Pearl Star Hotel Atami: every room has an onsen — the room name tells you which kind

Pearl Star Hotel Atami stands directly across from Atami Sun Beach: ten floors, 87 rooms, and a hot spring bath in every single one. That last claim is true — but what “hot spring in every room” actually means is spelled out in the room-type name, and that is the part of the booking page everyone skims. Here is what I found, photo by photo, checked against the hotel’s own material.

The basics

• Opened: 26 September 2022
• Ten floors, 87 rooms, hot spring bath in all of them
• Water: the hotel’s own source, drawn from about 220 m underground. Calcium–sodium chloride spring, heated and diluted — so not pure free-flowing gensen kakenagashi
• Address: 6-45 Higashi-Kaigancho, Atami, Shizuoka
• Access: about 10 minutes on foot from JR Atami Station, 5 minutes by taxi
• Check-in 15:00 / check-out 12:00
• Seven restaurants and bars (mostly on 6F), a 12 m infinity bath on the top floor, and a fitness floor of over 1,500 m²

“Bath” does not mean “open-air” — read the end of the room name

The bath in my room was a near-square sunken tub, walls and floor in almost-black tile, with a television set into the wall right beside the water. A wooden stool and pail sat on the floor. It was fully enclosed — roof, walls, steam. Not the open-air bath the phrase “private onsen” tends to conjure.

The room list explains why. Every room type ends in one of three words — ROTEN, TERRACE BATH, or VIEW BATH — and that word is the bath. ROTEN is genuinely open-air; TERRACE BATH puts the tub out on the terrace; VIEW BATH is an indoor tub facing the view. Each name also begins with either “Ocean View” or “Hillside.” Choose the room by those two words, not by the mood of the photos.

The terrace — you do see the sea, but not the horizon

The same dark tile carries out of the bathroom onto a wooden deck. Two rattan-style loungers, a low table, and glass from floor to ceiling, so you lie down without ever being outdoors.

And the view. The sea is there — but it does not open straight in front of you. First a road and a car park, then the rooftops of Higashi-Kaigancho, and only then Sagami Bay. “Ocean view in every room” is accurate; whether the ocean is the subject of that view is decided by your floor. Low floors give you a town with sea behind it; high floors are where the water finally fills the frame. The price difference is the view difference, so if you are here for the sea, paying to specify a floor is not a luxury.

Check the lounge hours before you open the fridge

The in-room fridge was full — cans and bottles standing shoulder to shoulder. Whether any of it is complimentary depends on your room type and rate plan, so ask before you open it. This was the first hotel in Atami to put a butler on every room; a question like this is exactly what that is for.

What you can count on is the club lounge on 6F. Per the hotel’s FAQ it is open to all guests from 12:00 to 20:00, with cocktail hour from 17:30 to 20:00 (alcohol for 20 and over; teenagers may sit in with an adult). It is running before you even check in at 15:00, which makes “lounge first, room bath second” the better order.

Breakfast: the Japanese–Western–Chinese buffet at SINFONIA, 6F

Breakfast is served at Local Gastronomy SINFONIA on the sixth floor, as a buffet spanning Japanese, Western and Chinese. Both bowls I photographed are the same thing: a red lacquer bowl you fill yourself.

The real technique here is to build one seafood bowl and one roast beef bowl rather than a single heaped one. The bowls are small; two modest ones let you have both, and you can still reach the rest of the buffet afterwards.

Getting there — walkable, but the taxis stall on busy days

About 10 minutes on foot from JR Atami Station, 5 by taxi. Guests ride free from the station taxi rank at check-in and check-out — but the hotel’s own FAQ warns that on long weekends and fireworks nights, dispatch can take 30 to 60 minutes. If your bag is light, walking beats waiting.

Tokyo Station is about 50 minutes away on a Kodama shinkansen. Atami is close enough to be a day trip, which is precisely why a hotel that gives you a bath and a terrace to sit in earns its overnight.

Three things to settle before you book

• The last word of the room name (ROTEN / TERRACE BATH / VIEW BATH) — this is your bath
• The floor — this is how much of the view is actually sea
• Ocean View or Hillside — Hillside does not face the water. Read the first word too

“Hot spring in every room, ocean view in every room” is a true sentence. It is just not a specific one. Read the room name to the end and name your floor, and this hotel delivers exactly the stay you pictured.

Pearl Star Hotel Atami: frequently asked questions

Does every room at Pearl Star Hotel Atami have an open-air bath?

Every room has a hot spring bath, but not every bath is open-air. The last word of the room-type name tells you which kind you get: ROTEN is open-air, TERRACE BATH is a tub set out on the terrace side, and VIEW BATH is an indoor bath facing the view. Mine was a freestanding, almost square tub in dark grey tile, with a TV set into the wall beside it — fully roofed and walled in.

Is the hot spring water free-flowing (kakenagashi)?

The hotel draws from its own source about 220 m underground; the water is a calcium-sodium chloride spring. It is heated and has water added, so it is not a pure free-flowing source.

If every room is “ocean view”, will I see the sea from any room?

You will see the sea, but how much of it depends on the floor. From lower floors the order is road and car park, then town, then Sagami Bay at the back. Only higher up does the water fill the window. Rooms whose names start with “Hillside” do not face the sea at all, so read the first word as well as the last.

What are the rooms like?

Looking back at my photos: the bedroom had a tatami floor with two low twin beds, a wall of wooden lattice behind them and paper-lantern style lamps at the bedside. Beyond the beds is a living area with a low sofa set, and past that a glass-walled terrace with a wooden deck and two rattan-style lounge chairs.

Are the minibar drinks free?

It depends on the room type and rate plan, so ask the butler or the front desk before you open it — every room has butler service, and this is exactly the kind of question it is for. My fridge was packed: canned beer, soft drinks and mineral water, plus a bottle of wine and bottled tea.

When can I use the club lounge?

According to the hotel’s own FAQ, guests can use the 6th-floor club lounge from 12:00 to 20:00, with cocktail hour from 17:30 to 20:00 (alcohol for 20 and over). Check-in is at 15:00, so going to the lounge before your in-room bath works out better. Hours can change, so check the official site.

What is breakfast like?

A Japanese, Western and Chinese buffet at Local Gastronomy SINFONIA on the 6th floor. The move is the small vermilion bowls you fill yourself: I made one seafood bowl with tuna, salmon and salmon roe, and one roast beef bowl. The bowls are small, so two modest ones beat one heaped one.

How do I get there from Atami Station?

About 10 minutes on foot from JR Atami Station, or roughly 5 minutes by taxi. Guests ride free from the station taxi rank at check-in and check-out only, but the hotel warns that on long weekends and fireworks nights dispatch can take 30 to 60 minutes. Tokyo Station is about 50 minutes away by Kodama shinkansen.

Choosing the right room changed the whole stay at other hotels too. At The St. Regis Osaka, check-in is on the 12th floor and the rooms start on the 17th. For making the most of lounge hours, see The Westin Yokohama club lounge, and for a sea-facing night in Yokohama, Hyatt Regency Yokohama, the night we opened champagne for no reason.

Published in January 2026. Prices, services and hours are as of writing — please check the official site for the latest.