Hotel Indigo Hakone Gora, an IHG Hotel

The highlight was the breakfast . The onsen was also nice .

The hotel does not offer massage. They can arrange for somebody from outside the hotel to come by and do the massage in your room , which is not ideal. We arrived in the evening to Gora train station . The hotel van runs only until 6 pm. We called the hotel for them to organize a cab, but they wouldn’t organize it (it was cold and raining and we had to wait for quite a while to get a taxi

The room itself was great, so much space (unheard of in Japan) and certainly worth the money. Best bed we stayed in throughout our trip. Was also nice to have Netflix access after a big day. Didn’t try breakfast but got cake and wine sent to room and it was delicious, well-priced and came quickly.

We paid extra for the Mountain View room, knowing many reviews had spoken poorly of the river view. Well our ‘upgrade’ was a view of a carpark and bins and trucks. The whole reason we stayed there was for the view of the mountains in the snow so I was highly disappointed. Also, the hotel is in a good-ish location but I would try hotels closer to Gora next time. We didn’t organise a shuttle to the station in time and it was a very steep hill with suitcases, and we are fit people who hike.

The hotel is very pretty and if you get the private onsen it is a very nice experience. They have a shuttle/car that can take you to and from Gora and Odawara, which is very convenient.

The location of the hotel is not easily walkable from Gora station. You need to go through a long staircase to the river, which is also not well lit. The car service to Gora stops at 18:00, so it is not so convenient if you want to stay there for dinner. However, there are 1-2 places where you can eat and that you can walk to from the hotel. If you can, take the view to the mountains, the river side is overlooking the street/town and can get quite noisy.

The staff went out of their way to help us. We missed our Shinkansen and it meant the next one would arrive at the same time the shuttle bus was due to leave Odawara station so I called the hotel and they kindly waited 5 mins for us so we would not miss the shuttle to the hotel. When we arrived at the hotel they greeted us and took us to sit down to wait to be checked in, this was great that we could sit comfortable and be served a welcome drink and relax while waiting our turn. The rooms are a good size - we were travelling with our toddler (15 months) and they provided us with a portable cot and there was enough space for the cot too. The private onsen on the balcony was incredible - we spent a lot of time in it and because we only had one room it was nice to hang out on the balcony in the onsen as we could talk freely and not worry about waking our toddler. The breakfast was nice. Choose between a western (a bit small) or Japanese breakfast (better value). There is a small buffet as well mainly with bakery items, some fruit, salad, and juice. They have a hotel car service that can take you to near by attractions as well and pick you up. This is convenient! We used the car service to go to the Hakone Open Air Museum. We had room service one night as we were too tired to go out and our toddler was sleeping so the option for that was really convenient and the food was decent. The location was convenient - we took a taxi to the Pola museum which is not far by taxi (do not take a taxi there if it's snowing, we got stuck there because the roads were not safe) luckily we were able to get back after waiting a few hours for the hotel car service to come and get us.) We took a bus from near the hotel to the Gotemba outlets. Overall the location was great as we could easily get around by bus or taxi.

Like most people mention in their feedback the view isn't amazing but it wasn't a problem for us as we were out a lot exploring Hakone and at night when you are on the balcony using the onsen it's too dark to see anything anyway. When it snowed though it was particularly beautiful - the mountains and everything across the river was covered in snow and it was stunning. We ate at the restaurant for dinner one night and the food was delicious but the portion size was quite small (we ate the duck and pork belly). Maybe there could be a bit more variety on the menu. Price wise it's expensive but it's a hotel so expected. If we stayed here again we'd probably skip the breakfast option. There's a coffee machine and kettle in the room and there is a 7-11 very close by.

Beautiful area, Beautiful rooms, very clean and comfortable. In room onsen was glorious. I felt truly special staying here!

Pick up service around gora is usually very busy. 2nd time we used it we told it's around a 40 min wait, which we were fine with as it was our mistake for not booking ahead. However the staff didn't actually put our name on the wait list so we were left waiting about 60 min before we said something, then realised what happeded it ended up being around 80 min wait for the car. The google directions say it's a 10 min walk - do not do this with luggage! There is a HUGE set of old, rickety stairs you have to go down. The only half the in wall usb chargers worked lol

The hotel is situated out of town but is very close to the cable car and other amenities. It was a great location to get to the lakes and the sulphur springs. The staff were amazing, all of them. The assistant F&B manager Shun Gyoda was very concerned as there were a lot of children running around and spoiling our romantic dinner. He moved us to a quieter part of the restaurant. The facilities in the rooms were unique, we especially enjoyed the onsen bath outside on the patio of our room which was a nice touch. The food was very good, breakfast was amazing with a choice of Asian or European dishes. Everything was well maintained and the eye to detail was exemplary. We definitely will be going back.

Not much.

Private onsen within the room & beautiful views of the mountain and rivers in the morning. The sounds of flowing river is very calming.

The location is a little exclusive from transport by train - Gora station. We had to decent a dangerous steep mountain at night to get to the hotel. The hotels should inform the visitors to not go through this route and provide a sort of communication service from Gora station to be able to obtain the shuttle service.

- The staff are very professional + Frindly . - The river view is amazing and relaxing. - We’ve had the best service at the restaurant, we don’t eat pork or alcohol products for religion  reason and they were very understanding. - The shuttle bus service  to and from the hotel  was very convenient . - Special thank you to the housekeeping lady how found my diamond earrings without me even realising that I’ve lost them .

The only thing that I think needs to be improved is the toilets, we booked two rooms and both toilets had an unpleasant smell .

Excellent hotel, very clean and all amenities provided. Staff were great and restaurant had excellent buffet breakfast and dinner menu. Private onsen in room with amazing view, made it a very romantic place to stay. Would definately stay again. Location a little away from Gora but they offer transport for free!

The public onsen/pool was great but all pools were too hot. It would've been better if one or 2 pools were cooler, making it easier to relax and stay longer. The staff were not aware of what dinner meals looked like and came with. We were advised incorrectly by staff that meat dishes did not come with any sides or veges.

We were met with sparkling wine while waiting for check-in we had a 5 night stay . Our room was lovely, also very modern. The outdoor tub was wonderful with the sound of the river. I saw other reviews saying the town across the river was an eyesore, but it didn't bother us at all we had a great view over the hills and snow all over them . Dinner was amazing. Cocktails were on point; everything we ordered was delicious Jayar was fantastic at his job. The spa and sauna area was very relaxing and top quality (we basically had it to ourselves. The dinner on the first night was excellent. The breakfast every mornings was very tasty. Staff were all kind and professional with a cool relaxed vibe. The room we booked was HUGE. The bathroom was amazing. The entire bathing area was walled off in glass and inside there was a shower, a bench, and the huge Onsen tub on the balcony . The windows had electric wooden blinds that you could remotely raise and lower for privacy. They hotel offered a shuttle to the local train station which was very helpful . Coffee was served at our table at breakfast The room was well equipped with the latest technology, plenty of USB ports for charging devices. Huge lovely bed with plenty of soft pillows, thick bath towels, and thick bathrobes. Japanese clothes were available too. We liked the staff uniforms, jeans and upper shirt and waistcoats which gave a casual but trendy style. Very much enjoyed our stay. Thanks to all the staff for doing a great job. Jayar the food and Beverage manager remembered our coffee an food very good service we will come again