Loved the location and waking up by the river. We used this accommodation during our Kumano kodo hike and found it easy to get to using public transport, although not as convenient to the actual route. We didn’t find this too much of a concern with the bus services. Having breakfast and dinner included in the neighbouring hotel was also nice and easy. The afternoon onsen beside the river was the highlight.

Very old and dated, could have been a little bit cleaner.

Feels more like a hostel than a hotel but staff were lovely, spoke & communicated in excellent English, and meals at the sister hotel nearby were great! Not too busy so the staff were able to move us to a non-smoking room without any difficulty (the booking . com website only offered a smoking room). There is only one floor for smokers, and the remaining three floors are non smoking. The indoor onsen was well set up with plenty of towels, yukata available, as well as access to the sister hotel's indoor & outdoor onsens. A quieter area than central Hongu at this time of year.

The location was magic! Beautiful river to look out at and swim in. Using the free riverside onsen ten minutes walk away or the free hotel onsen two minutes walk away were both wonderful experiences. We felt the overall shabbiness was quire charming and we were very happy about the low price! We loved having a balcony, there are stools on the reception floor. We recommend the restaurant upstairs on the "main street" five minutes walk away past the bridge to the free onsen. Good value, friendly and delicious! If you find everything is shut there are snacks at the gift shop in the "sister hotel" down the road, also an icecream machine on the street.

The room was small- almost no room for our luggage. But this was reflected in the price.

Great spot with views onto the river. The staff had given us a smoking room which smelled horrible but then were nice enough to change us to another one which was better. The provide yukatas and everything for the onsen but you have to walk outside to their other hotel (same for breakfast). The breakfast was great

The building is super old and needs a fix up. It's a really cool building and has a lot of potential but the facilities were old and quite dirty. Despite this for a night in the kumano kodo trail it wasn't bad at all ;)

You can use outdoor Onsen at the hotel nearby. The room had a toilet and sink in it and then you used the onsen at the property for showers. There was a free shuttle from Hongu Taisha. I had to have the service center at the Hongu Taisha-Mae bus stop call the hotel between 15:00-17:00 and they sent a shuttle 10 minutes later.

There is a dinner and breakfast offered at the hotel nearby but the dinner was fully booked when we tried to reserve one day before. The staff at the reception were unwelcoming.

Annex of main hotel, use of all onsen facilities at main hotel which has mixed outdoor onsen pool, indoor traditional onsen. All just a few doors away, Can book shuttle bus to Hongu and return for guests. All rooms face river (watch kite fish in river). Also ability to dig your own river onsen.

Room was a little muskie , maybe window was left open in rain? Not a major problem though. No convenience store in town, stock up before arrival. Some things at main hotel and Meals.

Wonderful location. Friendly staff especially Honda, who spoke English and was very courteous to us. Two riverbank onsens and one inside. Great buffet breakfast, if a bit expensive. (1600 yen). The hotel provides free shuttle buses to walk locations.

Breakfast a bit early, finishing at 9. We didn't know about free shuttle bus to hotel, and were stuck in Hongu Taisha mae until very last bus at 18.50. The town was totally dead by then. Everything shut. Phone the hotel if you can.

Great value and location. The river onsen next door was a highlight of my whole time in Japan.

The light in my room was blown and the cigarette smoke smell in the hallways and in my room was a bit off putting considering I'm a non-smoker. But I can accept that if it means cheaper room.

Very grateful for their shuttle bus service. We arrived at Hongutaisha late when the tourist center was closed and there was literally no bus running. Called them at around 7PM and got picked up in ten minutes. For a budget stay we were thankful for the service offered. Onsen and dinner/breakfast were also very enjoyable.

The staff were incredibly helpful during our stay. Even after we had checked out and experienced an accident with one of our family members, they assisted us promptly and without hesitation. They arranged transportation and provided additional support. The professionalism displayed by the staff was exemplary and of the highest standard.

The metal room-doors.