Sansuikan Kawayu Matsuya

Spacious room with plenty of natural light and a great river view. Friendly and helpful staff. Easy access and parking, for those traveling by car. Free shuttle to the start of the Hosshinmon-oji to Hongu Taisha section of the Kumano Kodo Trail, perfect for those wanting to hike (in our case, they allowed us to drive behind the shuttle to Hongu Taisha, where we boarded the shuttle, and then finished the hike close to the car, very convenient). Buffet breakfast, good and plentiful, but, in my opinion, a bit pricey. There are no restaurants or supermarkets in the area, so the hotel was our only option to eat something before starting the trail. Keep in mind that the rooms don't have a bathtub or shower; to wash, we had to go to the onsen at the partner hotel, 100 meters from ours (not that we minded - we actually found the experience interesting - but we were taken by surprise). the onsen is public, and we had the opportunity to enjoy in a mixed hot spring bath outdoors, right next to the riverbed.

The service was excellent. We had a problem due to travelling and the staff was extremely helpful and flexible. The onsen was so relaxing and had stunning views, right next to a beautiful cold river. The foodbuffet was delicious. I have celiac so I have to eat glutenfree, and the staff went to great lengths to make sure I could eat delicious glutenfree Japanese food. They showed me carefully which dishes were glutenfree, they even made a special plate for me. The Japanese style room was very nice and quiet. Location is great if you want to go on hikes. The free shuttle bus service is excellent and they even pick you up if you can't make it back to the hotel yourself after your hike. Very good value for money. Much recommended!

Feels more like a hostel than a hotel but staff were lovely, spoke & communicated in excellent English, and meals at the sister hotel nearby were great! Not too busy so the staff were able to move us to a non-smoking room without any difficulty (the booking . com website only offered a smoking room). There is only one floor for smokers, and the remaining three floors are non smoking. The indoor onsen was well set up with plenty of towels, yukata available, as well as access to the sister hotel's indoor & outdoor onsens. A quieter area than central Hongu at this time of year.

Great spot with views onto the river. The staff had given us a smoking room which smelled horrible but then were nice enough to change us to another one which was better. The provide yukatas and everything for the onsen but you have to walk outside to their other hotel (same for breakfast). The breakfast was great

You can use outdoor Onsen at the hotel nearby. The room had a toilet and sink in it and then you used the onsen at the property for showers. There was a free shuttle from Hongu Taisha. I had to have the service center at the Hongu Taisha-Mae bus stop call the hotel between 15:00-17:00 and they sent a shuttle 10 minutes later.