Sankara Hotel & Spa Yakushima

A wonderful hotel! We were collected from the airport by the hotel, for the 30 minutes drive. On arrival the staff were so welcoming. We had 2 villas (upstairs and downstairs). The hotel is on a very steep hill, but the staff collect you in buggies whenever you want so don’t let the hill put you off! The main building housed the lounge and restaurant - and we helped ourselves to drinks at the bar before dinner (excellent selection of drinks and snacks available throughout the day/evening). We used the hotel’s car for one day to see the island (self drive) which was so useful. We were contacted in advance of our stay to discuss our dietary requirements. Breakfast and dinner were exceptional. We stayed 3nts, and on our last we just fancied a simple meal instead so ordered from the room service menu, but still ate in the main restaurant which was lovely. The hotel has a great laundry room where you can use the washer/dryer whenever you want. We have stayed in many Small Luxury Hotels of the World - but without any doubt, this hotel had the best service and truly outstanding staff. We absolutely loved this hotel!

Everything about our stay was amazing. Sankara was easily one of the best hotels we have ever stayed in around the world. They made our honeymoon incredibly special.

Getting to the hotel involves a flight to the Island. Pick up by the hotel was included. Walking into the lobby you look out at the water. The picture on Tripadvisor's page for the hotel does not do the view justice. Our welcome was warm with a nice drink and after a quick check in on the deck, we were offered a tour of our room. We opted to sit on the deck, unwind and order lunch. We finally left for our room which was a villa that housed two units. We had the upper suite. Inside was a very largenice room. The highlight of the room was a large indoor shallow hot tub, which was fabulous in the bathroom While meals were included we opted for the extra cost chief style French dinner. There were about 10 dinners seated around a large hotplate. The chief made and described each course with many local ingredients. We ordered wine by the glass. The hotel has a large wine cellar. The meal was very memorable. The next night we ate in the main dining room and again the meal was fabulous. I asked for the wine list, which mixed up our server. Finally the wine list was found and it was extensive with some great sections. The pastry chief stood proudly in front of her amazing creations insisting you taste as many as you wished. The desserts were clearly French style and rivalled the best French patisserie. Hotel and restaurant was refined and and warm. We took a day trip by local bus to tour the island. A great stay.

We had a most wonderful time at this beautiful hotel. The view out to sea is amazing as are the grounds. Our ground floor villa room was huge with everything we could possibly want. However, what makes this hotel stand out are the staff. Their attention to detail was incredible. They took time to understand our dietary requirements and we ate the most amazing dinners and breakfasts. The wonderful bread was an unexpected bonus. This is the only hotel I have ever stayed at where they even ran a bath for us ready for when we returned from a hike! The staff were friendly and engaging. Yes, it rains a lot in Yakushima, particularly in June, but the beauty of the Island and this hotel is simply breathtaking.

I’ve traveled all over the world, and I can say with certainty that this was one of the best hotel experiences I’ve ever had. They are kind & welcoming hosts - and the rooms were incredible. Great English, and even better service. Plus, the food was OUTSTANDING. Don’t hesitate to stay here if you find yourself in Yakushima!

We stayed three nights at the Sankara in a first floor villa room, which is their least expensive. We also had upgraded our dinner to have it in the Oras restaurant, which was their nicer restaurant, The cottage was nicely laid out, and comfortable. Meals were superb,and among the best that we have had. For the three dinners, we sat at the chefs counter, which is highly recommended. The dinners were all amazing, and no dish was repeated. Although styled as French, it was really Japanese with local fresh ingredients, although a few dishes required a fork and knife. They also listened to our food likes and dislikes. Breakfast was also amazing, with great pastries and cooked dishes. We highly recommend the crepe. My wife took advantage of the spa and had an excellent shiatsu massage and also a Thai message, which was by a Thai masseuse. The stag was very attentive NS responsive, and remembered what we wanted, and who we were. Of the seven hotels we stayed at in Kyushu, this one had the most and best English speakers.

After a great time at Sankara (and Yakushima overall) 2 years ago, we decided that a return visit was in order. Would a second stay serve to enhance or diminish the fond memories we had from 2019? I can emphatically say that our love affair with Sankara was reaffirmed - no aspect of our experience caused a blemish to the fond memories we had. The food, spa, service, accommodations - they were all exceptional yet again. We thoroughly enjoyed the Sankara Villa Suite during our prior stay, but decided this time to go for the top room, the Sankara Suite. It's a gigantic 126m² in size, and has separate bedroom/living room/dining room, an indoor and open-air bath, and even a spa room with massage beds (for 2 people) where you can get treatments in the comfort of your Suite if you prefer. It also had an expansive balcony with views of the Ocean. Although we loved the Sankara Suite, there were some aspects to it that would have us recommend the Sankara Villa Suite (at least the one we stayed in, which was Room #10) over the Sankara Suite. For starters, the panoramic view of the ocean from the Villa Suite is completely unobstructed, unlike in the Villa Suite, which - while still very nice - had roofs that were visible in the line of sight, partly because the Villa Suite is more elevated. And the Villa Suite is still spacious (104m².) We also felt that the spa room in the Sankara Suite was overkill and unnecessary - it's a very short (and covered) walk from the Sankara Suite to the actual Spa, and Mrs. KI-NRT wanted to check out the spa products on display in any case, so having the therapists come to our room wasn't such a valuable luxury worth paying the huge price difference between the two rooms. Which leads me to my second point... Sankara is very, very expensive. Even the entry-level rooms are not cheap by any means. The Sankara Suite is not quite double the price of the Villa (which is already in nosebleed room rate territory), but at the prices that they charge, you sort of demand perfection and then some. Thankfully, Sankara's overall experience was so extraordinary that it somewhat justifies the exhorbitant rates. It's worth noting that breakfast at Ayana and dinner at the amazing Okas restaurant were included in our room rate. While there are many wonderful boutique luxury hotels and ryokans in Japan, in many ways Sankara takes service, convenience and amenities to an Aman-like level. Airport transfers are complimentary and private (each group of guests get their own driver and van), they have a fleet of vehicles that you can rent by the hour (and you'll want to drive because getting around in Yakushima via public transport is extremely inconvenient) and - while they don't assign a butler to you - most (if not all) of our preferences from our previous stay were recorded and remembered. For instance, they knew that we don't like Champagne, so as a welcome offering in our room, they had a nice bottle of wine waiting for us upon arrival. What's