IKI RETREAT by Onko Chishin

玄関ロビーだけでなくお部屋からも綺麗な海が見える抜群のロケーションです。お食事も美味しく、さりげないスタッフの心配りが嬉しかったです。

We stayed at Iki Retreat while on Iki Island. It’s a Modern ryokan with large rooms and excellent staff. The staff were excellent from the minute we arrived. Warmest in greeting and there was a gentleman who spoke English who helped with check in formalities. Our room on the second floor was the junior suite. It had two bedrooms, an outdoor tub, living room and one shared toilet plus an en-suite toilet. We decided to take the room with the en-suite toilet and shower. The bed was just the right firmness, but the quilt was a winter quilt. Super hot for this period. Rooms have split unit air cons. All rooms face the sea. Chairs are arranged by the window for you to enjoy the view with a tasty beverage. The drinks in the fridge were complimentary. There’s also tea making hot water flask available in the room. The toilet was small but contained all the usual Japanese functionality. Warm toilet seats and electronically operated sprays for one’s bum area. We had a single sink in a compact area. Lots of amenities available in the drawer. Typical for Japanese ryokans, all bathing and face washing soaps and gels are available in the room. My wife tried the outdoor bath. It’s filled with water from the onsen and it’s super hot at 48 degree celcius. She quite enjoyed the experience. The second toilet and sink is placed here. There’s an outdoor shower. There is a small Gym in the basement, I spied two cardio machines and a pull up bar. The onsen spa is also placed in the basement. If you’d like Coffee, this can be had in the reading room, on the opposite side of the restaurant. The Restaurant serves excellent kaiseki dinners and a very filling breakfast. We had really delicious meals here. The staff are very friendly and helpful. They are observant and will try to anticipate your next ask. Eg. They passed me some serviettes before I asked for it, and they were very good at keeping our drinks topped up. We asked to change dinner timing and booked a cab through the hotel and this was done efficiently and we were kept informed. Overall, a great stay here and I would highly recommend Iki Retreat.

Simply the place to stay on Iki Island, if you look for a luxurious Onsen Ryokan. The property has heritage but is very well maintained. We liked our room with private onsen with a spectacular view over the bay, a spacious sitting area and very comfortable beds. High quality toiletries are provided. The minibar was included in the rate and gets daily restocked – nice! There is a bar/library area, where you can order drinks or enjoy free coffee. Upon check-in we were told there is water and sparkling wine as well, but we never saw any – guess only on offer during a narrow timeframe. There are some larger onsens which you can book (nicer during daytime, as the view at night is limited), and you can visit the gender-separated public baths at any time The hotel has a couple of electric BMWs you can rent, so very easy to explore the island and be back again for dinner. Of course, transfer from and to the ferry is provided as well. A small town with some restaurants is a short stroll away, should you fancy to eat/drink out.