Numazu Club
One Michelin Key
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Key Highlights
- ✓Inconsistent Hospitality:** One guest noted a feeling of "disjointed hospitality" or "inconsistent hospitality" despite the beautiful setting.
Expert Review: Numazu Club
Numazu Club in Numazu, Japan, a distinguished Michelin One-Key property, offers a deeply immersive and elegant retreat, blending traditional Japanese aesthetics with modern comforts. It is consistently praised for its serene ambiance, exceptional service, and exquisite design, making it a destination in itself.
Overall Rating & Sentiment
Numazu Club holds a "One MICHELIN Key" distinction, signifying a "very special stay" that offers a unique and unforgettable experience. Guest reviews consistently rate it exceptionally high (e.g., 9.9 on Booking.com). The sentiment is overwhelmingly positive, with guests describing it as an elegant, beautiful, calm, and serene sanctuary, perfect for winding down and recharging. Many find it a memorable and luxurious stay, often expressing a desire to revisit.
Key Highlights
Guests particularly love the elegant design and the harmonious blend of traditional sukiya-style architecture (seen in the restored 1907 teahouse) and the modern guestroom complex built in 2006. The hotel's secluded location within a vast, old-growth pine grove and a rambling garden, featuring Fuji-fed natural springs and a contemplative pond, creates an atmosphere of profound tranquility. The personalized and attentive service also stands out as a major highlight. With only eight guest rooms, Numazu Club ensures an intimate and exclusive experience. The unique dining experience featuring modern Chinese cuisine is frequently lauded.
Room Quality
The rooms at Numazu Club are designed to radiate intimacy and structural simplicity, emphasizing natural wood surfaces. They incorporate hallmarks of traditional ryokan interior design, such as springy tatami flooring, whispery sliding panels, and unobtrusively low furniture. While embracing traditional elements, the new wing also features contemporary style with furniture balancing graceful curves and clean edges.
Guests can choose from various layouts, including Japanese-style rooms with futons, Western-style rooms with spacious balconies, and maisonettes that blend both elements. Many rooms offer enchanting views of the verdant garden, the pine forest, and the water basin through enormous, floor-to-ceiling windows. A standout feature in many rooms is the deep soaking tubs, often crafted from hinoki (Japanese cypress), with some rooms offering private outdoor tubs for an optimal viewing experience. Standard amenities include flatscreen TVs (though not always in the living area), free Wi-Fi, bathrobes, electric kettles, and minibars. Some rooms, like the Deluxe Twin, include a dining space inspired by traditional Japanese doma and an all-cypress indoor bath.
Dining Experience
The dining experience at Numazu Club is a significant draw. Meals, particularly dinner and breakfast, are served in the historic tea house, which is a registered tangible cultural property. The restaurant specializes in modern Chinese cuisine, overseen by Chef Hirofumi Saito of "Ichirin Hanare" in Kamakura. The culinary philosophy focuses on seasonal course menus that highlight fresh seafood from Suruga Bay and the Izu coast, alongside locally sourced seasonal ingredients, prepared with both boldness and delicacy. Guests consistently describe both dinner and breakfast as "wonderful" and "delicious," praising the originality and quality of the dishes.
Service & Staff
The service and staff at Numazu Club receive overwhelmingly positive feedback, frequently described as "exceptional," "professional," "polite," and "attentive". Guests appreciate the staff's dedication to making their stay pleasant and memorable, noting their helpfulness with inquiries and luggage forwarding. Many guests highlight personalized gestures and the staff's ability to create a truly comfortable experience.
Location & Accessibility
Numazu Club is situated in Sembongorin, Numazu, nestled within the picturesque Senbon Matsubara pine grove. This location, encircled by a massive garden, provides a peaceful and secluded environment, often described as an "oasis" or "heavenly hideout". While Numazu is a "sleepy fishing town" with limited immediate attractions, the hotel itself offers an immersive retreat experience.
Accessibility is reasonable: it's approximately a 10-minute taxi ride from JR Numazu Station or a 20-minute taxi ride from Mishima Station if arriving by Shinkansen. The hotel offers free on-site private parking. For those wishing to explore, Senbonhama Beach is a mere 2-minute walk away, and other local sights like Numazu Deep Blue Aquarium (11-minute walk) and Numazu Port (9-minute walk) are also nearby. The area is rich in natural beauty, with views of Mt. Fuji and Suruga Bay.
Value & Pricing
Numazu Club is a luxury property, with rates beginning around JPY 72,500 per night. Other sources indicate prices starting from approximately $609-$684 USD per night. Guests generally consider the experience to be well worth the cost, given the "luxurious stay with attentive staff and high-quality amenities". The Michelin One-Key rating further validates its value as a destination offering a unique and special stay, proposing "much more than other accommodations at the same price range". The exclusivity of only eight rooms, combined with the historical architecture, bespoke design, and exceptional service, contributes to its perceived value.
Common Complaints
While overwhelmingly positive, some guest feedback highlights minor areas for improvement:
- Inconsistent Hospitality: One guest noted a feeling of "disjointed hospitality" or "inconsistent hospitality" despite the beautiful setting.
- Bathroom Layouts: In some room types, the toilet area may not be fully private, being in the same space as the washroom/shower booth. The floor in these areas might also be cold due to stone tiles without floor heating or slippers.
- Public Bath: The men's public bath was described by one guest as small, lacking scenic views, and having only a small washing area near the cold plunge pool, without a warm indoor bath. Women's spa reportedly has two saunas with different temperatures and a warm indoor bath.
- In-room Amenities: Some guests felt the provision of luxurious cosmetics/skincare products was average for a hotel of this caliber. Also, some rooms may not have a TV in the living area.
- Breakfast Portion: One review mentioned the Chinese-style breakfast portion felt slightly insufficient.
- Children Policy: Children under 12 are restricted from certain room types, and reservations with children typically require direct contact with the hotel.
Sources
About One Michelin Key
One Michelin Key is awarded to hotels that offer a very special stay. These properties are characterized by their unique personality, high quality, and ability to create memorable experiences for guests.
IHG
Hyatt
