Hakone Prince Annex

Hakone Prince Annex Review

Upon arriving at the Odawara Station from Tokyo, we inquired at the local Odawara Visitors Bureau office in the station and the very nice lady there helped make us a reservation to catch the Hakone Prince shuttle. The shuttle driver met us outside the station next to the samurai statue. Upon boarding the van, the driver stored our overnight bags and when all the other guests arrived we drove out of the station. The driver was gracious enough to give us a guided tour of the Hakone area as we drove-but in Japanese.

The Hakone Prince Annex is the newer wing of the original Hakone Prince Hotel. The front desk staff spoke English and serviced us quickly and gave us tips on what to do in the area. There was a large sitting area just off the front desk with a great view of Lake Ashinoko. I think it doubled as a lounge.

The room:
The room was larger, much larger than the Shinagawa Prince Hotel in Tokyo. The room on the 1st floor had a back door which gave us access to the back lawn overlooking Lake Ashinoko and gave us a wonderful view. The room had nice furniture and the sitting table allowed us to have a cold beer and snacks to eat before we went out. The room had the deep tub and the bidet toilet. The safe in the room was a larger. Little older model that we liked. We also found that the “rotem buro” outdoor onsen bath was a mere 50 feet from the room. Although the onsen was small, the hot water and the cool air hitting your head made it feel almost zen-like. The men’s bath had the same nice lake view we had from our room.

The food:
Since we arrived off-season, the hotel was not full, and the restaurant limited meals to the Potomac Restaurant just past the front desk. The restaurant had that same great Lake Ashinoko view as the lounge. With a salad bar that was quite good, we found the meals quite good as well. For dinner we had the “set menu” beef tenderloin that was cooked to a perfect medium rare and very tender and with the cooked veggies and starch and a dessert of a Japanese roll cake with filling and coffee to end the meal. 4,500 Yen for the dinner.

Shopping:
There was a nice shopping area at Hakone-en next to the Hakone Prince Hotel where you could find food items, clothing, and souvenirs, including an aquarium and the Komagatake Ropeway station, and also a bus terminal for both the Izu Hakone Bus Company and the Hakone Tozan Bus Company.

Location:
Hakone Prince Annex, Hakone-en, Hakone Japan.

For more information and photos please go to http://travljpn.blogspot.com

For more information on Japan, please go to http://traveljapan-us.com.