Atami Onsen Guesthouse Nagomi

I was attending a culinary school close to this guesthouse and it came recommended by them, so I reserved five nights at around $150 USD per night. I should mention I have stayed in traditional Japanese homes in the past, and I have visited the country several times. Based on the photos and description, I was anticipating a well-kept, friendly traditional accommodation experience. The listing on *********** claimed English was spoken, and when I reserved I got a very friendly English message from the property explaining the onsen (spa) reservation system and that I could order sake for 1000 yen. Nice! When I arrived the man behind the counter was quite unfriendly and spoke no English. He carried my suitcase to the room which was appreciated. I wanted to get some tourist time in my day so I left without looking closely at anything and went for a walk. When I returned, I explored the property further. The outdoor kitchen area was not usable (seats on chairs completely broken) my bathtub was not clean, the kitchen had one dim light bulb (no chance of cooking here) and sochi screens in my room were torn. To cap it off, there was a very loud clanging sound outside my room coming from a tank across the road. No chance of sleeping here. Also - no locks on the doors leading to outside. I gathered my things and went down to the front desk and explained that I would not be able to sleep here (gave details) and was told by the man behind the desk to cancel my booking on *********** and he would arrange a refund. (Using Google translate) I then followed up with both the property and *********** and ten days later, no refund has appeared. I paid for five nights, he commuted verbally on the day I left I would get a four day refund, (I thought this was fair as they would need to do a fresh clean of my room… I had made the bed) and on *********** he committed to two via the chat function. Not cool. I have now had to take this up with my credit card company, and am hoping for the best.

Atami Onsen Guesthouse Nagomi is situated very close to the Atami Plum Gardens which is a primary reason for my selection. The room was quite nicely done in a traditional Japanese style and the onsen was relaxing. It seemed like there was still some renovations being done so the property had a number of updated features mixed with older ones. I am sure this will improve as the project(s) are completed. The town itself is small so be prepared in advance for that. All in all a nice place to stay!