Hoshino Resorts Kai Beppu

Amazing service by Yoshi san of Dining, Amy of Front Desk. The hotel is small with limited facilities but they try their best to create activities with guest engagements such as morning exercise, sake drinking for free, onsen water lab education, music entertainment and some games for guests to enjoy. Highly recommended.

Service and food are great! Certainly enjoyed the place with my family!!

It was unfortunate that I did not read the reviews probably before making the booking. If I had, I would not have booked this hotel. As many others have pointed out, this is essentially an average Japanese business hotel standard of service (maybe worse than the standard as they are understaffed and staff seem disinterested in general), but charged at 4 to 5 star price. Of course rooms are big and the view is great, with good food provided. But that’s all I can say about the positive things about this hotel. However, if I am paying several hundreds of dollars for a night, I would expect a lot more than these. At the bare minimum, we are in Japan, and the service should at least meet the standard of business hotels. But in Kai Hoshino Beppu, I was denied simple requests such as 1) to have extra bottle of water as I finished drinking the bottle in the room (not mineral water, it is a refillable bottle of water. I was told to drink directly from the tap in the toilet instead, as Japanese tap water is drinkable. Of course I know some countries have drinkable tap water (I come from one myself), but people have their preferences and I think I deserve to be respected in that matter, especially in a hotel! And 2) I was told not to play the game in the lobby as I did not bring the “map” given at check in and I am not allowed to play unless I bring the map down. Well, I just shrugged my shoulder and left. It’s not a super fun game that I would bother to go up and down just to play it. If I am walking around in their lobby in their own room wear, I don’t see the point of presenting the map to them to prove that I am a hotel guest. Examples are plenty and I shall not write too long. Bottom line: do not stay in this hotel unless you have nowhere better to spend your money, but even if that’s the case, there are much better other options in beppu or yufuin where your money will be better spent. This hotel has no proper service, the attitude of the staff (especially those in the reception) is lukewarm and occasionally cold. I will NEVER visit this hotel again. And this in fact has a negative impact on my impression of Hoshino group in general.