Great place to get away from your busy mindset.
Very good views, you can hear the waves and feel the sea breeze.
Room has all the basic stuff and they even put cold water with ice for you.
Onsen is pleasantly nice and quiet.
Staff are attentive and will make effort for you to feel welcome.
Great for families, food is very good too.
Small rant, no washing machine to use.
Cheers.
ผผู้เข้าพักThe hotel is very nice and clean. The hotel is well designed. The room we stayed in the Lodge part is well designed and appointed. Spacious for two people, although we reserved a family suite. There are two different breakfast options, Western and Japanese. The Japanese breakfast option was much better appointed, quiet, and organized. (you are not getting your variety style of breakfast eggs). The Onsen in Arai is very nice, clean, and a nice place to relax after skiing.
As per other information about skiing at Lotte Arai, there is noting else around and as stated, it is not for backpackers, skier/boarders on a budget. The hotel is isolated and not walkable to any stores. As for dinner options, you have to make daily reservations which can be somewhat of a turnoff. The restaurants are not large to accommodate large numbers.
As for skiing/boarding. It can get windy and whiteout conditions. When we were there, the upper mountain was closed one day which limits the number of runs that are opened. Also, there were a lot of avalanche warnings posted and those runs were closed. Safety concerns /warnings are well posted. Did manage to see some boarders that went under the ropes into the out of bounds ang get stuck in waist deep snow.
ผผู้เข้าพักThe best stay ever with exceptional service and super gorgeous room + private onsen. We enjoyed a complimentary welcome drink and dessert before they showed us to our room. The loft style japanese room was stunning, decorated with tasteful details. The best part was of course the onsen, we could watch snow as we enjoyed the soak. There was also a massage chair in the room haha.
The breakfast that we added on was really delicious too. The hotel provides pick up service to and fro train stations nearby, make sure to check with them prior to your arrival.
Something that warms our hearts is their quality service, e.g. they would warm our shoes before we head out as it was snowing outside etc.
Location wise, it's very near to Gala Yuzawa station. However, I think most restaurants are closer to Echigo Yuzawa station. So we would take a short walk there every night for dinner instead.
ผผู้เข้าพักThe lady at the counter was so accommodating. Provided everything we needed and was happy to help in any other way. Spoke a little English but used google translate to help. We couldn't use the dining room for dinner, I think that had to be booked in advance. There was only one or two other places open in town at 7.30pm for dinner. So wasn't many options. The room had stains all over the floor, but otherwise the beds were clean, and comfortable being on the harder springy side, and the bathroom was very clean. The onsen was amazing. The room was a good size, and had extra toilets down the hall if we needed them. The Japanese breakfast that was provided was fantastic. We only stayed one night because we were walking the next day just near there otherwise would have stayed in a bigger town, because of the limited outside facilities. But for the price and it was convenient it was good. Would stay again if I had to, but otherwise would go for a bit nicer place.