The Windsor Hotel Toya Resort & Spa

There are times when you want something a little more decadent than the ascetic charms of the ryokan. The Japanese countryside is home to some astonishing luxury hotels as well, the Windsor Hotel Toya among them. This Hokkaido hotel, with its mountaintop view of Lake Toya, hosted 2008’s G8 summit, a testament to the Windsor’s creature comforts as well as its business facilities; let’s be honest, if it’s suitable for heads of state, then you’re unlikely to find yourself wishing for more.

Western rooms come in two styles: the “casual” style is calculated not to offend, while the “premier” style is contemporary, with more than a little bit of minimalist influence, resulting in a look that’s several degrees sharper than the soporific luxury-hotel standard. You can probably guess which one we prefer. And for the traditionalists, a number of tatami-style rooms and suites are available as well.

Spaces are generous throughout, from the superior rooms on up to the sprawling G8 and Presidential suites, and the comforts are what you’d expect from a recently renovated high-end hotel. The facilities are similarly first-rate — the Windsor comes equipped with pool, spa and fitness center, and among the thirteen restaurants and lounges are some surprisingly well-conceived eateries: a handful of different Japanese options are joined by a brick-oven pizzeria and a French restaurant by the eminent Michel Bras.

But it’s the location that puts the Windsor over the edge from merely quite nice to something more like sublime. Hokkaido isn’t generally short of natural charms in the first place, but Lake Toya is something to behold; this volcanic lake is nearly circular in shape, with a peaked island situated photogenically at its center, and the Windsor takes this all in from a height of two thousand feet. Not a view you’ll soon forget.