HOSHINOYA Karuizawa

• ★★★★★Tommy Whalen23 October 2026

  I’m actually pretty blown away that there are negative reviews of this hotel. I’ve traveled extensively with my wife and this is by far one of the most peaceful, thoughtful, and zen-like hotels you could ever experience. Our room was riverside and just sitting on the back porch with the nature all around is truly magical. We had our ups and downs over our Japan trip with food, but this place far exceeded expectation as well. Sure, you pay for it all, but it’s genuinely one of the few hotels on my list that I would consider coming back to. Top notch. Bravo to friendly staff that maintains this place. Also - do yourself a favor and walk down to the little shop area. Beautiful. Great cafes and shopping. Some commentary for the nay-sayers. -too many stairs? Seriously? It’s a garden hotel in the mountains. What did you expect? -weird/layout of rooms or dim lighting? Ever think it was designed that way on purpose? -price: you pay for luxury. All pricing clearly marked. If you’re going to penny-pinch. Don’t go. -food. It’s Japan. It’s a different palette. It’s not going to be pizza and grilled cheese. -language barrier. Again - It’s Japan. They speak Japanese. They do their best. Learn some phrases to make your stay easier and use a translator. It’s called traveling. It’s meant to build perspective and have new experiences. If you want ordinary and comfort zone - go on a cruise and leave the real traveling to the rest of us.

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• ★★★★★EdzView JPN8 August 2026

  I've seen the bad reviews before arriving, and I feel that it's not as bad as these people make it out to be. To be brutally honest, I feel like a certain portion of these reviews are coming from a lack of research, or just pure entitlement. Regarding the dark lighting: Japanese countrysides are known to have gloomy lighting in general. There is a cultural preference for energy efficiency, and minimal lighting to protect wildlife and ecosystems from artificial light at night (ALAN, or light pollution); also, traditional Japanese aesthetics often favor subtle light, shadows, and harmony with nature rather than bright, uniform illumination. Besides, the hotel did have flashlights in the room to walk outside, and they'll bring more lights to your room if needed be, so I didn't see much of an issue spending time during the nighttime. Regarding the amount of stairs (lack of elevators): That's not the hotel's issue, that's a YOU issue for not doing enough research on whether or not the hotel is barrier-free. And I'm pretty sure you could've asked for a room on the ground-floor when you make the reservation (as long as they're not fully booked, obviously), and after arrival you can also ask for a car to take you to some of the places within&around the hotel, so you don't have to walk all the time. Besides, some traditional hotels in Japan have a tendency of not having elevators for various reasons; mostly being that retrofitting one would often require major structural changes that could damage the historic character, authenticity, or more improtantly the earthquake resistance of the building—so it's something most owners deliberately avoid to preserve the strcuture and atmosphere. Staff not being able to speak English: Japan in general is highly monolingual and culturally homogeneous. Most daily life, media, work, and services function entirely in Japanese. Outside major cities, tourist spots, or international companies, opportunities to practice English are rare for Japanese people. So I wouldn't have high hopes for English speakers to be around all the time; besides, why can't some of you just practice some basic Japanese instead of trying to Westernize everything? It's funny how some of you complain about non-English speakers, but you don't keep the same energy for yourselves for not practicing the language of the country that you're visiting. Besides all the yapping I did so far: I enjoyed the food overall! The dinner at the Japanese restaurant named "Kasuke" was beautiful ( the presentation for the grilled fish was very cool!), the shaved ice that's served for the summer season only was also very unique, and the traditional bread we ate at the Tanada lounge outside felt warm and hearty. The room we got was along the riverside, and we got to witness cute little group of ducklings swimming across the river! The lack of TV in the room didn't bother us, as we can't comprehend Japanese television anyways & why watch TV if we can go outside and touch grass? lol. Though summertime is an extremely busy season for hotels in Japan, I can tell that the staff were doing their best within their rules and capabilities & helped us out on how we can enjoy our stay as well. I wish the best for all the staff that are handling the huge wave of foreigners (and all the entitled complainers) despite the language barriers and cultural differences 🫡

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• ★☆☆☆☆Jing Peiran31 July 2026

  Honestly, I was shocked by how poor this hotel was. I don't know if this is the standard for all Hoshinoya properties, but this was a huge disappointment. The room is old—and I can accept a sense of age, but old does NOT mean dirty! Our villa had noticeable dust in the bathroom, and the room felt dark and gloomy, which matches what other reviewers have mentioned. The private bath felt even worse—it genuinely gave off 3-star motel vibes. I can't believe we were charged $1,600 usd per night without meals included. Also, the actual condition does not match the photos at all. Highly overrated and not worth the price.

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