HOSHINOYA Guguan

Stayed two nights in this secluded resort, which was the reason we stopped at Guguan, and it did not disappoint. We arrived after the normal check-in time and were led to our maisonette by a staff, who showed us the facilities on the way. The staff went on to show us the amenities of our maisonette and prepared tea for us. The first floor of our maisonette was divided into different zones for luggage, toilet, dining, relaxing and sleeping. The zen / minimalistic design gave off relaxing vibes and one felt that one could curl up on the day bed with a book and look out of the floor-to-ceiling windows all day long. The second floor consisted of an open-plan bathroom with two wash basins, a shower and an outdoor onsen. It worked for couples and families with young kids but could be problematic for people who wanted more privacy. The onsen was nice but it did take time to adjust the temperature. The two floors were connected by a staircase with no railings and might prove to be dangerous for young kids. Our three-year-old loved running up and down the stairs, which meant we had to run after him too. It served to make us exercise after our sumptuous meals. We had a dinner reservation in the restaurant on our first night. My husband and I had the excellent Kaiseki course and our child had the kid’s meal, the portion of which was huge and would have been enough for an adult. It would be great if they could offer something smaller for young kids. Service at the table was exceptional and I appreciated that they double-checked with me my allergies. We had hotpot for dinner in our room on our second night. Food was delicious and quite good value for money. I was at first worried that the smell of the food would linger in the room but it turned out alright thanks to the excellent ventilation. It would probably be better, however, if we had booked dinner earlier. The only available time slot when we booked (on the day after breakfast) was 8:00 p.m. For breakfast, one could choose from three options – Taiwanese, Japanese and Western. My husband and I chose Taiwanese and Japanese on both days. The portions were big and the food was tasty. But I wish they would refill our fruit juices. I was only given half a glass of apple juice on my first day. At the price they charged, one would expect to get free flow of juice. The landscaped garden was enchanting. We enjoyed the guided tour of the garden in the morning and stretching exercise under the stars in the evening. The swimming pool was masterfully designed to form part of the garden and our child had fun playing with the other kids. Free bottled drinks and float tubes were offered at the pavilion but the ice cream was not free. While we could get free ice lollies, tea jellies and drinks served in the lounge area, I felt that they could be more generous and give us free ice cream too. The outdoor bath hall was beautiful. One felt surrounded by nature when having a soak there. We only went there once though, as it was much more convenient to use the onsen in the room. I stayed there for around 45 minutes and had the entire place to myself most of the time. Overall speaking, it was a very rejuvenating and enjoyable stay. Would love to stay there again.

I booked two rooms, 201 and 202. My wife and I stayed at the 201 and my sister stayed at 202. We saw there was a dirty spot on the mat which on the first floor at room 202. It was visible by eyes and looked like a urine spot. The size is about 2 x 1 and it was right at the middle of the mat. We informed the service person who was doing the room tour and requested to REPLACE the mat immediately. She promised she will do that. - There was a crew brought the cleaning tools tried to CLEAN the spot while my sis was taking a break. My sister told them it was not a proper time to do the spot cleaning so the crew left and no further actions were taken - NO one informed me about the status or result ever. - The dirty spot was there all the time till we checked out. My sister never used that area which supposed to be the highlight of the room. This is not an acceptable operation for such a highend hotel or any hotel should do. This is not what we expected from Hoshinoya. No management ever contacted us for this issue. This has violated the customer rights. We booked the rooms six months ago. and traveled all the way from USA. We were very DISAPPOINTED with the situation and the way hotel management dealing with the issue. The is totally NOT WORTHY OF THE NAME.

Customer injured due to wrong design of reading roomladder. Till now no one contact how to proceed all the claims. It’s now worth how they charge. Even staff admits there happens alot accidents before.

To indulge yourself, this is a best resort to reboost your energy with authentic Japanese food and good quality onsen. Best come for more than 2 nights so could really slow your own pace to relief all the nervous temper. Staffs are warming and helpful, they put a lot of effort to make sure you know the best of Hoshinoya.

Excellent stay. The hotel is very beautiful esp the garden. The room is very comfortable and good size. The hot spring is very good with choices of public hot spring and hot spring in your room, both with different views. Food is amazing! The service is in general very good. The hotel has various activities and a short trail for a troll in the mountain. There is no TV but it is excellent not having it (sadly many people still sticking to their phone even during dinner…). We love this hotel and our stay. The only thing would make our stay better would be having yoga and/or tai chi lessons in the morning. It would also be nice if the hotel smell better too i.e. having fragrance in the lobby. I would definitely visit other Hoshinoya hotels, hopefully in Japan when it is possible.

We visited shortly after lockdowns were lifted and it was clear that hotel operations had not adjusted fully to the new reality. The outdoor pool, main onsen and restaurants were closed. Meals were taken in our rooms but wait staff were not versed with such table set-up and related attention to details one would expect for a high-end resort and its luxury-priced meal offer (not included in room rate). There were some activities organized for families, but far from enough to entertain the kids for any length of time. Overall, a poor pandemic value. (But if not for pandemic, apparently nearly impossible to book!) Also, use generous amounts of bug spray before venturing into the garden areas, the mosquitos are fierce. One highlight - the complementary dried fruits in-room amenity tasted perfect!

My husband and I made reservations 6 months in advance for our anniversary - we booked the Shui (Maisonette double with outdoor bath) for two nights at a mere 10% discount, which amounted to just under $40K NTD (~$1400 USD) including the 10% service fee + taxes and excluding meals. The resort is pretty secluded so most guests (including ourselves) had every meal onsite, which totaled another $18K (USD$650) for 2 breakfasts, 1 lunch and 2 dinners. Because of COVID, the few amenities they offer (public onsen, spa and pool) were closed. The food was mediocre and the delivery was always at least a half hour late (they encourage/impose in-room dining because of COVID restrictions). The room was immaculate but the bed was incredibly uncomfortable - an atrocious amalgamation of two twin beds with an obtrusive saddle-like foam thing in-between. WTF?? Also, the walls were so thin we could hear the kids next door screaming and bouncing up and down the stairs well into the night. Definitely not a five-star experience!

非常謝謝星野的工作人員給我們一個難忘的假期

硬體設施強, 但餐點CP值不高,晚餐單點即可吃飽。 飯店服務人員親切且訓練有素, 也會主動上前確認是否需要幫忙拍照。 房內無電視也無音樂。 整體來說, 非常滿意, 極度放鬆的一趟旅行, 住了兩晚都沒有外出過~很願意回訪!

環境安靜雅緻, 造景優美, 可以讓人優閒的渡假, 享受大自然的美景. 服務人員都很親切有禮, 會盡量滿足客戶的需求, 套餐價格偏高, 口味尚佳, 每道菜份量不多但也夠飽的, 建議可以增加用餐單點或兒童餐的選項, 讓小孩也能享用, 晚間活動很少, 只有泡湯和泳池邊的雞尾酒活動, 希望多點休閒活動/設施, 能讓親子同遊的家庭有更多休閒的空間