Hotel Associa Takayama Resort (JR-Central Hotels)

Highly recommend! The entire service was excellent. As soon as we got off the bus, there's an iCafe right under the JR station where you can drop off your luggage. They then send it directly to the hotel for you. So by the time you're done exploring and ready to check in, your bags are already in your room. Plus, there's a shuttle bus every hour from 6:30 AM to 9:15 PM that picks you up and drops you off at the JR station, making the whole experience very thoughtful. The hot springs are also a highlight – there are many outdoor baths, all super relaxing. Breakfast is very substantial too; you absolutely have to try the fish and natto. The front desk staff were incredibly accommodating as well. They proactively added an extra bed for us. We're two adults and one child, and our room originally only had two standard beds, but they added another one next to them even before we checked in.

The room was quite spacious, and I was given a fantastic view from the 15th floor. The onsen (hot spring) was superb, not crowded, and the facilities felt relatively new. The shuttle bus to Takayama Station was also very convenient. I received an email with the shuttle schedule right after booking the hotel. I stayed for one night and got to experience both the 5th and 7th floor onsens, which swap between male and female use, offering different scenic views. Everything was very satisfying! 👍

The transportation is inconvenient. Although there's a shuttle to the station every hour, it's genuinely not practical. If it were winter and snowing, it would be great to relax here, enjoy the hot springs, and see the snow. But without snow, I wouldn't really recommend staying here. Upon check-in, the front desk couldn't find my Ctrip reservation, which delayed me for at least 10 minutes. They eventually found it and upgraded my room. After dropping off my luggage, I went back to the front desk to get a hotel floor map. A round-faced female employee at the front desk held down the paper and said in Japanese, "This is the Japanese version" (I understood her). Since she thought it was the Japanese version and I wouldn't understand it, why did she speak to me in Japanese? Her logic was bizarre. Maybe she thought I should queue for the paper? She was busy checking in other guests. Anyway, my impression was terrible; I was so angry I just walked away. The breakfast was also just so-so. I will never stay at this hotel again.