We booked this hotel to have a real Japanese experience and on this we were not disappointed. The kids loved staying in a real Tatami room, sleeping on the floor. This hotel is very popular with Japanese which is a great indicator as to it's authenticity. The staff didn't speak a great deal of English but enough and were extremely friendly and helpful with any requests. We didn't try the public spa but booked a private one which we all enjoyed but would say it was a little pricey for what it offers. We also opted for the breakfast on day 2 which was booked with the hotel at check-in. This is a very traditional Japanese feast - like nothing we'd eaten anywhere else in Japan. For some, it was an exciting array of real Japanese flavours very carefully prepared and presented and served in private traditional dining rooms (see photo). However, there are no separate options - it is a set meal selected by the chef and was not to everyone's taste (2 of us thoroughly enjoyed it out of a group of 5). We would advise travellers to consider this, as it is an expensive option and sadly, much of ours went to waste. The hotel is, unfortunately, more dated and worn out than the photos on the advert show however, we would still rate this as as one of our top 3 hotels of our trip (and we stayed in 8 different ones) for it's authenticity and location, which is absolutely perfect. It is on the outskirts of the park (which is vast and an uphill climb) but also a 5 minute walk to the town with a variety of shops and restaurants. We travelled on the Kintetsu train from Tambabashi to Nara (super efficient) and the station is only a 15minute walk to the hotel. It's fairly close to the beautiful Sarusawa Pond and you'll be certain to meet the deer before you even reach the front of the hotel! Overall it was one of our most memorable experiences of Japan.

Nothing really. If we had to say anything - maybe some English breakfast tea and hot chocolate for the kids in the lobby. We weren't aware of any laundry facilities that exist in other hotels across Japan but, as we had no need for them, maybe they were available.

Traditional Japanese breakfast, wonderful

Excellent friendly helpful staff. Great location and great ryokan experience.

Nothing

The staff was wonderful and the Japanese breakfast was copious.

The overall ryokan was run down and the carpets were really dirty.