"Title: Misleading “Private Onsen” Listing – Not What Was Advertised
We booked this property specifically because it was advertised on Hotels.com as having a “private onsen,” and we paid a premium price under the belief that the onsen would be attached to our room and available for our private use 24/7.
The listing showed beautiful photos of what appeared to be an outdoor private onsen and mentioned that a bathing fee would be charged per night (though it did not disclose the cost). Based on this description and imagery, it was reasonable to believe we were booking a room with a private, in-room onsen experience.
However, upon arrival, we learned there was no onsen attached to our room at all. The “private onsen” is actually a small indoor bathing room available to any hotel guest for 1,500 yen per use. Although it is ‘clean’ it looks NOTHING like any photo we saw, it had a musty feel to it and it must be reserved in advance, and time slots may not be available at the requested time.
We essentially paid an exclusive rate for an amenity that was neither exclusive nor as portrayed. The experience did not match the advertising, and that was extremely disappointing.
We contacted hotels.com immediately the first night we stayed there through their customer support chat, and the lady was incredibly unhelpful/rude and did not understand the issue. She even tried to gaslight us into believing the 1500 yen per onsen trip was just the bathing tax they specified on their website. It "