My Perfect Kind of Resort

After a summer of turmoil in our city, we were desperate to get out for a little break where we can switch off and relax. Earlier we received a kind invitation from The Hiramatsu Hotel & Resorts group for hosting us a couple of nights at their property in Sengokuhara near Hakone, so we thought the timing was just perfect and it’s perhaps a blessing in disguise.

Hakone is a popular tourist town for its proximity to Tokyo at the foot of Mount Fuji. A quick 70-minute express train ride took us right into Hakone-Yamoto station, the entry point for most visitors travelling on train with a small street filled with restaurants and souvenir shops. That's where we were picked up by a car arranged by the hotel into Hiratmatsu Sengokuhara some 30 minutes away through the hilly road.

To be honest I only knew little about Hiramatsu, its founder Chef Hiroyuki Hiramatsu and the properties under the group prior to our visit. Apparently they owned a number of western restaurants around Japan and even one in Paris, among which most notably the Maison Paul Bocuse in Tokyo's Daikanyama neighborhood and Hiramatsu in Kyoto, both of which awarded a Michelin star. Chef Hiramatsu was quite a legend himself, considered a pioneer in French-Japanese cuisine and highly regarded in the circle.

Hiramatsu Sengokuhara was one of their earliest ventures into the hospitality industry opened late 2016, using the same philosophy of combining French traditions with fine Japanese touch, or where an auberge meets a ryokan, so to speak. And we were impressed the moment we set foot into the property. What looked like a luxury resort from the outside hidden in the mountainous area of Hakone became a grand mansion in classic European style filled with exquisite art pieces and furniture that are both elegant and practical. I felt like staying inside a museum or chateaux of some sort.

The resort location can both be a hindrance and an advantage - without your own car or rental it could be a bit hard to get in and around compared to other ryokans in the area, but that means you got total serenity with almost no disturbance, barring the sound of traffic going through occasionally on the road nearby. And with less than 20 rooms altogether, guests have undivided attention from the staff the moment they arrive to the moment they depart, even when it's in full capacity.

Two types of rooms were available on premise, spreading over two separate buildings adjacent to each other. Rooms at the main building featured a more classic design with western style bedding in the room leading into the private onsen in the center of the "open" bathroom with the balcony looking over the garden and the mountains.

On second night they arranged for us to stay in the new "residence" wing opened only a week ago, with a slightly different setup, more like a suite with separate living and sleeping areas with the private onsen in a more conventional bathroom. There are subtle differences in the interior design too, with more contemporary wooden furniture with a touch of metal based on a minimalist approach. I personally prefer the original rooms with more open bath but can also see the charm for the rooms at the residence with larger living space and the more private bath facilities. In both rooms we got a view of Mount Fuji from afar through the window when the sky was cleared up.

There are also an outdoor private onsen that are available to guests to reserve for those who preferred the closer-to-nature experience. And that's in addition to the fine Bulgari toiletries available in every room, and a complimentary mini-bar with good selection of drinks.

The hotel booking was based on traditional half-board package and included both breakfasts and dinners. While I will cover what we had for dinner in another posts, breakfast was phenomenal and came with a choice of Japanese, Continental and American style. We opted for the Japanese breakfast on the first day, and it came with no less than half a dozen of small dishes, similar to what a traditional ryokans typically offers. My favorite was the takikomi gohan (rice with seasonal vegetables) with nameko mushrooms cooked with rice in a traditional earthenware pot and the pickled lotus root which was also a seasonal ingredient.

Next day we went for the American breakfast, and it's no ordinary just egg to order with bacon and sausages. Instead it's a multi-course feast with Italian influence, starting with homemade pastries (croissant, pain au chocolat and brioche), then a hearty bowl of ribolita, followed by caponata served with garlic bread and poached eggs, cold capellini with tomatoes and mozarella, then finished with a fruit compote served with sorbet. This is unreal.

A few times the hotel staff mentioned the philosophy of the group is to strive for the best guest experience in both accommodation and dining, and in every details and effort they put in, they achieved exactly that, which made them the perfect kind of resort in all standards and an absolutely memorable time for us during our brief stay.

Web: www.hiramatsuhotels.com/eng/smp/sengokuhara/