The hotel has a free pick up service from Odawara Station ( Hakone) to the hotel but only on fixed times so be sure to arrange it beforehand.The hotel itself is on a great location on the lake with our room overlooking the lake.The room itself was quite large and in presentable condition but only Japanese TV channels available.The outside of the hotel around the garden area certainly needs attention.There is only one restaurant in the annex so not a lot of choice if your staying more than a couple of days except at the more expensive Prince Hotel,a 10 minute walk away.A good place for a short stay.

The hotel and the rooms need definitely a solid refurbishing. Other than that, nice room size and facilities, the onsen is small but beautiful with a nice view to the lake and the mountains (the fujiyama never showed up in the two days we were there, always covered in clouds). Staff very friendly. The restaurant in the hotel is looking very old, but has a wonderful glass front to the lake. Lots of families with little children which I didnt mind at all. Not the best place for a romantic dinner though, cuz it closes at 8 (? or was last order at 8, I cant remember). Small but drinkable wine menu, food way better than expected from the looks of the restaurant.
Good location.
For a day or two, I would choose this hotel again, for a longer stay, I would check for something with a larger onsen and more romantic dining facilities.
Btw, you cannot swim in the lake (I got different explanations as to the why). There is a swimming pool a short walk away, public though and closes at 5 pm (or 6?), I think I would have had to pay for it but was too late anyway.

Lakeside annex is not part of the 2 round buildings which are the main Prince Hotel area, have to walk pass Ryuguden to get there, or in the evening there are courtesy buses to transfer you between them to enjoy the onsens.

The annex also do not open year round, but is the cheapest amongst Prince properties in Hakone when it does. Steps from the lakeside but not as close and gardens not as well landscaped as the main buildings. Shuttle bus back to Odawara leaves from main building, so will definitely get a chance to be there. View of Mt Fuji's snowcap on a clear day as well.

Would not mind staying here again. View of Lake Ashi early morning was eerily beautiful

We selected this hotel because of its location at the end of Hakone Round course. From Moto-Hakone (the last stop on the boat sightseeing route) we took a taxi to the hotel (5 min, 1000 Yen; you can not walk to the hotel as the road in narrow and has no sidewalk; you can also take a boat from Moto-Hakone to Hakone-en, 780(?) Yen, but then you will need to walk with bags to the hotel or walk to the mail hotel and take a free shuttle to the Annex). The room we had was on a ground floor facing the lake with the steps from the room onto the green area (from there you can find a walkway to the lake). The room had seen better times (old décor, some spots here and there on the carpet) but overall the room was clean (as any hotel we have been to in Japan). The beds were comfortable (firm). We did not find a supermarket in Moto-Hakone (only a 7-11 type store to the right across the street from the boat dock, where we got some fruit, yogurt, breads and drinks for breakfast), so we took a hotel shuttle to the main hotel (Hakone Prince Hotel) and went for dinner buffer (5000 Yen). We actually enjoyed the dinner as it was nice to have large selection of food (mainly non-Japanese, no sushi), seat, eat and relax after a long day. The Annex has a small onsen (hot spring bath). You enter it from the corridor of the hotel, but then when you enter the bath itself, it is actually outside (completely private). I went there first thing in the morning (opens at 6:00 am) and it was absolutely wonderful to lay in the hot water, look at rocks and flowers around, listen to the birds and watch the light getting brighter. If you want to have a full experience of onsen, you probably should select a different hotel, but if you are coming for a day of sightseeing in Hakone, and want to spend a night and travel further the next day, it was a great hotel to stay. And no, we did not see Fuji-san :( the mountain was covered with clouds both days we were in Hakone area but the trip was still really great.

Travel trips: We came from Tokyo on our free JR pass to Odawara, bought a 2-day Hakone free pass at the station (3900 Yen) and took a train to Hakone-Yumoto. There at the station we left our bags with Hakone Baggage Service to be delivered directly to the hotel and continued our sightseeing trip. When we arrived at the hotel our bags were waiting for us. Next morning we ordered a taxi and wend back to Moto-Hakone from where we took a bus to Odawara (bus was free with our 2-day Hakone free pass, about 1 hr drive) and from there took a train to Kyoto. (There is a free hotel shuttle to and from hotel to Odawara station but it was leaving from the hotel too late to accommodate our travel plans for that day.)