Yamamizuki

The onsen are very pretty and relaxing, especially after dark. It would have been nice to share an onsen with my wife if we had hired out the private unit, but apparently that was against the rules (even if you'd paid for sole use of the onsen)

Yamamizuki is very poor at meeting customer needs, if the customer wants anything that even slightly alters their way of doing things. So I was told "No" in response to every request I made, all of which were quite reasonable: Could we have a simple Western breakfast? - "No". I requested this on my booking form but they didn't answer before we arrived. They eventually on Day 3 started serving a piece of fruit and one piece of bread per person (this was a $1000 per night booking....), which was inferior to what was available at the local convenience store. We might be back late, can we dine at 8.30? - "No" The teenage children are slow to get up, can we have breakfast at 9? - "No" Today we will definitely not be back before you stop serving dinner, so can we miss it? (Request made at 8.30 am) - "No" (or rather, we will charge you for dinner for 5 anyway) Can we have standard breakfast tea not green tea? "No" (not a hard request....) By the end my whole family felt uncomfortable about asking for anything and in constant danger of breaking unwritten 'rules'. The desire by staff to do anything to meet guests' wishes is completely lacking: - I have a bad foot and walk with a limp. The nearest town is 2km+ away. I walked down there 3 times during my stay. Not once did any of the reception staff offer to use the Yamamizuki car to give me a lift. Other Asian hotels would be ashamed to let a guest walk off as Yamamizuki did. It may also be of interest to know that a Yamamizuki stay is designed to isolate you from other people. All meals are served in private rooms and there are no public areas whatsoever - reception rooms, gardens etc. For some people, this may be a positive but for anyone wanting to ask other guests about onsen or the surrounding area, you will learn nothing at Yamamizuki.