Busena Terrace Resort, Okinawa, Japan

Last month I was updating the Okinawa chapter of a Japan travel guide. This meant I had to drop by numerous hotels to check the quality of the rooms, prices, amenities etc. I saved the best till last, and last week I toured the facilities at the Busena Terrace Resort. The location is great, the beach lovely, rooms are luxurious and yet understated, and the service impeccable. The reality is that it is also a little outside my budget (rooms range from  42,735 to 577,500 a night).

Although I’ve been on Okinawa for 10 years, I’d never visited the resort. Somehow I’d presumed they wouldn’t allow non-guests into the complex. However, you can enjoy the beach (inc. showers etc) if you pay 2,000 yen per car, and anyone can dine at the restaurants. I’d recommend stopping by for tea and cakes at least once.

The hotel is located beside the Bankoku Shinryokan where the 2000 G8 summit took place, there is also an underwater observatory and a glass bottom boat if you’re looking to do more than just lounge on the beach.