Hotel Ryu Resort and Spa

A really lovely quiet hotel with Japanese/Western style rooms which were really spacious. Great fun experience dressing up in yukata for dinner each evening which the hotel provided with an abundance of patterns. Dinner was an adventure with excellent standard of food.

Pros: - great onsen (ranked 7 out 1400 hotel) - great staffs. Friendly and helpful especially Elly. She is very helpful, can speak mandarin and japanese fluently and some English. She is very patient and provide information on the place of interest. - nice scenery hotel. - very nice lobby and dining hall. Cons: - bathrooms are clean but old and outdated this look dirty. - rooms are not as nice as the photos. - no other restaurants available within the hotel. If you do not drive, you would have to eat in the hotel. Traditional jap dinner. - breakfast is the same everyday. If you stay more than 3 days, you will get bored of the breakfast. Overall, the staffs are amazing but hotel.room is average. Bathroom is really small, old and outdated and as a result look a bit dirty. However, the warmth of the staffs esp Elly makes it a wonderful stay. Tips: do not expect luxury hotel standards for your room. Room is just average.

If you are in this part of Japan then this is a must stay resort and spa. Fantastic traditional style rooms and beds, with every comfort. Dine in or use the spa in a hotel provided kimono of a colour of your choice. Try the 100% pure poured natural hot spring baths or use the adjacent forest trails for trekking, gazing at star filled sky's, or fishing and tennis. Plenty for all tastes.

We visited this resort this past August and found the staff to be absolutely second to none. They are extremely helpful and lovely to deal with - they were especially kind to our 6 year old. The onsen was fabulous - a great way to relax after a day of exploring the surrounds.

We stayed in April as part of a group tour. The hotel appeared to have very very few other guests. The food was excellent for both dinner and breakfast. The rooms were very large. To add to the local ambience most of the rooms had straw mats and beds on the floor. I understand that guests with mobility issues were given more traditional western style rooms. This is part of a resort with I think about 40 external residences. Whilst we were there only 1 was occupied. I was surprised at the depth of snow that still remained in mid April.

Dinner was great, staff was very friendly. Pricey though.

A very good hotel to choose if you are driving to Takayama! Its in the mountain area which gives you a different feel of the area from Takayama/Shirakawago The breakfast served is good and hotel staff are very friendly! Ask them for nearby food recommendations, they helped direct me to a small homey restaurant that was my best meal in Japan! The onsen is true to picture as well! Very beautiful

This is a nice cozy resort away from city life. Great service throughout my stay here. Room is modern Japanese style with futon mattress, very spacious and well equipped. Dinner was provided as part of our stay and it was amazing, especially the Hida beef. The set dinner was complemented with a mini buffet which included tempura, miso soup, etc. The onsen was great, temperature was just right in a cold night of -4 degree. Breakfast was good, Japanese set with mini buffet combination.

The Ryu Spa Hotel is set in wooded countryside some 40 minutes drive from the traditional town of Takayama. We were part of a tour group and were offered western style or Japanese style bedrooms. Our large room had comfortable futons and a spacious living area. The staff were very friendly and helpful and our meals, consisting of traditional Japanese dishes, were memorable. The hot mineral spa baths looked out over the trees and gave us a true 'onsen' experience! A most delightful stay.

Amazing onsen and dinner. Very quiet as it is deep into the forest.