Iwaso Ryokan in Miyajima

Uji,

I was planning a return trip to Japan hopefully by the end of this year. I noticed that you would not recommend the Iwaso due to service issues.
I stayed there in 2006 but that was a long time ago.
How did the service go downhill? How were they rude?
Any info you can provide I will pass on to my husband.
What other ryokans on Miyajima have really good food and rooms?
Thanks.

How did the service go downhill?

I only judge from my own stay and from my aunt's stay.

How were they rude?

The staff lacked the refinement, politeness and friendliness that you usually find in Japanese ryokan at a similar price level. The lady who was assigned to us was particularly rough. It seemed to me that she was the person who usually gets assigned to foreign guests. For example, when she served our dinner, she would serve the dishes in a very careless way, making a lot of noise.

Another shocking experience was that the public bath was out of service because of a technical problem during the usual bathing hours. Of course, I understand that such problems can happen, however, neither were we informed about it nor were we offered an apology. We only found out by making our way down to the bath and being turned back coldly without apology.

My aunt's biggest shock came in form of a service person carrying in their wine bottle under her armpit because she had other things in her hands. My aunt, too, generally had the same experience of missing hospitality as I had when compared to other ryokan in Japan at the same price level.

Sounds like Uji had an inexcusable bad service at Iwaso. What a shame. That should not happen at an expensive ryokan like Iwaso.

Wow. Uji, thanks for responding.
That's a shame. A wine bottle under an armpit? That's inexcusable, especially at what it costs to stay there.
Where else would you recommend to stay on Miyajima for the same price point or a little less? Good food is my primary concern.
Thanks.
Lil

Besides the Iwaso, I have only stayed at the Arimoto Grand Hotel and the Kurayado Iroha so far. Both were very good (and better than the Iwaso), but neither was absolutely outstanding. I first want to check out some of the others before feeling comfortable making a recommendation.

We (3 adults) stayed overnight at Momiji-so. It is a small place, I think only 5 rooms and run by a grandmother, her son, and daughter-in-law. Each has its own private bath, no shared bath, except they did tell us we could use their private bath for soaking (we did not, though). Probably why this place is a bit cheaper than most others. Wonderful rooms, meals were extraordinary, the best we had on our trip. Grandmother does the cooking and serves the dishes and is quite the character. During the time we stayed you only had the option for including meals, which we may have passed on if we had the choice. I am so glad we did not have a choice, otherwise we would have totally missed out! We absolutely loved our stay there, wish we could have stayed another night. It is further up from the other places, a quick walk to the Mt. Misen Ropeway. But, they will pick you up when you arrive and drive you back. We were the only ones there in October. They provided outer garments for warmth and flashlights to make our way down to the torii gate at night. Would not hesitate to go back there, and we would probably not check into any other possible places to stay as the owners were wonderful in caring for us. We had the room on the 1st floor that overlooks the koi pond. Staying on Miyajima was just magical.

Colorado / Uji,

Thank you for your replies.
I'll take a peek on Trip Advisor to see what others say about the ryokans on Miyajima.
Hopefully, Uji, you'll be able to check out another ryokan before my trip.
Thanks again and Happy New Year.

My family stayed a few nights at the Grand Hotel Arimoto. We had a brilliant time, mostly due to the girl who was assigned to us and the food which was very good. I'd stay again, though the smaller family run one mentioned above might be more my cup of tea.

Sorry to hear about the bad experience Uji had.My wife and I visited Miyajima in April 2013 and again stayed at BentenNoyado Ryokan. I highly recommend it although it may be a little expensive depending on the season.We had a problem with the shower faucet and my wife(who is Japanese) called the front desk and informed them of this. I swear the desk girl was there in less than 2 minutes and offered to move us to a better room. We kept our room for the view and just used the public bath which was very nice. If you visit this Ryoken ask for the girl who waited on us- Saori Omoto. She not only was a great hostess but also speaks English and was most eager to provide us with travel information both on the island and in Hiroshima. We are already planning a return trip in 2014 and can't wait to see her, the Ryogen, and the island itself.

Hi there,
I was fortunate enough to have stayed at Iwaso during the summer of 2011.

We had read Uji's report previous to booking our stay (which we were sorry to hear about), but we were lucky to have not recieved the same treatment.
We had a great experience. Our room maid was a delightful young woman named Kikuchi who was very attentative, beyond helpful and accomodating.

It may have been a one off with Uji, or even ourselves, but hopefully other people may provide their experience at Iwaso.
For us it was a thumbs up.

Whoops, did not see the date the OP had initially posted this on. Never the less, hopefully this will help others in the future.

Stayed at Jukeiso Ryokan this April. Booked Semi-Europian style room, ocean view (dinner and breakfast included, as well as both way transfer to the pier). It was a perfection it terms of location, room, food, service and hospitality.

I'm glad this thread was brought back to life. Unfortunately, I did not travel to Japan in 2012 like I planned but I do plan to go back in the fall of 2014.
Thanks for the info on the other ryokans on Miyajima Island. I'll look into them.