Odakyu Hotel de Yama

I stumbled upon Odakyu Hotel de Yama through a Hakone travel guide on Xiaohongshu. After planning my Hakone itinerary, I decided to book a two-day, one-night stay with breakfast and dinner. The hotel itself is a resort destination. My stay coincided with the Emperor's birthday three-day weekend in Japan. By evening, I noticed all the room keys were out (picture 6), indicating a high occupancy rate. I barely encountered any fellow Chinese travelers, just one ********* couple; most other guests were Japanese on vacation or Caucasians. Most of the hotel staff's English was quite basic. I'd recommend using a translator if you're not fluent in Japanese. For instance, the staff member asked me about 'dinnertime' five times before I understood what they were saying. (⦁֊⦁꧞) The two meals included in the package require you to reserve your dinner times. One evening, I had a reservation for 7:45 PM, but I still had to wait. I was a bit annoyed, wondering why I had to wait when I had a reservation. I ended up waiting an extra 10 minutes, which is why I can't give a full five-star rating. Everything else was excellent. There's an ice machine and a washing machine on the first floor. The onsen (hot spring) layout was also very well-designed. While it's not sourced directly from Owakudani, it uses water from Lake Ashi, leaving your skin feeling smooth after a soak. The open-air bath even has a cherry tree—I can only imagine how beautiful Hakone would be during cherry blossom season! Oh, one more thing to complain about: there's no hairdryer in the room. As someone with bangs, this was inconvenient. Every morning after putting on makeup, I had to go to the large public bath to dry my bangs. The hairdryers there are Refa Pro, which are a bit heavy. The toiletries in the public bath are DHC, but the ones in the bedroom are from the French sea salt series, which are also very good. Other than that, there's really nothing else to complain about. (⌯'ㅅ'⌯) Honestly, I would definitely consider staying here again on my next trip to Hakone. There's a shuttle bus to Moto-Hakone Port Bus Stop 6 every 20 minutes. There's also an Odakyu bus that departs from the hotel entrance at 12:00 PM, heading to Shinjuku. Hotel de Yama is the first stop, but it takes at least 3 hours to get to Shinjuku after making all the rounds.

This hotel is super convenient if you're driving, located just 2km away from the bustling areas, so you can get there in only 5 minutes by car. All the rooms face Lake Ashi, and the grounds are full of azaleas. It's a shame I missed the blooming season. I booked dinner and breakfast at the hotel; the portions were quite small, just enough to fill me up, and honestly, neither the French nor the Japanese options were particularly tasty. The hot springs have both indoor and outdoor pools, which are fine when it's not crowded. The men's sauna is dry, and the women's is steam. The hotel itself and the surrounding scenery are beautiful, making it perfect for a vacation.

This hotel has an old-school charm. There's a free shuttle bus from Moto-Hakone Port Platform 6 every 20 minutes, and the service is excellent. Even when we came back late at night, they arranged a bus to pick us up. We chose the Japanese-style breakfast and dinner, and the food was delicious.

This old-money style hotel offers an excellent experience. You can see Mount Fuji right from the hotel, and the dinner was exquisite. They have a shuttle bus to Moto-Hakone Port, and there are public buses and an Odakyu bus to Shinjuku right outside, making transportation very convenient.

We booked the one-night, two-meal package. For dinner, we chose the Japanese kaiseki, but it was quite ordinary; I almost fell asleep eating it for an hour. The only thing truly delicious was the sashimi. However, the French breakfast the next morning was highly recommended, especially the croissants – they were excellent. The restaurant also offers a kids' menu, which our 2-year-old loved. The hotel's souvenir shop is great, perfect for gifts, and they even provide extra hotel bags. When we checked in, they might have seen our baby and gave us the best room type on the third floor, which was really nice. The hotel's shuttle service was superb. We wanted to buy milk for the baby, but the hotel couldn't provide it. The nearest convenience store was in Hakone-motohakone. The hotel proactively offered to have a driver take us there to buy it in the evening, which was incredibly thoughtful and customer-friendly. Their spa has won awards, but I found out too late. When I tried to book, I wasn't successful. The person who answered the phone for spa bookings couldn't speak English and told me to go up directly to book. However, when I got there, there was no one, and the door was closed. I hope the hotel can improve this aspect. Regarding the shuttle bus back to Hakone-Yumoto, I read reviews saying you need to book a day in advance, but that's not true; you can book on the same day. Many people say the transportation here is inconvenient, but I actually found it perfectly fine because of the business shuttle service. On the first afternoon, I recommend taking the pirate ship down to the hotel. Then, on the second morning, take the shuttle to Hakone-motohakone, where the Narukawa Art Museum is directly opposite. Going early means you completely avoid the crowds. I will definitely stay here again next time to properly experience the hotel's afternoon tea and spa. I also heard the garden is beautiful but didn't have time to fully explore it this time, so I'll save that for my next visit.

The lake-view room offered a fantastic view from the window, with the entire scenery of Luhu Lake right before my eyes. The service was incredibly attentive. Dining options included both Japanese and Western restaurants, primarily offering set menus, though à la carte was also available. The massive fireplace, with its subtle scent of smoke, created a wonderful ambiance.

This is an older hotel in Hakone. It wasn't very crowded on a Sunday. The room was a bit small, but it was a lake view room with a nice view. It included breakfast and dinner. For breakfast, I chose the French set menu, which was delicious. For dinner, I opted for the Japanese set menu, and it was pretty good. The portions were a bit smaller compared to other kaiseki meals I've had, but thankfully there was rice. The hotel's surroundings are lovely. The garden would probably be beautiful when the flowers are in bloom, but right now it perfectly embodies the starkness of winter. There's a free shuttle bus from Moto-Hakone Port. Make sure to check the schedule; the last one in the afternoon is at 5:10 PM. If you miss it, you'll have to walk, but it's not too far. The hotel has hot springs, and it felt like I had the whole place to myself when I went.