Grand Mercure Ise Shima Resort & Spa

Grand Mercure Ise Shima Resort & Spa is an Accor-group resort hotel on a hill overlooking Matoya Bay in Ise-Shima, Mie Prefecture. It is easy to reach, about 15 minutes by scheduled shuttle bus from Kintetsu Ugata Station, and it follows an 'all-inclusive' style: dinner and breakfast, lounge drinks and snacks, the onsen communal bath, and in-house activities are all included in the room rate, so families can relax without worrying about extra charges.

At the heart of a family stay is the wood-education playroom 'Matoya no Mori,' which opened on April 1, 2026. Its wall materials and wooden toys use timber grown in Mie Prefecture, and the space is divided into four zones: 'Mori no Hiroba' (an active play area), 'Ehon no Mori' (a picture-book reading corner), 'Manabi no Kabe' (a wall for learning about the forest's cycle), and 'Tsukuru Kobo' (a craft workshop using offcuts and nuts). It is open 15:00-20:00, free for hotel guests (part of the all-inclusive stay), and being indoors, it can be enjoyed regardless of rain or weather. Creations made in the craft workshop can be taken home, and from July 2026 European wooden educational toys (selected by FOLK FOLK TOY) were also added.

The guest rooms are designed with young children in mind, including layouts where you can go shoe-free and bed arrangements that let families sleep side by side. Children aged 0-6 who co-sleep are free of both room charge and meals for up to 2 children per room (official-site bookings only; elementary-school-age children are charged the adult rate). Baby bath and bed guard rental are available, and some rooms come stocked with baby items, which is a nice touch for traveling light.

The hotel has an onsen communal bath and a post-bath lounge, and in summer it holds events such as a Day & Night Pool and a tuna-cutting show as part of 'Matoya Village.' Note that the official site does not state whether children who are not yet potty-trained may use the onsen communal bath or the summer pool, so if you plan to use them, it is worth confirming with the hotel in advance. Surrounded by the natural scenery of Matoya Bay, this resort is also a convenient base for visiting Ise Grand Shrine and sightseeing in Shima, making it a good match for families with young children. When using the communal onsen bath, guests with tattoos may bathe only if the tattoo can be covered with tattoo cover seals (8 x 10 cm, up to 2 seals). Cover seals can be purchased at the on-site shop.