I selected this place because I read other reviews about the eclectic unique nature of the hotel and atmosphere. I wasn’t disappointed, in fact it exceeded my expectations in every way. The moment you arrive and are greeted warmly by the staff and handed a free drink of your choice, sets the tone for a wonderful experience ahead. The room was huge, warm, comfortable and very special in its minute details of architecture. We chose a river view room and I would highly recommend doing so as the massive picture window overlooks the forest and mountains and is simply breathtaking in the morning sunrise. This hotel was designed with careful thought given to every detail in its creation, with the mindset of creating a restful respite from the modern busy world we live in today. It has achieved this goal in my opinion and then some. We had the honour and pleasure of meeting the architect the second day we stayed and had a conversation with him about his wonderful hotel, he is such a joy to speak with. The food was also an absolute delight, huge filling and varied items at breakfast, and sumptuous selections and pairings at dinner. The staff are The best of anywhere we have stayed so far in Japan, and are gracious and smiling all the time. We speak very limited Japanese but this was never a problem so don’t worry about this as a barrier for coming here. We wouldn’t hesitate to come back and I was sorry I had to leave. This hotel, and Nikko is such a special beautiful place everyone should see it once if they can. Thank you shelter garden and staff for allowing me to have such a warm, restful and wonderful stay at your gorgeous hotel, and thank you so much for all your warmth and hospitality.

Nothing

I stayed two nights in this amazing hotel and enjoyed every single bit of it Service: The staff was absolutely amazing, very attentive without being intrusive, absolutely charming, very knowledgeable of activities around Nikko, they engaged in conversation and we're super nice. I can't find the names of the staff, but I want to thank the Metre for that amazing whisky. The hotel: Absolutely beautiful, great design concept, the lounge is amazing the rooms too, spotless, spacious, lots of light, very well decorated. The bed and pillows were so nice and comfortable, the best in my month in Japan. Food: A delight to the senses all the dishes at dinner were exquisite, great combination of flavors, textures, aromas, and perfect presentation. Breakfast was great too. There's also free cocktails and drinks and champagne for breakfast if you're into that. As a bonus during dinner time there's a DJ and you can request music. Location: It's a bit far from Nikko Tobu station and downtown Nikko but they have a shuttle bus service so don't worry about it. A taxi from Tobu Nikko to the hotel will run you about ¥2000.

Nothing. Absolutely everything was amazing.

spacious rooms, high quality fit out, attention to detail, amazing food for the set dinner and the staff are super helpful

a long way from town, best to have a car

The atmosphere and the styling of the hotel was exceptional. The staff were all very friendly and welcoming and the customer service was excellent.

Beautiful view. Hotel is OK

I would not choose again, one cannot open a window, it makes a cheap impression. Breakfast is fine but not super

Beautiful surrounds, gorgeous rooms, and only a short taxi ride / shuttle bus from the centre. Breakfast was nice and accommodated dietary restrictions.

If you have dietary restrictions (e.g. vegan or dairy-free), make sure you book the dinner option and specify. They don’t accommodate these restrictions on their in-room / bar menu, so you won’t be able to have dinner at the hotel (unless you have booked the dinner ahead — which we didn’t do). Also, the staff struggle with English (not uncommon in Japan), and we found a couple of staff members got quite frustrated with us due to miscommunications. It ended up adding an uncomfortable vibe to our stay.

The customer service was beyond excellent, the staff were very attentive and caring and accommodating. The hotel is beautifully and thoughtfully designed. the room was spacious, comfortable, gorgeous with massive picture windows. It's out in nature, no wires or buildings or people in sight. The included breakfast, which they adapted to be vegetarian for me, was one of the best and healthiest meals we had in all of our Japan travels.

Their dinner options for vegetarians were very sparse...and not healthy. Either pizza or pasta. they did come with a tiny cup of soup and a tiny very delicious green salad. the only dessert available to us were little tubs of old Haagen Daaz ice cream, iced over and grainy from age. Meanwhile, we had to watch gorgeously prepared and presented meals being served to all the non-vegetarians around us. Including a spectacular dessert that we could have eaten but we were told it was only for the meat meal. We went into town for our dinner the next night. Don't let this keep you from going though. it was a wonderful place and wonderful stay. Just if you are vegetarian, plan to eat dinner elsewhere. Plenty of yuba restaurants in town (but do always check because there is hidden "pork oil" in many things.)