This property is an absolute gem. Fantastic rooms with amazing views, amazing authentic cuisine, and fabulous open air private onsens all set in a national park overlooking the city of Nara. The free excursions to see the night sky and the fireflies are great little bonuses. The rooms are very roomy, comfy beds, and huge picture window. The staff were brilliant and super helpful. This hotel has become my most favourite hotel ever. Just amazing in every sense. And Nara is just an amazing place.

The only criticism is the shuttle bus. It comes infrequently to the train stations and I’d advise to get a taxi to the hotel. We had an early train out and couldn’t get a taxi so ended up walking back into town which is apparently prohibited. The transport needs to be more flexible.

Wonderful views and a relaxing place to stay. The staff were so friendly and helpful. The meals were the best presented we’ve ever seen - each course like a work of art. The kids struggled a bit with the Japanese-style breakfast but that’s no criticism of the quality. We loved sitting in the lounge playing some of the traditional wooden board games. And the private baths on the rooftop were fun.

Only criticism would be that there’s literally nowhere to walk from the hotel. Pedestrians aren’t allowed on the steep winding road up to the property and there were no Forest trail paths that you could pick up for a short stroll or a morning run. The hotel does put on a shuttle bus to and from town. But once you’re up there, there no escape. Perhaps that’s a good thing?

We really liked our room. The layout, design and size of the room is impressive, the view over Nara is amazing, and the possibility to make use of the private rooftop onsen was wonderful.

We thought in general the staff was not very friendly towards us. Most of our pre-arrival questions were not answered and only at check-in they communicated that you have to book breakfast, dinner and private onsen slots in advance. As we arrived quite late in the afternoon (6pm), the remaining options were very limited, which was not very convenient. It would be bettter to communicate this clearly in advance, before arrival. The breakfast is not good value for money, it is too expensive for what you get.

The view was amazing overlooking Nara. Dinner was every evening different, 8 courses all looked like artwork served by the most wonderful people! We enjoyed to be spoilt by a glass of champagne every evening.

We would have loved to go for walks directly from the hotel. Unfortunately the road to and from the Ando Hotel is only for cars, no people are allowed. Luckily the hotel shuttle offers to drop you off at Wakakusayama where you can walk through nature.

Amazing hotel, with amazing staff and wonderful amenities The rooms were spacious, clean and had excellent views Dinner was exquisite and breakfast was scrumptious

Nothing! Everything was perfect..

What's not to like? To start things off they offer a shuttle bus clearly labelled Ando Hotel to pick up & drop off at both train stations. Ando exceeded all expectations for my partner & I. The staff were great & tried their hardest to converse with us in English. We had a spectacular dinner service & 9pm lights tour to the summit of the mountain. In the morning, we got to experience a fantastic private hot bath overlooking the Nara landscape. Breakfast was traditional Japanese with majority local Nara products. The lobby has a fire pit & warm waiting area to play Japanese board games if that's your thing. Would absolutely recommend a relax & recover stay at Ando Hotel. 10/10 will be returning our next visit to Japan.

The only downside this hotel has is the inability for tourists to get into town easily outside of the buses scheduled hours. (Trust me, walking isn't an option for your average joe) This "issue" didn't faze us as we embraced the rest and relaxation Ando has to offer

Incredible vistas, worth staying for these alone. Service was excellent & staff were very accomodating. Our penthouse accomodation was large & very comfortable with a private onsen & firepit which they prepared nightly. We had breakfast & lunch included which were traditional Japanese, superbly presented with the dinner being Michelin star worthy. A pretty special place to stay if you want to relax.

Equipment like glasses etc in the kitchen however they did supply them when asked.

The location, views and the restaurant was surperb. Just missing the final touch on the facilities.

Breakfast / choices was difficult to understand in terms og how to change if you did not want fish for breakfast. Kids menu was not the best (could be nice if possible just to customize it a but more to avoid food waste). The pool area really does bot add up to pictures.

We treated ourselves to a night here in the middle of our Japan trip. Was a fantastic choice. The staff were terrific and the room was super comfortable with a great view. The meals were awesome and lots of attention to detail. We slept very well. We enjoyed a late night rooftop bath.

We had some issues getting picked up from the station as the hotel didn’t respond to our messages so we had to get a taxi ourselves. I’d recommend just staying the one night as there’s not a lot to do aside from the meals and bathing.

Hotel on the mountain, with a green and beautiful view. Comfortable public bathroom and swim pool A right choice away from the city and close to nature. The hotel has shuttle bus to the Train station and JR station

All the books in the hotel library are in Japanese The rooms are a little humid during the rainy day. The air-condition outlet just above the bed, caused headache after the whole night wind flow just above your head.