Lake Biwa Otsu Prince Hotel

I had a room on the 17th floor, the view over Lake Biwa was incredible- especially at sunset. There was fireworks in the lake one evening which was fantastic. I was in a Japanese style suite which was so spacious and comfy- just like having your own apartment complete with tatami mats. Free shuttle bus to and from Otsu station was very helpful, as was the luggage delivery service from Kyoto station. There were great restaurants around a 10 min walk away- Grill Sazanmi has incredible food. Was about a 30 minute walk to Otsu port to get the Michigan steam boat tour, or a 15 minute walk to the nearest stations to get elsewhere. No coin laundry facilities, but there is one about a 10 min walk away if you need it, and a local supermarket and drug store around 5 mins away. There is a small convenience store in the lobby of the hotel. Hotel breakfast was a buffet, I would recommend going earlier if you can as they tend to run out of bits around 09:30. I preferred the Top of Otsu buffet as it didn't feel like quite as much of a scramble.

Pool was closed- it's open during 'summer' which is late July/August for Japan, but this wasn't clear on either booking.com or the hotels website. Also means there is no-where to sit outside if the weather is nice as the Terrace isn't open. Restaurants in the hotel were fairly expensive- £50-80 for dinner for 1 person (around 10-14,000 yen). Another mirror in the room would be helpful, the only one was above the sink in the hallway, which was quite dark.

The selling point of this facility is the view of Lake Biwa. It is just as advertised and it is amazing. The gift shop is large and impressive. The bar overlooking the lake is wonderful, with great drinks. The shuttle service to and from the Otsu station was reliable. The staff, with few exceptions, were very accommodating. Breakfast buffet at 2900 was reasonable, not fantastic but definitely good.

It appears there were not really options for eating outside of a buffet or the Japanese restaurant - no sit down, ala carte eating. No espresso drinks for breakfast except in the French restaurant, whose morning availability seemed determined on an ad hoc basis. No office center. Some parts of the hotel functioned like a 3-star hotel, other parts like a 4-star, which explains why different sites rate them differently. Occasionally staff (in my experience, they were always male) were a bit brusque, but that was over an 8-day stay and was definitely the exception.

1. The view of Lake Biwa is extraordinary. You can see it from your room and the restaurants in the hotel. It is worth! 2. Great shower and comfortable bed. Relaxing. 3. More than enough plugs in the room. Can re-charge anything you need in your trip. 4. Good breakfast. Enough choices of food with some local dishes. 5. Convenient store in the lobby on G/F. Family Mart also around the block in 5 minutes' walk. 6. Enough parking spaces if you drive, even in a busy weekend.

1. Location is a bit far from the train station. May not be very good if you are not driving. They have shuttle buses though but you have to check for the schedule (like every 30 minutes?). 2. Not many restaurants around. Would suggest to have dinner before coming back at night.

This loved our stay at this hotel, we stayed in Kyoto for some nights and then at Prince hotel for another 3, the location is great and very convenient for Kyoto and other sights. The view from the room was amazing! They have is an upgrade and we ended up in a counter room which was more like an apartment with its own living room. Very clean and comfortable! Great value for money. The shuttle bus a great service too.

Only a minor thing would be nice to have some English channels or the option to stream on the tv for some downtime. But couldn't fault anything else it's a great stay

The view from my hotel room was absolutely breathtaking. I had a stunning panorama which made for a truly picturesque setting. I felt so relaxed and peaceful just taking in the view. It was truly a memorable experience that I will never forget.

Unfortunately, I had a disappointing experience at the hotel dining room. The food quality did not meet my expectations, and the service felt rushed and impersonal. Furthermore, the practice of ringing a bell to hurry guests to finish their meals was quite off-putting and made me feel unwelcome. I would suggest that the hotel take a closer look at its dining operations to ensure that guests are provided with a more enjoyable and relaxing dining experience. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Everything! This was such an incredibly lovely, fancy hotel for the price we paid (and just in general). The rooms were enormously spacious, modern, comfortable and full of amenities. The reception staff were so lovely, and the hotel itself was amazing - breathtaking views, 24h reception(?) and a konbini inside the hotel!! Our fav of this trip.

The *only* downside was the distance from Zeze station , which was about a 20min walk. They run a free shuttle bus from 8am - 9pm though!

Great view of Lake Biwa in all rooms. The scenery from the room is relaxing that you may want to stay inside the whole day. Size of room is bigger than a typical hotel in Japan. Daily cleaning of room is done. Round trip hotel shuttle to Otsu station is available every 30 mins. Waiting area for the shuttle are few steps away from Otsu Station. There is a supermarket few steps from the hotel. You can rent bicycle from the hotel to go around lake biwa.

Very few restaurant nearby. Few minutes walk to Kura Sushi. If you don't want to avail the hotel's meal plan, need to go to Otsu station to eat. No coin laundry available. Need to walk 10 mins to find a smart coin laundry service.

We loved the views from the room of the lake & surrounding area. The free shuttle from Otsu station was extremely helpful. Ostu station is a convenient short 10 minute trip from Kyōto station. Being away from the busy city area meant a quiet, serene setting for a goodnight's sleep.

We didn't eat at the over priced in-house restaurants. There was no microwave available which was inconvenient since we had a bunch of to-go snacks from the station's/stops we made while traveling.

-Directly at the lake -very big room -very big window with nice view -Also the receptionist borrowed me an adapter, since I forgot mine.

There are a few things, nothing bad, but improvable: - the communication over the booking.com chat didn’t work, they didn’t answer my questions about checking in time. - I guess it’s a type thing, but for me not being able to open the window ( even a tiny bit ) feels not right… I wanted to feel the fresh lake breeze!

1. Offers free shuttle bus servie to/from Otsu station to hotel every 30 minitues until 20:00 daily. 2. Offers service center at Kyoto station for visitors to early check-in and provide free luggage-transfer service from Kyoto station to hotel in Otsu.

1. Suttle bus stop is not very clear identified and communicate to visitors. Although there is a simple view-graph of location map, however there is no detail map. 2. Service center at Kyoto station is also difficult to identified in such a crowded location. It will be more easily to ask for the location of Kyoto Train Station Information Service. Because it is quite next door to it.