Okuhida Garden Hotel Yakedake

This is our revisit to the property. nice hotel, nice staff. very close to Shihotake rope way

I had high hopes for this hotel because of the onsen, so we booked three nights in a japanese-style room with half- board (breakfast and dinner). First, this hotel is located in the middle of nowhere. You cannot walk to town or any restaurants outside of the hotel property. The closest town is Hirayu Onsen, which is a ten-minute bus ride. We should've stayed there instead. We've been traveling all over Japan for the past five weeks so we've stayed at several hotels before this one. This hotel is the worst so far. If I had to pick one main reason for my low rating, it would be the front desk staff, specifically the Japanese male manager. He was borderline rude. Did not speak a lick of English. The foreign workers are the nice ones. Here, the japanese service staff are surprisingly cold and unwelcoming. They gave us the impression that they do not like western tourists. As I mentioned earlier, we pre--paid for the kaiseki breakfast and dinners. All but one (dinner on the second night) were huge disappointments. We should've just eaten in town, even with the inconvenience. The Japanese-style rooms are subjective. I would never do it again. The tatami beds are just too hard on my back. The onsen is nice. We tried all of them and found the ones outside (shared) were just too hot for us. I guess this is the only redeeming feature of this hotel, but you can also find a better hotel option in town (Hirayu Onsen) where you can walk to many restaurants and the bus station.

Pleasant and polite staff who is helpful.

We stayed here as a family of 5 (2 adults and 3 kids - 10, 6 and 4) in the traditional Japanese room. We didn't get in till 6ish and left early so we could get to Kamikochi but I wish we had of added another night or at least got there at check in time to make the most of the facilities. Unfortunately we didn't have time to use the onsen. The traditional room is set up for tea when you arrive and then the staff comes back later to make the beds for you. The kids loved the experience. We were also able to wear the yukata to dinner. You can call down for kids ones to be brought up. Staff were lovely. We hadn't booked a food package as I have picky eaters but we went to the dining area on level 1 and were able to order a Japanese set meal for my husband and I and the kids had chicken nuggets, spaghetti and ice-cream. Highly recommend

Our Japanese style room was a great experience with an amazing view of the mountain, river, and waterfalls. The half board dinner and breakfast were excellent meals and they accommodated our vegetarian diet (with advanced notice). And best of all the numerous hot spring options were so relaxing and amazing. Had we known it would be so great we would have stayed longer!!