The Prince Karuizawa

Due to a leg injury and difficulty moving around, the front desk specially arranged a room very close to the lobby, which was incredibly thoughtful. The room was clean, tidy, and quiet, with a beautiful view outside the window.

The hotel boasts stunning natural scenery with lush greenery and dense forests. Our room overlooked a beautiful golf course. The lobby bar offered complimentary draft beer, coffee, and other beverages. Free bicycle rentals were available for exploring. The main building is a bit far from the station, and the shuttle only runs twice an hour, which was a bit inconvenient. The hot spring bath was also a bit of a walk away. If you prefer to be closer to the station, the West Wing might be a better option.

There are several Prince Hotels in Karuizawa, and this one is 5-star but a bit old. To get to the hot springs or the outlet mall, you have to take a shuttle bus. The hotel rooms are laid out in a long corridor, so if you're unlucky enough to get a room in the 50s, you'll feel like you're walking forever. The scenery, however, is quite nice, as it directly faces the golf course. Besides providing shuttle buses to the hot springs, outlet mall, and train station, the hotel also offers private car service during off-hours. The concierge also has free bicycle rentals (electric and non-electric). What's really great is that upon check-out, you can arrange to have your luggage delivered directly to a service point at the outlet mall (this is excellent, no need to drag your own bags to catch a ride). All in all, it's still pretty good.

The Prince Hotel always maintains high-standard service quality and is the perfect choice for a trip to Karuizawa. The hotel environment is excellent, with picturesque views from the window. The breakfast, booked through Trip.com, was of superb quality, and dining with such a view was truly delightful. The shuttle bus makes it convenient to visit the hot springs, the station, or the outlet mall. You can spend the morning exploring attractions, the afternoon shopping at the outlet, and then return to the hotel for a relaxing hot spring bath in the evening. With temperatures just over 20 degrees Celsius, it's truly an excellent summer resort. Perfect!

After getting off the Shinkansen, we exited the South Exit and quickly spotted the hotel's service center not far away. We handed over our luggage there (they'll arrange for it to be delivered to our room) and immediately started our outlets shopping spree. We had a great time shopping for three hours, then took the hotel's shuttle bus directly back to the hotel to check in and enjoy the hot springs. The hotel environment is excellent... Every window offers a beautiful view, especially in the breakfast restaurant... It was truly enjoyable to eat breakfast while watching people play golf across the way. 😎

The infrastructure investment is really good, and there are hot springs. However, the rooms are very old, dated, and quite depressing. The executive lounge is decent, and the golf course is also good; I played golf every day. I'm guessing they provided these things.

The hotel facilities were fantastic, I absolutely loved them. However, after dragging my luggage to the train station, I spent a long time looking for the hotel shuttle because the instructions didn't clearly state which exit to use. I had to ask many people before I found out the shuttle was at a different exit. Then, when I finally saw the hotel shuttle driver, he didn't stop and just waved for us to wait further away, which was really confusing. I suggest the hotel clearly specify which exit at the station is convenient for boarding the shuttle. The hotel staff were excellent, very polite and patient, and could assist in English, which was great. The location is on the edge of a forest, and the surroundings are beautiful. The only downside is that if you go out for dinner and don't use the shuttle to the train station, you have to walk quite a distance, which is a bit inconvenient.

The hotel was almost perfect, just a little bit old. But Japanese hotels are always so well-maintained that it felt more like old money charm. The free drinks in the lounge were a fantastic bonus, you could drink as much as you liked! We didn't get to try the French restaurant as it was fully booked, so we only experienced breakfast. The view from the restaurant was absolutely stunning though! 👍 As for the Western-style breakfast, it was decent, nothing special. I'd definitely visit again if I have the chance.