Family-friendly Hotels in Nikko

For reference we stayed in the Standard Dormitory. There are 2 rooms, 8 beds in each that share 2 toilets, a single sink, a single shower and a small kitchen. The bathrooms, kitchen, and shower were always clean. However, the kitchen only has a microwave and some plates, bowels and a few cups. There is no stove top to cook anything and there is no oven to use. You’re limited to microwave meals or eating out. If you’re on a budget and only plan on staying a single night then this is a great place. Any more nights and I would recommend finding another place. The staff a friendly and speak great English.

My wife and I booked the Nikko Station Hotel II for April 13 - 15 as a non refundable reservation. This week, the US State Dept issued a Level 4 warning for all US citizens to avoid international travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In spite of their normal policy, the Nikko Station Hotel II made an exception due to the COVID-19 pandemic and issued a full refund. We will reschedule our trip to Japan after the pandemic passes and WILL DEFINITELY rebook at the Nikko Station Hotel II, as they have shown excellent customer service in a difficult time!

The location of this hotel is very good, near the station, really very close, platform 28 is at the door of the hotel, the 26th station is about five minutes walk, and then the balcony can directly see Lake Zhongzen Temple, the hot springs are quite satisfactory, Breakfast is a rich buffet whether it is a buffet or a single meal. If there are few people in the hotel, it will be a single meal. The pork chops for dinner are really tender. Although the dishes are few, they are very delicate. The hotel staff are very enthusiastic and will recommend Attractions, it just snowed on the first night! Very happy.

I stayed in a nice room overlooking the Kinugawa River. The room was large and the heating worked well. The bathroom in my room was no longer in use, so I used the large public bath, but unfortunately the temperature of the water was too cold. Also, it was a real shame that the public bath was only open from evening until night, so I couldn't take a bath in the morning. Currently, it is only possible to stay overnight without meals and no meals are provided, but there is a 24-hour convenience store nearby, making it convenient for families to travel cheaply. There is also a refrigerator in the room, which is helpful. Unfortunately, there are no affordable restaurants nearby. Considering the cost-effectiveness, I think it is suitable for a family trip.

Overall, good location, gorgeous drive in & out. Spacious and decent room (was in 708) on the top floor, with river and mountain views, would be stunning during autumn. I wanted to like this place, but there’s room for improvement: ~wifi was so pathetic that my cell phone loaded faster using roaming. ~Bathroom is ancient (I could have been in the Toto museum). Hotel door and safety deposit boxes require actual keys. ~mediocre dinner, carb heavy and cheap ingredients. You can cook good food with simple ingredients but it wasn’t the case here. For example, my beef appetizer was overcooked, the fried dishes were really oily. I wasn’t able to “upgrade” my meal as ended booking my room only the night before (had fo cancel my original hotel due to winter storm issues near Niigata). ~ this place was overpriced. I paid only 10% more for a ryokan 2 hour drive away that had much better food and room (ie wooden bathtubs with real hot spring H2O vs plastic bathtub) and 3 private onsens that you can book to have a private soak. ~Room literally came with one tea bag only, no toothbrush available in room. I know Kai is not Hoshinoya, but, it would take very little to enhance the overall experience. This was my first Kai and I still hope to try the other ones, just hope this Kai was an exception to the rest.

The hotel environment is really comfortable, full of design, and very integrated with the local environment. The room is larger than other hotels in Japan and very clean. There is a pantry where you can make free coffee/tea. The only drawback is that there is no restaurant, only vending machines are provided, which is more inconvenient if there is no taxi. The parking lot is also very large.

If you choose to take a bus from the station to the hotel, brace yourselves for a rather long walk from the bus drop off point to the monorail entrance along a very rough gravel road (trust me, it gets worse if it’s wet and cold and you’re dragging a 15kg luggage). The walk was far from what I’d expect when staying in such a luxury resort. If I could make any suggestion i think the hotel should perhaps pave the gravel road to make it more walk-friendly? Or negotiate with the bus company so that the stop is right outside the monorail entrance and not at the end of a muddy gravel road. But until any of that is made possible I’d highly recommend taking a taxi from station if you don’t have a car. The ‘Monorail’ (which was more like a glorified cable car) was an interesting feature on arrival. I don’t know if it was build due to geographical restriction (that prevented actual roads built right up to the hotel?) or as some sort of gimmick but sorry to say it’s really not efficient during peak hours and after the first ride it really just felt like an elevator that takes forever to arrive. Once we finally arrived the place itself was gorgeous throughout. From the decor to the atmosphere it’s just a relaxing vibe. It’s a place for getaways and the hotel made sure of that with all the attention to details (such as the meal timings, the seating arrangements etc) to make sure at no point you feel crowded or overwhelmed. The service was great and the staff know limited but adequate English. The Onsen was quite a long walk from our room in freezing cold weather, the foyer was fancy with a relaxation area and free drinks, however the actual onset felt slightly on the basic side to me with just one indoor and one outdoor (not a super fancy type) bath but since there weren’t many guests it wasn’t crowded and I was happy. Again the entire onsen area was very neat and clean. Our room was lovely and clean with a nice balcony. Food was lovely as well. Overall once you get past the gravel road and reach the hotel there’s really not much else to fault and I did enjoy my stay very much.

Having only just arrived a few days earlier in Japan - this was our first experience of a ryokan . We didn’t know what to expect but it turned out to be a fantastic experience. From choosing our own Kimono to wear around the hotel to our beautiful spacious room with wonderful views of the autumn trees behind, every detail had been thought about. The onsen was wonderful with a pool. Inside and outside. We had a private dining room where we were served the most incredible meals in beautiful Japanese ceramics of all kinds of shapes and sizes. We were attended to by the Chun, a young Vietnamese girl who was just charming, she couldn’t do enough for us and tried so hard with her English - she really made our stay.. this ryokan is also right opposite the shrines , so its a great location and right on the bus route for getting further into the hills. We really recommend this place.

As one of the late summer vacation trips for my family, I used this facility which was the concept of enjoying hot springs. The view from the room is not bad, and the room itself is older than the new building, but the virus countermeasure is firm and it is relaxed, so I don't care. In the hot spring Sanmai plan, you can enjoy the bath as a rental bath, and you can enjoy the stay that comes true for the purpose, and you can enjoy the satisfaction. If you are looking for a meal, you can drive to the station in 5 － 10 minutes and to the convenience store in 5 minutes.

Slightly dated and quirky. Stayed in family room which had very steep stairs to the bed section. A bit overpriced for what it is, but this is Nikko. Comfortable enough. Breakfast quite Ok. Nice to be out of town which feels tired and mostly closes by 4.30pm each day. A lack of restaurants/cafes after that time. Everywhere looks rundown and disinterested. The lake and waterfalls were good but boat ride on lake was closed due to wind and (very small) waves which was disappointing.