Because we booked as 3 adults, she repeatedly explained that our children could be accommodated because of that booking choice—as if we were receiving an exception—despite there being no clearly stated child policy during reservation. She also explained that only 3 adult yukata/lounge outfits had been prepared in the room because we booked for 3 adults, and said we could request children's clothing “if needed.” When I asked when we should request them, she simply repeated that we could ask when necessary. At that point, a more thoughtful hospitality approach would have been something simple like: “I see you have two young children—would you like us to prepare children’s outfits now?” That small difference would have reflected genuine care. At check-out, I again observed behavior that felt uncomfortable. A trainee staff member was assisting us, and when the trainee forgot to request identification, the same staff member visibly frowned and corrected the trainee in front of us. It felt unnecessarily tense and unprofessional in front of guests. What stood out was that every other staff member we encountered was warm, polite, smiling, and genuinely welcoming. They bowed, greeted us kindly, and made us feel respected. Only this one staff member felt noticeably different—cold enough that we were left wondering whether it was discomfort toward children, cultural bias, or simply a personal attitude issue. I travel frequently internationally for business in a senior executive role, and this was the first time I experienced service that felt this distinctly uncomfortable from a luxury hospitality employee. That said, I want to emphasize: everyone else at the hotel was wonderful, and the property itself is beautiful, peaceful, elegant, and family-friendly. We would gladly return—but I hope the warmth shown by the rest of the team becomes the standard reflected consistently by every member of staff.

Let's get the most important thing out of the way first: Fujiya Hotel offers both Western and Japanese Kikuka-so dinner options. DO NOT choose the Western dinner. It will ruin any positive experience you have at Fujiya. I saw reviews saying it wasn't good, but I thought, 'It's been open for so many years, surely it can't be *that* bad, maybe just mediocre.' I was terribly, terribly wrong. It was the worst Western meal I've ever had in Japan. Luckily, I booked the cheaper JPY 12,000 set menu. The appetizer, a seafood terrine, made me want to vomit immediately – it had a strong ammonia smell. The next course was another terrine, this time meat, completely bland, and the vinegar inside was rancid. The soup was carrot soup, which had an off-putting body odor smell when served, though it tasted okay. The three pieces of bread were cold, the baguette wasn't toasted, lacked any wheat aroma, and was tough. Only the butter was decent. For the main course, I chose duck. Again, completely unseasoned. There were no salt or pepper shakers on the table. I forced down one piece, but it was so bland I couldn't eat the other. The dessert, Mont Blanc and ice cream, was excessively sweet – a lethal dose of sugar that masked all other flavors. Just a small bite sent my blood sugar soaring. The ice cream was still rock-solid. Truly an eye-opener. I barely touched any of it; nothing was edible, and each dish was uniquely awful. The Western restaurant has two dining areas – a main restaurant and the small one I was in – sharing the same menu and kitchen. Avoid it at all costs. They don't even serve lunch. The chefs here aren't fit to tie the shoelaces of the chefs at the more affordable Hotel Nikko Kanaya in Chuzenji. That place, for only a little over a thousand yen, offered a fantastic half-board experience – fresh, delicious, and unforgettable. The Fujiya Western restaurant chefs must have lost their sense of taste and smell to spend so much time preparing such an inedible and foul-smelling meal. Absolutely nothing redeeming about it. For breakfast, I chose Kikuka-so, which was a simple and delicious meal. I ate everything. The seasoning at Kikuka-so was spot-on. The complimentary tea and coffee bar for guests was pretty average, nothing special, similar to cheaper hotels. Regarding the rooms, Fujiya Hotel consists of three buildings. The cheaper Forest Lodge looks like staff quarters. The Western Building, with its white and Western-style design, is very elegant. Of course, the most iconic building is the yellow, Western-style 'Hanagoten,' which is quite luxurious. There are high, medium, and low-end rooms to suit all budgets, and the quality matches the price. I stayed in Room 17 in the Western Building, and I was extremely satisfied. The room had high ceilings, was spacious, free of any odors, and had large, numerous windows with beautiful views. The only minor drawback was that the bathtub was only for soaking; there was no high fixture for a shower. It's very well-maintained. Overall, I didn't want to leave. The service was warm and attentive. Next time, I'd like to stay in a room in the Hanagoten. For transportation, there's a bus stop right outside, and a convenience store next to Kikuka-so. Overall, it's worth a stay.

