Grand Mercure Beppu Bay Resort & Spa (Beppuwan Royal)
by the TopOfHotel team
A 13-storey Accor 5-star right on the bay, with the famous Rose Bath, 6 restaurants and Sanrio Harmony Land next door — at the lowest 5-star price in Beppu.
A 13-storey Accor 5-star right on the bay, with the famous Rose Bath, 6 restaurants and Sanrio Harmony Land next door — at the lowest 5-star price in Beppu.
In-Depth Review
Rooms and decor
The Grand Mercure Beppu Bay Resort & Spa scores about 8.6/10 from real guests, housed in a curving 13-storey white-and-blue tower that's visible from a long way off along Hiji-machi's shoreline. The Twin Sea View runs 35 sqm, sits around the 9th floor and goes for roughly $166 a night: twin Sealy beds, a recliner pulled up to a wide window, and a full 180-degree sweep of Beppu Bay where you can watch the fishing boats come in at dusk as the lights of Hiji flick on. The bathroom keeps the bath and shower separate and adds a Toto Washlet; Wi-Fi is quick and the TV carries NHK plus international channels. The welcome amenity is a mini Yufuin sake and an Accor chocolate.
Food and amenities
The headline here is the Rose Bath — a women's outdoor rotenburo on the 5th floor with fresh roses floating on the surface, swapped every morning and a fixture in Japan's onsen magazines. The water is clear chloride-bicarbonate at 41 degrees, looking straight out over the bay, open 06:00 to 24:00. Men get a sea-view rotenburo too, minus the roses. The Lalu spa runs a 60-minute treatment for about $67. Dinner choices are wide: Wadou, the in-house Japanese restaurant, does a kaiseki buffet for around $50 with Bungo-gyu beef, sushi, toriten and tempura, while breakfast at Cafe Marlow is roughly $23 with eggs Benedict, croissants and Kyushu fruit.
Location and getting there
The resort sits right on Beppu Bay in Hiji-machi, about 7 km from central Beppu and 40 minutes from Oita Airport. A free shuttle runs from JR Beppu's West Exit and takes around 20 minutes; it also serves JR Kamegawa, which is just 10 minutes from Beppu by train, roughly every 60 minutes. The big payoff of the location is next door: Sanrio Harmony Land, a 100-acre Hello Kitty, Kuromi and Cinnamoroll park, is a 5-minute walk at 450 metres, with a Kitty coaster, live shows and a gift shop for about $24 a ticket.
Things to know before booking
You're 7 km out in Hiji-machi, so the free 20-minute shuttle (or a taxi) is part of every trip into town — and the 7 Hells Jigoku tour means riding in first before any sightseeing starts. The 13-storey, 240-room tower also means the lifts back up at peak check-in and breakfast, so this won't feel like the intimate ryokans higher on the list. And Harmony Land only opens on weekends and public holidays, so check the calendar before you plan a day around it.
Our take
The Grand Mercure Beppu Bay is the best-value 5-star in the group — Accor service, the outdoor Rose Bath, 6 restaurants, Harmony Land next door and 180-degree bay views from every room, all at an 8.6/10 from over 3,000 reviews. Rates from about $137 run roughly 65% under the ANA InterContinental for the same star rating. It's the easy call for families with kids, Sanrio fans and Accor ALL members who want genuine 5-star without the genuine 5-star price.
Score Breakdown
Assessed by our editorial team from data and real guest reviews
The Honest Verdict — pros & what to know
- Accor 5-star with ALL Loyalty points and consistent Accor service standards, at a price the brand rarely hits in a resort onsen setting.
- The Rose Bath is the signature draw — a women's outdoor rotenburo with fresh roses floating on chloride-bicarbonate water at 41 degrees, swapped every morning and written up across Japan's onsen press. Men get an outdoor rotenburo with the same Beppu Bay view, just without the roses.
- All 240 rooms sit in a 13-storey curve on the bay, so every one looks out at Beppu Bay across a full 180 degrees — fishing boats coming in at dusk, the lights of Hiji switching on behind them.
- Six restaurants on-site cover most cravings: Wadou for Japanese, Toh-rin for Chinese, a French room, a steakhouse, a buffet and a bar, so you never have to leave for dinner.
- Sanrio Harmony Land is 450 metres away, a 5-minute walk — a 100-acre Hello Kitty, Kuromi and Cinnamoroll park with a Kitty coaster and live shows, which makes this a rare onsen resort that also entertains young kids.
- It's in Hiji-machi, 7 km from Beppu, so you're committed to the free 20-minute shuttle or a taxi every time you want to be in town.
- A 13-storey, 240-room tower means the lifts back up at peak check-in and breakfast times — not the intimate ryokan feel of the smaller picks on this list.
- This isn't central Beppu, so the 7 Hells (Jigoku) tour means catching the shuttle into town first before you even start sightseeing.
Who It’s For
Match Score by travel style
Amenities
Location & Nearby Spots
Things to do near Beppu
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Insider Tips
- Book the free shuttle ahead — it runs from both JR Beppu and JR Kamegawa about every 60 minutes, and Kamegawa is only 10 minutes from Beppu if the timing suits you better.
- The Rose Bath is open 06:00 to 24:00 and the roses are refreshed every morning, so an early soak gets the cleanest bloom (women only; men's rotenburo has the same bay view).
- Harmony Land costs about $24 and only opens on weekends and public holidays — check the calendar before you build a day around it.
- Hold Accor ALL Platinum and you get free breakfast plus late check-out at 4 PM, which stretches the value even further.