訪訪客Fuji Lake Hotel says on its website that they are a ”people-friendly” hotel but they were anything but that, when we visited the hotel one day during our 3-day stay at Lake Kawaguchi in Fujikawaguchiku Japan. My sisters visited the hotel in the pre-pandemic days of 2017 and had a memorable and enjoyable afternoon having tea and cakes in the hotel's dining area. I had a desire for cakes one afternoon during our stay, and we took a bus from Kawaguchiko station specifically to this hotel hoping to partake their afternoon sweet delights. There were six of us, five sisters ad a brother-in-law. we arrived outside the hotel, which showed a huge poster promoting le Pain de Daniel showing danish pastries. So we were hopeful as we entered the lobby. We wanted to go into the lounge filled with sofas when two staff members - a man and a woman stopped us. The man asked if we were staying guests at the hotel and we said no but that we were there to have tea/coffee and cakes. He said cakes could be had across the street (there were no shops opened selling pastries). Then a second lady joined them and took charge, looking very determined to ”handle us”. Frowning very heavily and looking very stern, she asked again if we were staying at the hotel. I said we weren't but my sisters had a great time they visited to have tea in 2017 and we were here to do the same. I glanced towards the sofa area to ascerrain if there was a display of desserts, but she immediately stretched out her hands and very rudely told us, no tea no cakes. basically, she wanted us to get out of the hotel. Her whole stance was - ”you lot, get out of my hotel”. I've never in all my travels come across such an ill-mannered and disrespectful hotel staff as her. she was rude, discourteous and arrogant. Even if we were not hotel guests, there was no ground for such a hostile and rude approach. she could have very politely explained that the hotel is simply not opened to outside guests - although that was clearly contradicted by that huge poster outside advertising pastries. We could have been potential hotel guests in the future - my sisters love visiting Japan and has been many times. But her total attitude tells me and my family that this hotel is not welcoming in any way. I've been all over the world from camping on the frozen Arctic Ocean to the US, to the heart of Africa, to the southern reaches of New Zealand and Australia and reaches of China, but I would never ever step into a hotel like Fuji Lake Hotel again.
訪訪客Room accommodations: 4/5 rating - The room is very clean, spacious, and simple. I got the Japanese tatami style room facing Mt. Fuji. It feels like a legit Japanese experience. The bathroom and the entry way is small. Dining: 5/5 rating - The included buffet food is AMAZING! This is by far one of the best buffets I've had in a while. It's simple and nothing crazy, but the food quality is surprisingly good. Service: 4/5 rating - Allows baggage check-in. Great shuttle service to and from key areas in Kawaguchiko. English proficiency is Medium to Low. The staff speak limited English.
訪訪客Came by during the coldest winter in Japan for years and was at first worried about the snow storm as our cars are not fitted with snow tires, so I decided to call up the hotel. On hand to assist is a very nice and kind lady by the name of Zora who tried to go all out to assist and though we asked if we can cancel the stay with no cancellation fees, she mentioned it was tough due to regulations from the booking website. Nevertheless she took efforts to keep me posted of the conditions in Kawaguchiko prior to our arrival and we finally made our trip there. The hotel is clean and new as it opened almost 2.5 years ago hence was dealt with the Covid pandemic and it was not easy for them to survive. The hotel has several Mandarin speaking staff and check in is only after 3 pm hence when we arrived the counter was empty and waited for a while for a Mandarin speaking Japanese to come over to assist, very helpful with suggestions but again they didn’t allow us to amend our stay due to the upcoming snow storm. In the end we decided to forfeit our 2nd night stay due to the fact we do not have snow tire and this is where I felt the hotel can be a bit more flexible by offering a discount. The rooms we were given is huge and spacious , as mentioned by Zora with a good view of Mount Fuji, however the view changes just the next day hence we are lucky to have a wonderful view of Mount Fuji from the room . Overall the stay was very good as staff are very helpful, multi lingual staff with one of the guy from Taiwan being able to speak Mandarin , English , Cantonese , Korean and of course Japanese. Breakfast is simple but very adequate .