SEN RETREAT CHIKATSUYU - Kumano Kodo Gateway

Management provided 4 Free drinks Kept in the Fridge for me as the Guest.

Checking-in as a Guest needs to be improved. It took 3 hours for a solution to be found to get me checked in. I was walking the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage & my distance tally had chalked 16km from Takijiri to Chikatsuyu. It had rained the entire day and here I was in the Office - very tired, trying to sign in -whilst soaked wet & muddy. And it took a little over 3 hours for me to successfully check in.

The supper provided was amazing with meat and vegetables for barbeque as well as ingredients to make a pizza and there is a stone pizza oven to use. Beds were very comfortable and had all the amenities.

The room was at an outstanding level in terms of equipment. They truly thought of every single detail to make the stay perfect, including: High-tech & Appliances: A projector, and a washer and dryer. Thoughtful Extras: A coffee grinder and many treats and surprises waiting in the fridge.

The check-in experience was highly frustrating. There is no staff on-site to speak with; instead, you use a computer screen, which in our case failed to recognize our reservation. While a contact phone number is provided for assistance, there was no answer for over half an hour. We were left stranded and incredibly frustrated, with no way to access our room. It is important to clarify that the stay does not include prepared dinner and breakfast. Instead, they provide ingredients for you to cook and prepare the meals yourself. While it actually turned out to be a very good experience, it was completely different from what we expected.

Beautiful and clean. Modern and comfortable.

They left us ingredients to cook a large soup, but didn’t leave the pot for shabu shabu. There is no staff on site to help. It took us hours to cook the ingredients in the one pan that is in the kitchen which was a huge disappointment after a very long day of hiking. They should check that all supplies are available for the meal. Our friends had another room that night and had no pit either.