APA joins the fray!　Hot springs and resorts are coming one after another… Is “all-inclusive” hotel/ryokan a good deal after all?

A staple overseas…inns & hotels where meals, drinks, and use of facilities are included

All-inclusive” accommodations may not be familiar in Japan, but they are well known in Europe, the United States, and other overseas resort destinations. Since the beginning of this year, all-inclusive lodging plans have been appearing one after another at popular hot spring resorts and beach resorts in Japan.

All-inclusive is “All Inclusive” in English, meaning that everything is included. Simply put, it refers to a service in which meals, drinks, pool fees, etc. are included in the room rate in advance. Paying for these services on a case-by-case basis can be surprisingly expensive, and even more so when there are many people in a family.

Everyone wonders whether all-inclusive tours are really a “good deal” or not. We asked hotel journalist Hitomi Imura, who is well versed in the domestic lodging scene, about the reality of all-inclusive lodging and points to keep in mind when using all-inclusive lodging. We will also introduce some of the all-inclusive accommodations that we recommend.

APA Hotel, Mercure, Oedo Onsen Group… One after another this year!

All-inclusive is often found in accommodations at resorts on foreign beaches and other destinations, such as the Caribbean and Maldives. The advantages include the fact that guests can spend their time without worrying about additional charges during their stay, and the total cost of the trip is known in advance, making it easier to plan a trip.

In Japan, APA Hotels & Resorts rebranded APA Hotel <Toyama> to APA Hotel Stay <Toyama> in February 2012, and began offering all-inclusive services for the first time. Grand Mercure” and “Mercure” have been offering all-inclusive services at more than 20 hotels nationwide since April 2012. The Oedo Onsen Group also operates the TAOYA brand of all-inclusive hot spring resort hotels nationwide, and currently has seven facilities nationwide, including Akiu Onsen in Miyagi Prefecture and Nasu Shiobara Kogen in Tochigi Prefecture.

Japan’s all-inclusive…what do hotel critics think?

This all-inclusive service “has actually been around in Japan for about 40 years,” Imura said.

Club Med, which was founded in 1950, was the pioneer of all-inclusive vacations, and the first in Japan was Club Med Sahoro (now Club Med Hokkaido Sahoro) in 1987. For a long time, it was called the “Mediterranean Club. At the time of its entry into the Japanese market, the rarity of all-inclusive stays became a hot topic of conversation” (Hitomi Imura, hereafter).

Club Med, which originated in Europe, currently operates resorts on beaches and in mountains in about 80 locations in 25 countries around the world. In Japan, there are 5 resorts, including Ishigaki Island and Tomamu in Hokkaido. The resorts offer a variety of activities that can be enjoyed by a single person, and the freedom of not having to pay for each activity has attracted a small number of regular fans.