Shiotsubo Onsen Hotel

I stayed at this hotel with my wife and two children during a two-night trip to Karuizawa in early February Location: The hotel was off a road with other larger hot spring resorts around 15-minutes drive from Karuizawa station. It was not difficult to find, but you must navigate a narrow, sloped road to the hotel. The road was icy at this time of the year, so you must drive carefully. There is a large 7-eleven close by along with some local restaurants with good ratings. Cleaniness: The hotel was quite old and worn. I think it was clean enough but many fittings were damaged or broken. Service: I only saw two members of staff on the first day I was there: the receptionist and a lady who served dinner both who were quite elderly. The receptionist did not speak English but with Google Translate it was not a problem. He was polite and answered all our queries. Dinner and breakfast was included in our booking so we were served a nice Japanese meal. The waitress was able to communicate with us in Mandarin. Again she was very helpful. Facilities: As previously stated, this hotel is very old and tired. The rooms were large but quite basic. All the furniture and fittings in the room were clean but very worn. I find the bedding on the Tatami floor quite uncomfortable but maybe it is because I am not used to it. As an Onsen hotel, there were hot springs in the basement. Apart from the usual male and female baths, there was also a family bath. The baths were very old. The tiles were and many of them had come off. In the male an female baths, you could bathe outdoors. Overall: This hotel is very old. However, it is cheaper than other Onsen style hotels in the region. The staff are nice and you do get a real feel of what a traditional Japanese Onsen experience. I personally probably wouldn't stay there again but my family quite enjoyed the experience.