Hotel Review: Sankara Hotel & Spa, Yakushima, Japan.

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Overview

I was looking for an island experience after having done cities in Japan and the Train Suite Shiki-Shima - I always initially look at LHW https://www.lhw.com but thereafter I look at SLH https://www.slh.com. I soon spotted this resort and liked the look of it. I haven’t tended to use SLH that much recently (used to have a much higher tier of membership but now it’s just the base level) preferring LHW of which I now have Aurelian status achieved through the number of times we’re stayed at their various properties throughout the world.

Would I stay here again?   As great as the resort was, through absolutely no negative I probably wouldn’t. Having been to this island once, I would probably prefer trying other locations too when coming back to Japan. As a one-time destination however I would wholly recommend it and it would be good to visit however in different seasons for a new experience, try out a different suite or check-out any remodel works if and when they’re undertaken.

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 Location

Yakushima (‘shima’ meaning island) is an island off the south coast of the Japanese main island of Kyushu (the third largest of Japan’s five main islands).

With only having three nights spare to stay here, we opted to fly so I checked out which airport has direct flights. Finding that Fukuoka was one such airport, we decided to spend a couple of nights first there before taking the 1hr flight with Japan Airlines Air Commuter to Yakushima airport. There are also direct flights to/from Osaka so we fly back to there - this is scheduled to take slightly longer, but only 1hr 10mins.

There is also the option to come by water - 4 hours I believe, by ferry or only two hours by hydrofoil (“Toppy” & “Rocket”). Both come into the port of Miyanoura on the north of the island, about 50 minutes away from the resort. With us coming into the (very small and basic) airport, it was less than a 30 minute drive to the resort (included within the rate). The hotel provides a lot of helpful information here too about getting to the island https://sankarahotel-spa.com/en/access/.

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Accommodation

We opted for the standard Samudra Villa (1st floor) - two each are located in 12 buildings (so 24 in total) in front and to the side of the main hotel building, either ground or first floor (though I think you pay more for the upper level). In addition there is a separate Sankara Villa Suite on its own with a larger terrace (at the top of the resort so best views); there are also three Sankara Junior Suites and a Sankara Suite in the main hotel building itself, located on the basement floor under the main reception, restaurant and pool deck. With the hotel building being on the top of a steep slope, these suites would get exceptional views, though you do have a very large swimming pool above your room, if anyone was of a nervous disposition.

The Samudra Villa was 53 sq. mtr. all open plan. On entrance there was a seating area with flatt(ish) TV screen (though no option to add an HDMI cable as it was quite an old model), a double day bed, twin beds (decent sized singles with really comfortable mattresses, pillows and duvets; and a decent sized covered terrace with table and chairs. There was a walk-through dressing area then a large bathroom - this comprised double sinks, separate WC with the usual Japanese Toto Washlet toilet, a bath with onsen-style open shower next and also a separate double-size shower cubicle too. Only one observation - it seemed as if softener had been used with the towels, always just a bit of bug-bear of mine when they aren’t as absorbent as they should, but a really minor negative.

Though bathroom fittings were very dated (the hotel is coming up for 10 years old and the bathroom is starting to show signs of age), it was spotlessly clean and superbly appointed - if you want to check out all the toiletries that come as standard you can find them here https://sankarahotel-spa.com/en/rooms/ (Japanese hotels always seem to provide the most amenities of any country, I’ve found). The villa throughout was well appointed, there was a mini-bar provided (complimentary beer, green tea, orange juice and water) with a cleaning service in the morning and an additional turndown service in the evening when you’re at dinner (and they leave the most amazing chocolates!). 

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Food & Drink

There are two restaurants on the property, Ayana on the ground/first floor of the main building (entrance levels as it’s on a hill) which serves both breakfast and dinner. Okas is a more fine dining experience (French influence) on the 2nd floor of the main building. There is a bar area on the main floor too, through a small area off reception, overlooking the pool deck.

Breakfast and dinner were included within the package. As a vegetarian I was given a special menu each evening, the standard menu however had a number of choices with various upgrades too (at additional) cost for special courses (like oysters) or additional courses like cheese. Food quality was excellent as was service - dinner comprised an amuse bouche followed by two appetisers, then main course followed by a buffet selection (though small portions served by the chef) and a choice of tea and coffee. Breakfast was buffet style though a choice of eggs could be ordered, as was tea/coffee etc. There was an excellent choice (and great for vegetarians too) - mainly western style options but a section with Japanese style fish, vegetables, rice, miso etc.

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Facilities & Service

There was a hotel hire-car service, this made it really easy to have a self-drive tour around the island. I did have to go though and get an international driving licence for this before we left the UK. The car charge was around £12 (or $15) per hour - this included all insurances, fuel etc. The car was excellent, we just picked it up at reception after breakfast and it was already organised with bottled water, beach towels etc. There was an in-built Sat-Nav and although mainly in Japanese a translation sheet was provided with all the main tourist destinations on the island - you could either try and match up the Japanese lettering on the screen with the English description on the sheet (which was quite fun, though sometimes hard to easily spot the match) or just key in a location code. It was very easy to drive around the island, though some of the roads towards the north-west are quite mountainous and narrow, though the roads were quiet, very safe and other drivers very respectful.

There is a gym on the basement floor under the main hotel building (quite small and again a bit dated, though decent equipment with water and towels provided etc.) and a self-use laundry. This came in very handy for doing some laundry without paying ridiculous hotel prices - there were three (brand new looking) high-quality washer/dryers with instructions provided in English for different wash/dry options - this room (as was everything within the resort) was meticulously clean and both liquid detergent and softener provided. Although we didn’t, there was the option to hire mountain bikes - it’s an island where a lot of people seemed to go trekking but we did see some tourists on bikes too (we opted for the air-conditioned car for sightseeing instead!).

There was a full-service Spa (located on the upper floor of the main hotel building) but they also seem to provide more limited (and slightly cheaper) treatment options on the pool deck (think these would be done in a cabana at one end though we never saw anyone have a treatment there). I opted for the sana-being body session; this was a full body oil massage (choice of aromatherapy oils) from 60 to 120 minutes, which covered the full body including head massage. This cost included a Cedar wood ceremony first then a foot bath, followed by the most amazing massage.

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ThePrivateTraveller’s top tips (any areas for improvement?)

• A bit less Joni Mitchell at breakfast, or just more variety - amazing artist and incredible singer but so are others too!

• Don’t use fabric softener in the towels - it does make them incredibly soft, but also affects the absorbency quite a bit

• Could benefit from updating the bathrooms in the suites (spotlessly clean, though after 10 years now looking a bit dated)

ThePrivateTraveller’s absolute highlights:

• Service, second to none - from arrival at the airport right through to departure

• Excellent accommodation, sorry I missed out on the SLH upgrade by one stay though

• Scenery stunning, even when it’s cloudy (and it is a lot in Yakushima) but the pool deck with the sun out WOW! Both views across the surrounding forest down to the sea, as well as the mountainous backdrop behind the resort

• Spa - can’t recommend my treatment highly enough or the excellent therapist

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Useful website links:

• Sankara Hotel & Spa http://sankarahotel-spa.com

• Small Luxury Hotels of the World https://www.slh.com

• Japan House London https://www.japanhouselondon.uk

• JAL Domestic https://www.jal.co.jp/en/

• Train Suite Shiki-shima https://www.jreast.co.jp/shiki-shima/en/

• Yakushima Travel Guide https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4650.html

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