Kanucha Bay Hotels & Villas

“Hawaii in Okinawa”

Great, great place. Kanucha resort was amazing, we loved it. We stayed 5 nights in the middle of August and the weather was great, hot and sunny everyday. The resort is huge and quite spread out. We had a golf cart to drive around with however there is a bus that circulates as well. The resort h... more

Great, great place. Kanucha resort was amazing, we loved it. We stayed 5 nights in the middle of August and the weather was great, hot and sunny everyday. The resort is huge and quite spread out. We had a golf cart to drive around with however there is a bus that circulates as well. The resort has a very Hawaiian feel to it, so Hawaii in Okinawa. We stayed in the Orchid which is closest to the water. The room was big, clean and comfortable. There was a jacuzzi on the balcony which we enjoyed. The view from the balcony was wonderful, ocean for the day and stars at night. The Orchid was a quick walk, or drive, to the beach front. At the beach front there is a nice pool as well as beach. The pool has facilities, food and drinks. The beach front also has activities such as boating and snorkeling. There is the "water park" although we found it pretty tiring trying to climb on these things. We are pretty active but this seems to be for advanced athletes. I would recommend that they make some of the attractions a bit easier to use. There are 2 other pools. One is the garden pool and an indoor pool. Both very nice, The indoor pool was great for evening swimming. There are numerous restaurants around the resort; buffet, Japanese, BBQ, Chinese, Steak, etc... Nice options for breakfast and lunch. Room service is limited but available. There are a few convenience-style-stores but I would recommend stocking up on groceries beforehand if you plan to eat in the room. The resort is built within a golf course (looks like a difficult one). This is a beautiful place. Great staff and super family friendly resort. It looks like all the different buildings have really nice rooms. Probably larger than the average resort in Okinawa. I think the fee for late-check-out is a bit steep though. The drive from the airport is a bit longer than the main hotel area of Okinawa, but well worth it in my opinion. This is a very beautiful area of Okinawa. We loved it here and would certainly go back.

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“Best for families with kids under 5, who speak Japanese”

The resort itself is beautiful. View of the ocean abound, two gorgeous pools, lots of space to walk or drive your resort-assigned golf cart. Here are the pros, cons, and MUST KNOW information. ****MUST-KNOW INFORMATION*** -The resort offers a rental car with room to people coming from out of... more

The resort itself is beautiful. View of the ocean abound, two gorgeous pools, lots of space to walk or drive your resort-assigned golf cart. Here are the pros, cons, and MUST KNOW information. ****MUST-KNOW INFORMATION*** -The resort offers a rental car with room to people coming from out of the country. Do not make the same mistake we did. GET YOUR INTERNATIONAL DRIVER'S LICENSE before you leave your home country. It is easy and cheap, but once you leave home, it is impossible to get this. This resort is REMOTE, so if you cannot drive, you will spend a lot of cash on taxis to get anywhere outside of the resort. -The closest city/town in Nago, which has great grocery stores and restaurants. Highly recommend bringing some food with you or buying food off the resort property, in order to save a bit of money. The cheapest dinner option is approx. $45 per person (not counting if you want a glass or beer, sake or wine). -When you choose a room, it is NOT worth getting the highest priced Beach Condo unless you are coming with a large group and want to share one room. The beach condos offer less modern accommodations with no coffee provided and they are not necessarily as private as they seem. The pool offered is small and shared by 4 units - one of which has a huge window right in front of the pool. PROS: -Very professional and excellent service throughout the resort. We particularly enjoyed the staff at the buffet dinner restaurant. There were some international service members (Jersey from the Philippines provided STAND-OUT customer service with a smile) and spoke perfect English. -Incredible free breakfast! Hard to describe, but you can see some of this in the attached photos. Both American (eggs, pancakes, tater tots) and Japanese (rice, miso soup, tuna, seaweed, steamed vegetables) traditional breakasts, many beverage options (iced/hot coffee and tea, juice, soda, water), and even options for kids/infants -If you have children under 5, this is a place that will cater to your needs. Most of the people at this resort are young couples with infants and toddlers. We even saw a family eating dinner with a full-on pack-n-play next to their table, so their baby could sleep through dinner. It is amazing. We did NOT see anyone breast-feeding publicly, but there are spaces provided to do this out of view of other guests. -The swimming pools are gorgeous and very-well cared for, as are the grounds. If you golf, you'll love the opportunity to hit the course while you are here. CONS: -If you do not speak any Japanese, you will find it difficult to communicate with staff. Thankfully one of us speaks and Google Translate is also helpful. -REMOTE - there is nowhere you can walk to from the property. No stores or restaurants within biking or walking distance. Make sure to have a car if you want to get off the property. -LOTS OF RULES - Japan is a rule-based society and this property is no different. Pools are open limited hours (10-5 for the main pool and 9-6 for the beach pool). We were prevented from walking on the beach one day, because the staff was not out there to monitor swimmers. If you have a tattoo (again this is true throughout Japan), make sure to cover them before entering a pool or spa. They are good with bandages, stickers, or a rash guard, but they will not allow a regular tshirt. -EXTRA CHARGE for INDOOR POOL - just be aware you will pay extra to use the indoor pool. So if there's lightening and you want to swim, you have to pay extra

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“maybe the right place wrong time”

Was not what I was expecting. The staff and service was poor although some were extremely welcoming and helpful. Not blaming the resort, but the bus was not working on the days we were visiting, which was an inconvenience. Getting around the resort was a bit tricky, but may have been easier if we... more

Was not what I was expecting. The staff and service was poor although some were extremely welcoming and helpful. Not blaming the resort, but the bus was not working on the days we were visiting, which was an inconvenience. Getting around the resort was a bit tricky, but may have been easier if we could drive the cart. There were many stairs and not many directions. During our visit, a storm was hitting the area, so we could not enjoy the beach and many of the activities. Because of the storm and the recent COVID-19 panic, we were unable to have breakfast/brunch nearby, so we tried to buy food, but the resort only offered a limited selection of packed snacks. The jacuzzi was the best part of our stay, and the room was spacious and beautiful. The price was ok for what we were getting. I would love to come back during better weather circumstances and enjoy the amazing view and facilities.

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“Great Stay!”

Super-friendly staff who made us feel very welcome despite our being the only Western visitors on site (which we loved!). We had a very large room on the fourth floor of the north block with a sea-view balcony with an outdoor tub, which was very relaxing. We ate in all the restaurants and all the... more

Super-friendly staff who made us feel very welcome despite our being the only Western visitors on site (which we loved!). We had a very large room on the fourth floor of the north block with a sea-view balcony with an outdoor tub, which was very relaxing. We ate in all the restaurants and all the food was good, although we really enjoyed the buffet and the Okinawan restaurant. Both pools were very clean with plenty of loungers. The private beach is gorgeous though not huge. I got the feeling lots of people come to this resort for the golf, so the other amenities were pretty free but we were there out of season. All in all it was a very relaxing and enjoyable stay.

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