Maki Station × Accommodation With Relaxing Welcome LoungeHighly rated for customer service and hospitality at Hotel·Ryokan

Staying amid the vineyards and enjoying the warm hospitality of everyone who supported us made for an exceptional time. This is an Accommodation we will definitely want to visit again.

Although our trip was rainy, the staff kindly came to the parking lot with an umbrella to welcome us as soon as we arrived at the Accommodation. After that, everyone continued to treat us gently with warm smiles at all times, making it one of our favorite travel memories. The Onsen temperature was just right, and I ended up soaking for about an hour... Dinner was delicious, but breakfast was even better—an amazing variety and great flavors. We felt happy and completely full from the morning! It’s an Accommodation we would definitely love to visit again!

We visited on a family trip to celebrate my wife’s birthday. The parking lot in front of the main entrance was full, but we were able to park in the guest-only area as there was space available. The Onsen in the open-air bath was wonderful, and the meals were packed with delicious Niigata dishes and plenty of sashimi, which our whole family enjoyed. Unfortunately, it seemed there was no live piano performance that day, but another guest played beautifully, and we had a lovely time with coffee. We would like to visit again in a different season. All of the staff were very pleasant—thank you very much.

You can really feel the dignity of a long-established Ryokan. It had the distinguished atmosphere of an Accommodation that hosts the Kisei title match. After arrival, my companion was delighted with the welcome beer (or soft drink). We used the complimentary beer voucher during our stay after bathing and enjoyed a delicious post-bath beer. Dinner was served in our Room, so we could relax and take our time. I had breakfast in the dining area, though it seems in-room breakfast is also available. I say that because a staff member mistakenly came to deliver breakfast to our Room (an error). Both dinner and breakfast were enjoyable, making great use of local ingredients. Breakfast in particular was simple but delicious. At checkout, the staff apologized for the breakfast mix-up, and the proprietress also offered her apologies. That kind of thoughtfulness felt like true Japanese Ryokan hospitality.

This was the final Accommodation of my first trip to Niigata, a 3-night, 4-day journey. Our Room was the 2nd-floor Western-style twin [Marronnier]. The bathroom, with a separate toilet, was very convenient and made our mother-and-daughter trip extremely comfortable. The closet was spacious, and there were plenty of hangers. Just before check-in there are shoe lockers, and you can walk around the building barefoot or in socks. From the large floor-to-ceiling windows in the Room and along the corridors, you can enjoy views of wine grapes vineyards and the mountain range stretching from Mt. Yahiko. I visited looking forward to Vinespa’s aroma hot stone sauna, but I was told it is no longer available after renovations—such a shame. Still, the open-air baths placed throughout the garden offered wonderful scenery, and I thoroughly enjoyed soaking both after dinner and before breakfast. Restaurant Cave d’Occi is beyond a European-style garden that is carefully maintained by gardeners. The April menu—beautifully presented and truly delicious—featured local ingredients (hairy crab, celeriac root celery), spear squid), wild boar meat), flounder), roast beef smoked with branches from wine grapes vines), etc.) without feeling overdone). At the winery shop, I had my favorite Zweigeltrebe and unoaked Chardonnay shipped home). The next morning’s Japanese breakfast surprised me—in a great way: zaru tofu with olive oil was delicious!! At checkout time) pizza toast) grape juice) at the library café tasted so good it made leaving hard). It’s an Accommodation that made me genuinely envy those who live nearby).

It was a wonderful Accommodation. We were very satisfied with both the bath and the meals, and the staff were very kind. We had a relaxing stay. The Room was spacious, and we were able to unwind comfortably.

During this Go To Travel campaign, I stayed at about 13 properties, and the meals here were the best—just as you’d expect from a kaiseki Ryokan. Everyone should visit at least once.