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This Ritz-Carlton Nikko review includes our experience of a Lake View Room, Lake View Suite, and the resort's onsen. The hotel, which opened in 2020, is the first Ritz-Carlton with its own onsen (natural hot spring) as part of the spa.
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Ritz-Carlton Nikko Location and Getting There
The Ritz-Carlton Nikko is located at 2482 Chugushi in Nikko, about a 30-minute drive from the Tobu Nikko train station. It takes less than two hours by train from Tobu Asakusa Station in Tokyo to Tobu Nikko Station, and the most luxurious train to travel on is the Spacia X train, launched in 2023. Alternatively, it's possible to take the Ueno-Tokyo train to Utsunomiya, then transfer to a local Nikko train to get to Nikko Station, which takes ~2.5 hours, or to drive from Tokyo, which also takes ~2.5 hours.
After arriving, we were welcomed into the lobby lounge, near the gas fireplace, and brought oshibori towels as well as Japanese tea (as well as juice for our teen) and traditional sweets.
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Ritz-Carlton Nikko Lake View Room and Lake View Suite
We stayed our first night in a Lake View King Room (613 sq. ft.), which, like the lobby lounge, was handsomely designed in light colored wood. These rooms accommodate a maximum of two adults and one child, although the child needs to sleep on a sofa that's rather short (no rollaway bed permitted in this room). We highly recommend asking for an additional duvet or mattress pad, as the sofa is very firm and needs additional padding to be comfortable. The king bed in both the room and the suite, however, was very comfortable, and wonderful to sleep on after the extremely firm bed at the Park Hyatt Niseko.
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Encased in a wooden box was a welcome amenity of local Tochigi strawberries, which we all enjoyed.
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Also in the sunroom is a wooden cabinet with a Nespresso machine, hot water kettle, bottled water, honor bar spirits and wine, and a refrigerated mini bar. I liked that TWG tea, one of my favorite tea brands, was provided.
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Sliding wooden doors close the bathroom off from the bedroom:
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The bathroom itself is very spacious, with the double sinks on opposite sides of the door, a separate toilet chamber, and the rain shower and ofuro deep soaking tub by the window, so as to enjoy views of the lake.
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Shampoo and conditioner are by French perfume house Diptyque.
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Our second night we stayed in a Lake View Suite (1237 sq. ft.), which is what we'd recommend for families or for three guests, since it can accommodate one rollaway bed. I loved the vaulted ceiling of this suite, which lent it additional airiness, as well as the ample natural light.
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The sun room, similar to the Lake View Room, has a short sofa that can be made up as a bed for a short child, but you'll want a regular rollaway for a taller child or adult. The floor to ceiling sliding glass door opens up to a balcony, although we didn't spend time on it as it was fairly chilly in late November.
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The bathroom has double sinks side by side and a rain shower with deep soaking tub that also has a view of the lake.
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Wooden sliding doors can close the bedroom off from the living room, although since the doors don't go all the way up to the ceiling it's not light-proof or sound-proof; for a young child, it works better to have him/her sleep on the sofa made into a bed in the sun room.
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There are two toilet chambers, one by the master bedroom's walk-in closet, and the other down the hall, more accessible to the guest staying in the living room or sun room.
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Ritz-Carlton Nikko Onsen
The resort's onsen, with its natural hot spring water, is open 5:30 am until noon, and from 2-11 pm (it's closed for cleaning between noon and 2 pm). Since we were jet-lagged and up early, we went right at 5:30 am when it opened and both my husband and I were alone in our respective onsen baths for much of our soaking time before being joined by one other bather. I liked that in addition to the indoor onsen, pictured below, there's also an outdoor onsen on the other side of the window. Given how hot the onsen water is, it was refreshing to be outside in the cool autumn air.
Here's our Ritz-Carlton Nikko video review:
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Ritz-Carlton Nikko STARS Benefits
TravelSort Clients enjoy STARS benefits:
- Upgrade at check-in subject to availability
- Welcome amenity
- Complimentary daily breakfast for up to two guests
- One $100 hotel credit per room per stay
- Priority for connecting rooms
- Early check-in/late check-out subject to availability
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Ritz-Carlton Nikko Breakfast and Dining
See our review of the Ritz-Carlton Nikko Restaurants and Dining.
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The Verdict
We had a fantastic stay at the Ritz-Carlton Nikko, thanks to the beautiful lake view room and suite, comfortable bed, relaxing onsen hot spring, excellent cuisine, and excellent service. While there was one serious mishap, the hotel was exemplary with its service recovery and we highly recommend it as the best base to explore Nikko's UNESCO World Heritage shrines and the scenic Lake Chuzenji.
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