4-Star Hotels in Gifu Prefecture, Japan

Takayama: A very quiet city, and the only place that surprised me beyond my expectations. This hotel offers incredible value for money; it's clean, tidy, and pays attention to all the little details. There's an onsen (hot spring bath) on the rooftop, and the room was restocked with toiletries every day. Every staff member was proactive and enthusiastic, making other hotels feel a bit cold in comparison. Although the room was small, it was perfectly functional, and the breakfast was quite substantial, with items continuously replenished right up until closing. 👍

The hotel is very close to JR Takayama Station. After exiting the station, you don't need to cross the road; just turn right towards Tokyu Stay, and you'll find it after passing Ajikura Tengoku. The hotel's decor is very unique. We booked a corner triple room, so the space was incredibly spacious and comfortable. Besides drip coffee and tea bags, the room also provided bottled mineral water. There's an open-air bath on the 9th floor – simply flawless. Before my trip, I read many reviews recommending Hida beef, but to my dismay, I discovered Ajikura Tengoku was closed when I arrived (ugh!). Luckily, I quickly found Maruaki, a famous Hida beef restaurant open year-round. The beef was incredibly rich and fatty – you'll definitely fall in love with Hida beef! I'm already planning to come back next year! 😋

Great location, within walking distance to many restaurants. They have their own paid parking, which is convenient for those traveling by car. The hot spring views must be beautiful during the day, and the facilities are very complete. Overall, a great experience!

Great location!! Next to train station and close to the bus terminal..there are washing machine and microwave in the room. Excellent breakfast but try to come earlier to avoid long queue. Love outdoor onsen!! Staff were helpful and friendly. Will definitely stay here again.

I have no complaints at all to this Onsen Ryokan. It is definitely an old building, but the upkeep was done well. We were slightly late to check in (need to check in by 6pm so that the kaiseki dinner could be served), emailed them on their way and they replied pretty fast. We were greeted by the receptionist that is able to speak fluent English, she showed us around and sharing the facilities available. One small disappointment is although we mentioned we would like to have dinner together with 2 other rooms (our parents and siblings) when they asked us via email before the trip, they didn't manage to arrange it (and we arrived too late to make necessary arrangements). Nonetheless, the breakfast at the hall 2nd day they did arrange a big table for 9 of us including a kid and an infant. The onsens are superb, it is clean and has clear instructions what to do. When I visited, the ryokan is quite quiet, I enjoyed the serenity a lot!

Environment and Service: The hotel is quite large and relatively new, with a big courtyard perfect for a stroll. There's also a shuttle service to and from the station. The only minor drawback is that rooms on one side face the train tracks, which can be a bit noisy, and the soundproofing isn't great.

The hotel isn't new but it is clean and comfortable. The location is great. It's right outside the bus station which was the best. We traveled from Kyoto to Takayama by bus and was happy we didn't have to drag our suitcase far. It was also easy to travel to other locations from the bus station. The room was spacious and it had a stove and washing machine/ dryer. The staff were also wonderful and friendly.

To be honest considering this has a 4 star rating I'm a bit disappointed. Generally speaking it is a nice place but there are small things that are lacking compared to other similar Onsen Hotels at the same price. For example they don't provide a basket to go to the onsen but only a cheap plastic bag. The Hotel itself is very old but well maintained and at least the general spaces use nice materials and decoration. Once you reach the room it becomes worse. The materials used in the room are very cheap (Vinyl Floor, Cheap Wallpaper that was put on very poorly). Some aspects of the room have been refurnished, like the sink but most of it seems to be original from the 60s-80s. The bathtub and Toilet are retro models. The Onsen baths are a mixed bag - the one on the third floor with Wood ceiling seems to be the newest and is the best of the three. The other two (panorama and first floor) are in dire need of refurbishing. They seem in very bad condition and extremly old. The worst part (for me) was the Breakfast. 90% of the selection was japanese Style (and even that seemed poor). Western Options were only Pancakes, French Toast (which was good at least) and a few sad pieces of low quality bread with condiments. They didn't even have a coffee machine!!! Only pre-brewed coffee that tasted like water.

Very great location few minutes walk from Takayama bus station. The hotel provide free public spa and the breakfast is very good with different option. For room at the 8th floor, there is a lounge with free drinks and snacks available. Most of the staff is nice but when we encountered an issue during the breakfast where we forgot provide the ticket that we change the breakfast option, the staff was pulling a face at us for the whole meal afterwards. The system itself already complex enough where you need to both inform the counter and provide the ticket at the dining hall but I don’t think it’s appropriate to pull a face at the customer especially for someone working in a service field.

Visited one of Japan's top three hot spring towns and booked a traditional Japanese-style room at a century-old hotel, which included two meals. The hotel offers a shuttle service from the train station, which was incredibly convenient. Check-in was a breeze thanks to the friendly staff at the front desk who spoke Chinese. The room was exceptionally spacious with stunning views from the window – perfect for two people. The hot springs themselves, both indoor and outdoor, were wonderful. Gero Onsen truly lived up to its reputation; my skin felt incredibly smooth after a soak. Free cold drinks were available post-soak, and the milk from the vending machine was particularly delicious! The meals provided by the hotel were also plentiful and tasty. The entire hotel had a very authentic Japanese ambiance. Although we only stayed for one night, we're already looking forward to a longer visit in the future! Highly recommended to everyone.