L'Hotel du Lac

Came here because I wanted to try out Sower, an exquisite locavore restaurant, chef Coleman and 2 other team members are alumnus of Inus. Sower hands down beats many of the best restaurants in Kyoto and showcases the terroir of Shiga. Likely no Michelin star yet only because the inspectors have not made it to this more remote part of Japan. I had such a nice stay, there was still snow on the ground, the hotel faces the stunning Biwa lake, the 15 cabins/rooms are spread out across the tree covered grounds. I was in a Japanese style room, you can choose other styles ie Scandi. My room was small, but comfortable with heated bathroom floors, soaking tub. I also booked one of the two private onsens which was a pleasant surprise as I didn’t know what to expect at the hotel. If any room for improvement, would suggest the onsen to also be available in the mornings, and the pillows in my room were really hard. Service was excellent too, when I told the hotel I had trouble with their website (the English website changes into Japanese when you actually start booking a room), they literally changed this issue in less than a day. This is a place I definitely want to come back to, at least I know I would eat incredibly well, and to use this as a base to travel this less traveled area of Shiga.

婦人画報の特集に惹かれて訪ねてみました。1室だけラグジュアリースイート桜に空きがありました。琵琶湖とプール、テニスコードなど一望に見渡せ、ジノリやウエッジウッドのコーヒーカップに美しい音楽とゆったり過ごせました。ふわふわのスリッパに対して、パイル生地の寝巻き、ごわつくバスタオル、アメニティなど少し残念でした。ここは元、NTTの保養所だったそうで、現在は日本電気ガラスの子会社が運営しているそうです。夕食、朝食ともに見た目に美しい、不思議なフュージョン料理でした。かつて訪れたドイツケルンの最高級料理takuを思い出すほどの何とも言い難い思い出に残る味覚でした。