Fuji Speedway Hotel is part of The Unbound Collection by Hyatt (category 6) and is located in an unbelievably scenic area with unobstructed views of Mount Fuji. The hotel enjoys a consistent 9.5 rating based on verified reviews from Booking.com (see image below).
Award booking Fuji Speedway Hotel
The cash price was around $500 USD per night (after taxes/fees) when I booked, and I used Chase/Hyatt points to book 3 nights. I also applied one of my suite upgrade certificates to secure a Grand Prix Suite, 1 King Bed, Circuit View.
Reaching the Fuji Speedway Hotel from Haneda airport
It is important to remember that the Fuji Speedway Hotel is 2-3 hours (60 miles away) from Haneda airport depending on your method of transport. I recommend getting a rental car (make sure you have a valid international driver’s license) to reach the hotel after a 1hr30m drive. Taxi prices from Haneda airport are high and may cost $200-300 USD.
Traveling via train is the cheapest option, but requires changing trains multiple times. I recommend using the Japan Transit Planner smartphone app or webpage (link) to look for the train path from the Haneda or Narita airport (any terminal) to Gotemba station (see image below). The hotel is located within 5 miles from the Gotemba station and taxis run by meter.
Tips for Japan train travel for first timers
We only had carry-on luggage for this trip and it was easy to transfer between multiple trains. I recommend renting a car if you are traveling with family and a lot of luggage. However, if you want to try the Japan Railway system, I recommend following the steps outlined in my recent review (link).
Gotemba station to the Fuji Speedway Hotel
Once you have arrived at the Gotemba station, you can either take a taxi to the Fuji Speedway Hotel or the free shuttle provided by the hotel. If you are depending on the free hotel shuttle, you must reach the hotel before hand to reserve a spot on the shuttle (both for arrival and departure). The hotel shuttle is small and holds around 10 people with little room for luggage, and may quickly become full during peak season. I highly recommend reserving the shuttle for the last day of checkout at the time of check in.
Free shuttle timings
- Departure from the hotel: 8:05/9.10/9.45/11.30/12.30/13.35/15.15/16.35.
- Departure from Gotemba station: 8.40/10.05/11.30/12.40/14.20/15.50/16.35.
If your train arrival time is mismatching with the shuttle timings, I recommend simply taking a taxi from Gotemba station, which costs around 3600-3800 Yen ($24 USD). If you can’t find a taxi at the stand, you can call Gotenba Taxis at (0550) 82-1234.
Fuji Speedway Hotel Check-in & Lobby
The front entrance of the hotel has a beautiful display of several race cars filling two levels and a pair of majestic looking escalators that take you to the check-in counter on the 3rd floor.
As usual at Japanese Hyatt’s, there was no Globalist recognition when you check in and there was no offer to upgrade to a premier suite. I highly recommend Globalists to make use of their SUA’s instead of expecting suite upgrades at the time of check-in.
One of the front desk agents explained about the breakfast times and escorted us to our suite on the 7th floor.
Grand Prix Circuit View Suite
Grand Prix Circuit View Suite has a breathtakingly unique design with two large sliding glass doors that open up to a narrow, wide patio. You can see the race car circuit below along with a beautiful range of mountains as far as your eyes can see. There is no view of Mount Fuji from our suite, but it can be seen from the restaurant when eating breakfast or lunch.
The closet has a set of bathrobes, pajamas (very well made) along with rubber slippers (see images below).
Daytime views from the suite
Customer Service & Room Cleaning
The customer service staff are very friendly and helpful in all areas of the hotel (front desk, dining, spa etc.,). We requested our room not be cleaned during our 3-night stay, but requested refills of water and bathroom amenities, which arrived within a few minutes. The hotel cleaning staff place a little car in front of your door to inform you that cleaning is in process, which we thought was super cute.
Breakfast
Breakfast has an extensive buffet and you are provided with a small menu for ordering eggs and hot beverages that are brought to the table. Everything else is self service (including water) which is usual in Japan. We ordered scrambled eggs and went to the buffet to pick up some pork sausages and crisp bacon that were good. Salt and pepper were brought to the table upon request. The clear view of Mount Fuji from the breakfast room was awesome (see image below).
Lunch & Dinner
All the restaurants with menu prices are listed on the hotel webpage (link). Room service menu will add a 15% additional service fee.
We tried the pizza one night for dinner (4th one on the menu) – Diavolo, Nanatomi Mozzarella, Salami, Chorizo, Sausage, Jalapeno, Olive, Green Chili, Tomato Sauce. The pizza was delicious and we ended up eating it twice during our stay. The total price for the pizza comes to around 3500 Yen ($22 USD) and I highly recommend trying it at the Italian restaurant in the hotel.
Fitness Center & Pool
The fitness center and the indoor pool with a hot tub are phenomenal and we enjoyed them everyday during our stay. The Omika spa prices are high, but you can walk through the beautiful corridor to reach the gym, pool and onsen areas (see images below). The temperature of the indoor pool and hot tub was NOT as warm as I would like, but it was enjoyable after a few minutes inside the water. The onsen areas are separate for men and women and photography is not permitted.
Gotemba Premium Outlets
The free hotel shuttle can take you to the Gotemba station and there are free shuttle buses every 15 minutes to the outlets from there. We took the shuttle to the outlets around noon and took a taxi back to the hotel from there.
Gotemba Premium Outlets (link) has all the designer brand name stores you can think of with the single exception of Louis Vuitton. Most stores have 30-40% off sales and you can get an instant 10% VAT refund by simply showing your passport and a name matching credit card. My wife enjoyed shopping at the Prada and Valentino stores, and we appreciated the deep discounts mixed with the instant VAT refunds.
Our last day at the hotel
We woke up on the last day to a beautiful sunny morning with zero clouds and a clear view of Mount Fuji (see images below).
I enjoyed the easy chair and ottoman for one last time and going to miss it.
Conclusion
After our recent stay at Hyatt Regency Seragaki Island in Okinawa (review), I did not expect this hotel to beat our expectations, but I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the furniture and the unique architecture. Fuji Speedway Hotel is one of the most creative and luxurious accommodations in the world (for any hotel chain) and better than any Park Hyatt’s I have ever been to anywhere. The standard Grand Prix suite is marvelously designed and I encourage readers to make use of their suite upgrade awards to enjoy their stay.