Hotel Associa Takayama Resort

The rooms were nice, but the hot springs bath areas are the best I have ever encountered. There are two indoor pools and a sauna and ten outdoor pools with spectacular views. There are separate men's and women's areas. The food in the restaurant was very good but the restaurant was crowded. The lounge has a French theme and a waterfall making it a fantastic place to sit and relax. The only drawback to this mountain location is the difficulty getting to town from there, but with so much here you don't need to leave. Highly recommend for a relaxing retreat.

Thanks to Mr. Lee, Our Takayama Trip Was Even More Special From the moment we arrived at the hotel entrance, Mr. Lee warmly welcomed us with such kindness. He provided a thorough and thoughtful explanation of the hotel facilities and guided us to our room with great care. We were especially touched by his assistance with the shuttle bus. As it was hot outside, he kindly invited us to wait comfortably in the lobby until the shuttle arrived. When it did, he personally came to let us know and guided us to the shuttle. Thanks to Mr. Lee’s warm hospitality, our stay in Takayama was incredibly pleasant and memorable. We are truly grateful.

I really liked the hotel and better than expected given some of the reviews. Key points: - it is outside of the town so you have to get the shuttle and very limited taxi availability at certain times of day. Although the views you get are amazing - the rooms are well sized and shower powerful - the hotel is dated. Think your grandmas house. Having said that I really liked it. It had a certain vintage chic! Everything is very clean and well maintained. Don’t expect modern contemporary - the hotel seems to be a hub for big tour companies and the car park is full of large coaches. It therefore feels very transient. This didn’t bother us as we were only staying to a couple of days - the spa/onsen is excellent. Beautiful views with a large area, sauna and great changing rooms - the buffet food is good for a buffet. Again don’t expect premium food but the quality is good and it is clear the chefs care about their cooking My only complaint and this seems to be consistent with other feedback is that we had an issue with one of the staff on the front desk. We needed to get an early train and on trying to book a taxi the day before there were no taxis. When we asked the reception member what to do he shrugged his shoulders. We said we would pay extra for the shuttle bus to do a separate journey, again he said no. We asked him for a solution otherwise we will miss our train and he just kept saying no. This may have been a language issue but it didn’t make us feel good. Fortunately another family had convinced a different member of staff to put on an earlier bus and we took that. Otherwise we would have missed our train for a 5 hour journey. In conclusion; set your expectations right and this is a good spot for a stay in Takayama.