Benesse House

This art-filled hotel enjoys a sublime location. From the room you look over the Seto inland sea. The hotel was built by architect Ando. By using raw concrete slabs it has a feeling of a bunker. The hotel is big and hardly any clues where to go. The first few days it seems like a maze. Modern art hangs on the concrete walls everywhere. The cuisines of the 2 restaurants, Japanese and French, are good. There is a lot of art to admire on the island.

Naoshima is a beautiful island, the nature is really stunning. The hotel is located in a very nice area, overlooking the ocean. The hotel and the museum is built by a famous architect, so the architecture is very beautiful. Also the art is interesting. Rooms are also very modern and nicely designed. They tend to be on the smaller side, I therefore recommend to book a suite, there was no soap in the toilet and there is no turndown service. Unfortunately the service does not meet the expectations. When you arrive, you need to wait until 15.00 to get your room, but there is no lounge, restaurant or any area you can wait. There is only a bench next to the front desk where you can sit and wait, there is also no water nor anything else offered while you wait. Whenever you ask something, you need to be behind to get it done. Staff are friendly but have no knowledge of service. Also at breakfast the service was not good, I had to wait for 20 minutes and several reminders to get coffee, the. I had to wait again to get a cup for my coffee. It was more like a self service joint than a luxury hotel. Also the quality of food is not good. Breakfast was really bad, lunch at Museum Cafe was also bad and afterwards I had an upset stomach. The only restaurant where the food is good is the Japanese restaurant, also the service there was good. Overall a very beautiful place without any service and quality.i hope they can work on these points as the hotel has a huge potential. I am confident that they will one day improve as in Japan very often service is excellent.

This was our second stay here. Last time was in 2013 and in the Oval Rooms. This time we booked a Deluxe Twin, room 201 (as adult son shared room), which I liked better than Oval as had uninterrupted views, with balcony, very good size, light and bright with every amenity needed. I pre-booked Dinner in the Park which was a nice experience, drinks after in the newly opened bar (they organise a car to take you back to Benesse House) and Japanese breakfast in Benesse which was our best most authentic on the trip, excellent, including for vegetarian. The main reason for staying here is to enjoy the Museum at night when it is closed to the public. Totally unique surreal experience, a must! You can't check in until 3pm, but when you arrive on the ferry and use their complimentary shuttle bus, you can leave your luggage onboard and they will take it direct to your room when ready. It's a good service so you are free to enjoy the island. The only thing not great is there is no Lounge for guests. It was raining and blowing a gale so not enticing to walk around outside (even if they do provide umbrellas). There was nowhere to sit inside apart from the tiny cafe where you cant stay very long, not relaxing. The staff at Reception were welcoming and helpful.