Hakone Yutowa

Gora is my top tip for your base to explore Hakone, especially for the environmentally conscious, escape artist. We always got a seat on the rail, ropeway, bus and cable car. Everything from arrival to next day left baggage evening farewell was perfect for us. It's not a hot springs onsen (hence the 4 as awarning on facilities if that's your expectation), but in every other way this place goes above and beyond. Changing into our robes to wander the facilities was a great leveller with the other guests, fun and comfortable atire. Futon style, super comfortable thick mattresses. Fabulous Western shower but traditional private Onsen just along the corridor. Perfect unadeventurous buffet breakfast (eggs and bacon and pastries, tea and coffee)alongside every Japanese pickle and food type I had been hoping to sample. The lounge mainatained a wide range of free refreshments available through the day - snacks, afternoon cake, after dinner deserts and many free daytime hot and cold beverages, including alcohol in the evening, draft beer, spirits and mixers. We loved the free highly effective massage chairs, access to books to flick through. I had double booked due to problems with the Agoda site, and the staff worked hard to help me get a refund, which I did. The many windows surrounding us with trees and a beautiful daytime light, twinkly evening lights inside and out- a forever memory and a new happy place. Thank you p.s. evening meal at the Gora Bar & Grill was outstanding and reasonably priced, accommodating a vegetarian, fish and wagyu fan!

Really enjoyed my stay here. After a long day of walking around, soaking in the onsen felt amazing. It was so relaxing and exactly what I needed before another day of exploring. Would definitely stay here again.

The location is good. Facility is excellent. The foods are great. Great value for the money.

I was excited about this stay. It looks beautiful and got great reviews. It's also walkable from Gora Station making the location great. Bit when I arrived, what I found was a hotel that had lots of facilities to make it attractive to book, but it wasn't very guest friendly. Breakfast hours are 7am to 8:30am. If there was a large, spacious facility, I would be annoyed at the short window but predictably, it's a mess with everyone arriving at the same time so it's impossible to navigate the small buffet with so many people. The food was okay but nothing exceptional. The onsen was open until 6am-9:30am in the morning, and from 3pm-11pm at night. This was barley 12 hours a day. The bathing area was also made of extremely painful small rocks. It feels like walking on lego bricks. I came to Hakone specifically for onsen and this facility made me not want to use it. The private baths are better but you need to wait for your turn. The checkout time is a very early 10am. This hotel also brings in tour groups from Europe. I'm glad people can enjoy their time, but these large groups get quite rowdy and loud. If you're looking for One of these things would not garner a low rating, but the combination of everything made it feel unwelcoming. I will not be coming back. Minor gripe but the layout of the hotel is extremely confusing. It's split into 3 buildings and level 1 on a building doesn't connect to level 1 on the other building. You're constantly trying to navigate a maze with stairs.