Hamanako Lakeside Plaza

I had read in a review that the exterior of the hotel was old, so I was prepared for that, and I wasn't particularly surprised. The lounge in the lobby was stylish and had a resort hotel feel. The room seemed to have been renovated and was a beautiful Japanese-Western style room with a lake view. Having a Japanese-style room was convenient as you could spread out your luggage freely. The toilet and bathroom were separate, so it was convenient to be able to put your toiletries on the sink. The large baths are in different buildings, but they are connected by a simple corridor, which was great, although it felt a little cold as it seemed like the outside air was coming in along the way. The hot spring had several baths and a fair number of washing areas, so we didn't have to wait, which was great. The meal was a buffet. We had it at the restaurant on the second floor of the hot spring. We happened to be dining with a group from two other companies for dinner, but we were informed of this at check-in and were prepared for it, so it wasn't a problem. It felt like the food was a cut above the rest, not the usual cheap buffet. We had hot tempura in the live kitchen, which was delicious, but the queue for food was a bit long because the hotel was full with so many people. Breakfast was also quite crowded, but we were able to pick up our food as usual and the taste was satisfying. The specialty meringue rice with raw egg was delicious. One thing I wish they could have improved is the size of the yukata, which I read in a review on another site. The yukata is very short. I think it's better for yukata to be short, but maybe it's a bit too short? I think there are probably a lot of people who try on a yukata that is their usual size, but then find it too short and change into a yukata that is one size larger. If that happens, it would be a waste of laundry, even from an eco-friendly point of view. The yukata was also a bit too thin. I think it would be even better if they fixed the yukata issue. I was surprised at how busy the hotels around Lake Hamana were. I think it would be even busier during peak seasons like summer vacation.

We stayed one night with a close family friend. We were given a spacious corner room with excellent views of the lake from two sides of our Suite. The suite is very spacious, very clean, with an excellent set of bathroom amenities. The separate bath/shower room from the toilet is also very handy for family use. There were plentiful clean bedding in the wardobes, our family friend chose to use the Tatami side of the room, letting us use the two single beds in the bedroom. She also took my wife to the Onsen, and returning after 45 minutes- everyone slept well till the morning. Across the car park, is the Mikonos Restaurant- which I understand is part of the hotel. We had dinner in the Restaurant the previous night- Western Style Set Menu, the food was very good with the exception of a very watery green bean soup. We also had breakfast in this restaurant. The varieties of both local and Western Style food were very extensive. We enjoyed our breakfast very much at 7:30, restaurant near empty, low sunlight and good view of the Lake.

After spending a cloudy day in chasing down a Mt. Fuji sighting, our tour group settled for the night at this hotel. As part of our stay, we were offered to try out their onsen bath house, which is separated by gender. In your room's closet, they provide complimentary robe and slippers to wear from and to your room. Comfortable beds, even the 9 year old liked her futon. She would gladly take that over a traditional bed.