Ikoisanso

Comentarios destacados

• Adventure822451

  19 octubre 2018
  Excellent experience - worth the trip.

  We had a wonderful experience at Ikoisanso! Our room was cozy, elegant, and clean, with a lovely view. Two of the three futons were comfortable, but one was strangely harder. I slept on it the first night and thought I might just be pickier than my husband, but when we switched, he couldn't sleep until he brought out the third futon. The food was delicious and plentiful. The first night was hot pot with the most delicious beef, and sashimi, and perfect rice, and many more small dishes. The second night fried chicken with several side dishes, beautifully presented. We could not finish the dinners either night because they served so much food but we greatly enjoyed as much as we could! Breakfast was definitely worth including as well. First morning was western style: eggs, sausage, fruit. Second morning was rice porridge with all sorts of savory mix-ins. The service was kind and courteous. We got in later than we expected, and they very considerately picked us up from the station and had dinner for us when we got in. We have a 9-month-old baby and they provided a high chair and child silverware for him. The only difficulty in this place is the location. It is pretty inconvenient to get to from Karuizawa station. The train ride to Naka-karuizawa is only 4 minutes, but it only runs once or twice an hour, and seems very ill-timed with the Shinkansen, so it can add an hour to your trip. In our case, we flew in to Tokyo (from the US) at 14:30 so getting all the way to Ikoisanso was a bit ambitious, and we wouldn't recommend it for your first night in Japan if you have a baby lol. Most sites are also from Karuizawa station so add the commute each way every day. It was absolutely worth the trip, however! Ikoisanso was the highlight of our time in Karuizawa, and the value for the price was incredible.

  

• Aoigirl2014

  30 octubre 2018
  Value-for-money hotel near Hoshinoya area

  The Ikoisanso hotel provides value-for-money basic accommodations with an extremely attractive strong point, which was its proximity to the Hoshoniya area. The hotel location is excellent for exploring the Naka-karuizawa area - namely the wild bird sanctuary, Hoshinoya Onsen, Harunire terrace and Bleston Court. A morning walk within 10 minutes from the hotel takes you to the forested Hoshinoya area that was relatively quiet and without crowds in the morning. The hotel was also 5 minutes to a convenience store and and about 15 minutes walk from the Naka-karuizawa train station. The hotel's staff were extremely helpful and friendly too. The only point for improvement was that the basin in the toilet had brown stains and I had expected a higher level of cleanliness for a Japanese hotel. If one is not driving and would like to stay within close proximity to nature walks and forests, the Naka-karuizawa area is highly recommended and Ikoisanso is a very reasonably priced hotel with a great location there!

  

• qwertynicolef

  06 enero 2019
  Sleep is for the weak

  Due to the construction of the hotel - sound travels. Along with the thumping of children running up and down the halls and loud conversations close to midnight. Accommodations were clean for the prices we paid for the room but not enough to guarantee a good nights rest if you so happen to have inconsiderate neighbors. The communal baths can also be proven difficult for women on their periods.

  

• peachboy1668

  06 febrero 2019
  Hotel is clean, staff was very nice.

  It is very nice hotel. We stayed in rooms that had a tatami, and they were very authentic and comfortable too. Breakfast and service overall was also great, all the staff was very nice and accommodating. The hotel was also near a public onsen only took less than 10 minutes to get there. The hotel was in a great location, easy to find, and easily accessible. I will definitely come back to this hotel the next time I visit karuizawa.

  

• itrytobehelpful

  05 noviembre 2019
  Penny wise, maybe pound foolish

  Although this hotel had one of the cheaper room prices (for the duration that we were staying), the overall experience was average / slightly below average and on hindsight we might have splurged a little to upgrade to a bigger room in a more central location. The room was very small after clearing out whatever furniture we could (table was packed in the cabinet where the bedding was kept and most other things had to be stacked on top of each other to maximise space), there was barely enough space to lay out two mattresses right beside our luggages (note that you have to set up the beds yourself). We spotted some strange black spots on the futon covers which deterred us from using the futons. We did, however, appreciate that the room came with a small refrigerator, a small key-operated safe box and a working heater. The walls and floors are thin, so you will hear footsteps along the corridor and (if you are unlucky, as we were, to have a room next to the toilet) gurgling sounds from the plumbing system. Bathrooms and restrooms are shared. The communal shower area on the first floor has a small bath (could accommodate approximately 3 strangers, any more would be uncomfortable), but the water is still and I'm not certain if it was actually from the hot springs. We were grateful that the usual amenities were provided (toiletries, body lotion, hairdryers). There were other onsens nearby which were open for day trips, but we were turned away by the prices (bearing in mind that we had just travelled from onsen heaven, Kusatsu town). Location-wise, while we were given a free shuttle ride from and to Karuizawa Station during check-in and check-out, we had to find our own way around the rest of the time. There are some attractions in the Naka-Karuizawa area, but the main highlights are nearer to the Karuizawa Station. The walk from the hotel to Naka-Karuizawa Station (one stop away from Karuizawa Station) takes about 10-15 minutes, and the street lights can get rather dim by 7pm and are almost non-existent by 10pm. Alternatively, there are buses that ply the area, but the bus fares were nearly double the train fares and accessibility of information was an issue (it was hard looking up bus timetables online). Another alternative is to rent bicycles from the hotel at ¥1000 per day. Service-wise hit and miss. Some of the staff were friendly and helpful, others not so. A few of them were able to communicate in English. Food-wise, there were some decent options (e.g. Harunire Terrace), but not always budget-friendly and most close by evening (sans restaurants, with pretty steep prices). There is a 7-11 about 100m away but consumption of food in the store is not allowed. It closes at 11pm. All in all, if you're fine with sacrificing some creature comforts and travelling longer distances to save on accommodation, this hotel could be one of your considerations. But if your budget is not the main priority, there may be better options elsewhere.