The hotel was conveniently located within 3mins walking distance to Moto hakone bus stop. It is easy getting around via the bus but be sure to take note of the bus timing. It is also walking distance to the Tori Gate and Hakone Shrine. From our hotel room, we were happy to be able to see Mouth Fuji throughout our stay there.

The room facilities are complete, spacious, bright, and comfortable, with beautiful views outside the window. Waking up every morning to a stunning mountain view feels so refreshing. The breakfast selection is also plentiful and suits our taste perfectly. Sometimes, if we wake up early, we can even go for a hike outside the hotel, which is great! After a thirty-minute walk, we come back just in time for a delicious breakfast. In the evening, we can enjoy a hot spring bath ♨️ and then have a cup of local tea, which is very pleasant. The lobby restaurant also features different piano performances every day.

The hotel is located in a very secluded mountainous area. I stayed in an open-air hot spring villa with a large courtyard, and soaking in the hot spring was incredibly relaxing and wonderful, whether it was cloudy or sunny, day or night. The courtyard was beautiful on rainy days. The entire villa area was almost completely silent; aside from occasionally seeing people at mealtimes, I barely saw anyone else, which was very pleasant. The hot springs were also excellent, leaving my skin feeling smooth and moisturized. The room had a living room with a fireplace and a Bluetooth speaker, making it spacious and warm. This was the hotel's biggest draw. However, some small details were lacking. Some villas don't have parking, like mine, and walking to the parking lot was quite a trek. The bathroom area wasn't well-heated; the shower and toilet rooms were very cold unless the door was left open. The hotel's toiletries need improvement; the cotton pads were unusable, of very poor quality, falling apart into shreds when I tried to wipe my face. The bedding was also quite mediocre, not comfortable at all, and the mattress felt saggy. However, the linens were very clean and fresh, which was good. Cleanliness was so-so. Both the hot spring pool and the shower room, being made of wood, are prone to mold, and the hotel should clean them more thoroughly. The Kaiseki dinner was very ordinary. The taste and ingredients were unremarkable, though the price was also reasonable. There's no need to eat the hotel's Kaiseki if you have other options. The service was decent. They thoughtfully sent champagne for our anniversary, which was a nice touch. Check-in and check-out were handled in the room, and other services were quite proactive.

The hotel service is very good, the rooms are clean and the food is of high quality. Drinks including red and white wine, sake and snacks are available in the lobby after 8 o'clock. All drinks and gels in the room are also free. There are also telescopes provided, so you can see the stars in the dark night sky, which is very considerate. I stayed in three different hot spring hotels in Hakone. I checked into Gengensen Saryo on the second day. When I left, they would take me to nearby attractions in Hakone. The service was very good. When I checked into the third hotel in Hakone Yumoto, I found that I had left my ring at Gengensen Saryo. I immediately went to the reception to inform them. It turned out that they had already informed me via email in the afternoon, but I had not read the email. After confirming that the ring was in Gen, I planned to take a 45-minute drive back to the hotel to pick it up the next day, but they knew I was still in Hakone and sent someone to return the ring to me that night. I was very grateful and also felt very sorry. If I have the chance to visit Hakone again, I will definitely stay at Gengensen Saryo again.

Delicious!!! The private hot spring really does contain sulfur!!! The sulfur smell was a bit overpowering at first. We booked an outdoor private hot spring, and it was fine once the door was closed. I'm curious if the indoor hot spring will fill the room with the smell.