Amane Resort Gahama
B · 7.3 / 10right inn, right place
A 2016-vintage 31-room luxury ryokan on Beppu Bay, every room with its own onsen, sharing restaurants and facilities with sister property Seikai next door. KI-NRT found it polished and serene and unusually family-friendly (Beppu's ryokans skip the age restrictions of the top family-run inns) and worthy of an adult stay. He adds a reservation of his own, which is that for a tranquil, intimate onsen experience he would skip Beppu altogether for Yufuin or Kurokawa.
Scores
Food 4 / 5
Meals were of very high quality, though KI-NRT puts them below Ishiharaso or Asaba, and still very satisfying. Kaiseki is at Gahama's Kappou Matsuhide and French at sister property Seikai, and both draw on Oita's waters and the produce of its volcanic soil. The lobster sashimi and steamed local abalone, both caught near Beppu, were absolutely amazing. Breakfast is a Japanese set at Gahama or a wonderful buffet at Seikai that the children loved.
Bath 4 / 5
All 31 rooms have their own free-flowing onsen, and the tower rooms pair an indoor onsen with an open-air one. The exception is the two 10F Special rooms, where the outdoor tub is a plain jacuzzi with no spring water, which KI-NRT counts as a big demerit because that is not what you come to Beppu for. Large communal baths are only at sister property Seikai, a short walk or a complimentary golf-cart ride away, which children find great fun.
Service 4 / 5
KI-NRT found the service polished and the atmosphere serene, even with his family party of eleven including four small children. Every meal was served in a private room (only the buffet breakfast at Seikai was not), a complimentary golf cart runs on demand to the sister property, and the children were looked after down to pint-sized Pokemon slippers, yukata and samue that fit a two-year-old, and a kids' meal they all scarfed down.
Room 4 / 5
The 14 tower rooms are all very spacious (a nominal 90 m²) with in-room onsen, and the difference is the view, slightly obstructed by villa roofs on 3F and clear from 5F up. KI-NRT preferred 3F and 5F to the two 10F Special rooms, which are junior-suite in layout and swap the open-air onsen for a jacuzzi; if you want a separate bedroom, skip them and save money. The other 17 rooms are villas, and only the maisonettes (with stairs) have a view.
Place 3.5 / 5
Once inside, the building shuts out the city and its noise completely and the views of the sea are calming. The arrival is another matter, because the entrance faces a large, busy boulevard with a Nitori furniture store and a KFC as the eyesores as you pull up. Beppu is the most productive hot-spring area in Japan, with steam rising from every pore of the city, but the main attractions such as the Beppu Hells are about a ten-minute drive away.
Getting there
- Fukuoka — ~2h30, 0 transfers (estimated). Ltd exp Sonic Hakata to Beppu (~2h10), then ~15 min taxi to the inn.
- Kagoshima — ~4h20, 2 transfers (estimated). Shinkansen to Kokura, Sonic down to Beppu, then ~15 min taxi; no direct link.
- Nagasaki — ~4h45, 2 transfers (estimated)