Atami Kaihourou Hotel

Dinner was amazing. The taste and presentation were very impressive. There is nothing around. You can't go straight down to the sea, so it's farther than I thought, and there wasn't much to do other than stay in the room. I took a walk, but the view wasn't that great. This is a place for people who want to relax in their rooms. The staff were all very polite, but they seemed a bit amateurish or inexperienced. For example, they told me I couldn't see the sunrise from my room, so I changed clothes and went to the lobby, but I could see it when I returned to my room. I asked about going to the MOA museum, but they didn't seem to know much about it. Even though it's such a close tourist spot? I left my carry-on bag at the front desk, but the taxi driver told me that there was a locker at MOA that was big enough to hold a carry-on bag, but it was too late. I would have saved myself the trouble of going back to the hotel and then to the station. Also, the refrigerator in the room was broken, which is unacceptable for a hotel at this price. I didn't get a reply to my reservation email right away, and communication was poor. The food was certainly great, but if that's all you want, you can just go to a high-end restaurant. I've had experiences in the Caribbean and Southeast Asia where the food was delicious and there were a lot of activities available at a more reasonable price, so it was disappointing.

We splurged and stayed at a room at Fuka for a birthday celebration for a family member. We had previously stayed at Suishoen, which is also part of the Kato Pleasure Group, and it was wonderful, so we thought this one would be wonderful as well, and it was even better than we imagined. At expensive hotels and ryokans, it's hard to get the top-class rooms, and especially at hotels, we tend to choose the most affordable rooms with club lounge access. However, Kaiho-ro, which is a combination of a hotel and a ryokan, only has four rooms, and only the suites, Seiha and Fuka, have open-air baths. In addition, the building was designed by Kengo Kuma, who is now famous for his wooden architecture, with a glass motif, and only the suites have water balconies that are surrounded by glass 360 degrees and even the floor, so we decided to take the plunge and stay here, as we were able to stay at a very reasonable price with the Kato Pleasure Group premium membership benefits. First of all, I was looking forward to it more and more after they listened to my various requests through emails in advance. They picked me up at Atami Station, which is less than 10 minutes away by foot (just like Suishoen, they provided a hand towel service at the company, so I was happy with their hospitality from the beginning). Even before entering the room where I was staying, I was able to enjoy the wonderful view from the lobby and restaurant. Once inside, I was impressed by the wonderful view from the two large windows that were beyond the frame, with a wonderful view of Atami city and the sea. After that, I waited until 3 o'clock and immediately went to the private open-air bath, where I relaxed in the luxuriously large open-air bath that was equipped with not only amenities but also a sauna and drinks, and was also guided to the large public bath at the sister hotel, Sekaie. Anyway, I was able to enjoy Atami and the facilities of the Kato Pleasure Group to the fullest. The food is particularly noteworthy. Dinner was also served on a first-come, first-served basis, so we were lucky enough to have it on the water balcony. We spent more than two hours leisurely enjoying the wonderful dishes that the head chef had prepared exclusively for the guests in our four rooms. I have often enjoyed delicious meals at inns that are known for their delicious food and have open-air baths in the rooms, but the food here was one of the best. It is often said that Japanese food should be enjoyed visually, but the tableware, setting, and food presentation were also wonderful. In particular, the fried young sweetfish was so amazing that it looked as if it was swimming, and I wondered how they could fried it so lightly, with a good texture, and yet with soft flesh. I made a reservation directly with Kato Pleasure Group, but I could see why the food at Kaihoro had such a high score on Ikyu, a website famous for booking luxury hotels and inns. Also, I don't think this is limited to Kaihourou, but by booking directly we received many wonderful benefits, which was the best birthday present for my family. We were lucky enough to have breakfast on the water balcony, which is given priority to Seiba's guests, who chose the time starting at 9am, so they made an effort to accommodate us and we were able to enjoy a wonderful view and meal from 8am. All four rooms were booked this time, but we received so much consideration and we are truly grateful. On the way home, my family and I were talking about how we would like to have this meal again, and we are also thinking about staying in the more casual Comfort Room next time.