Tuesday 1 May 2012

Hotel Review - Hotel Setsugetsuka Hakone

The Setsugetsuka hotel is a mere 2-minute walk from the Gora station.

The path to the hotel's entrance begins with this natural rustic gateway. A welcoming sight especially after long and tiring train journey.
We walked up this path and it led to a cosy two-seater bench. A pit stop that we could use when we were hiking up the little slope that led to the hotel. The weather was a bit chilly that spring morning, so we moved rapidly to the hotel entrance.
The main sliding door to the hotel reception area was painted with attractive flowers in a very oriental design.
Outside the entrance of the reception area. An artistic display that gives a hint of more Japanese culture to come.
The main lobby. A place for the tired travellers to sit and leave their bags while checking in to the hotel. It had a nice traditional Japanese feel. We felt relaxed the moment we stepped in here. There was nice fragrance lingering in the air. Tea was served while waiting to be checked in. A nice touch indeed.
Opening our room door, we noticed the toilet  situated on the immediate left. Brightly lit, with bathroom slippers on a hangar stuck on the door. It was a little odd that the toilet is separate from the bathroom which is located at the far end in the room nearer the balcony. Odd, but practical.
The room was very large by Japanese standards. It was entirely covered with tatami mats. In the middle of the room, there was a small Japanese table and chairs
The beds, or mattresses actually, were on a raised wooden platform. It was so comfortable sleeping on that. Or perhaps it was the excellent Japanese dinner and the soak in the hot onsen the night before?

The bathroom was clean and neatly packed with fresh white towels, and basic toiletries.
The shower stall looks out into the balcony. There are bamboo shades that can be manually drawn down for privacy
In the balcony, a cedar wooden tub that can be filled with hot water for that serene soak in the outdoors under the stars.
This little black box on the floor next to the table, contained some Japanese crisps and snacks. 
And inside the box, Japanese tea, teapot and cups.
The room also has a refrigerator, sink and humidifier.
The room was also equipped with this tea set, and how-to-instructions.
After a hot soak in the onsens, helped ourselves to several free bottles of chilled Yakults, placed in this bowl just outside one of the onsens. Ahhhh... refreshing!
One of the hotel buildings among lush greenery.
The corridors between the hotel building were built with wood amidst alot of greenery. Guests wore the hotel supplied yukatas. Women had choices of colourful ones, like this lady walking to the onsen. Notice the rattan basket she is carrying? Each room has two of these for guests to hold their toiletries, towels and change of clothes, when walking between the room and the onsens. Isn't that elegant?
Given two dinner options, we opted for the Kaseiki dinner set. Here the appetisers look like art pieces - they were simply too pretty to eat!
Rice was cooked right at our table with seaweed as its base. Once done, the waitress mixed it with prawns and peas. Light, fluffy and full of flavour.
Breakfast was a huge layout of Japanese options, from rice, soup, grilled fish. It was a very filling breakfast indeed.
Apart from two communal onsens, which I do not have any pictures of, there are three private onsens in this hotel. This is one of those private onsens. A very rustic atmosphere, a single tub for two people in the open, yet with enough privacy.

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