Lotte Arai Resort

the hotel is excelent.

酒店在就在雪場門口可以Ski in /Out，雪票價格在圖三酒店的客人可以打折，我們一大一小三天價格是25400日幣。雪場非落大雪的時候都比較少人，是非常少。酒店有幾個餐廳，晚上用餐都需要預約，口味不錯。一樓有雪板寄存櫃是免費。友情建議，儘量自己帶鞋和板，雪場出租的鞋子非常松、板又重又硬

Should have left when we pulled up to the inviting front doors. No signs of life Opened the front door no one to help with luggage . The rooms are spacious but no where to put your clothes could do with some drawers and more hanging space This place is like the Truman show no atmosphere very bland Food choice poor and restaurants no ambience Skiing was ok but get bored after a few runs One plus was the onsen it was the best part They are obviously struggling with staff No one answering the phone I had to get dressed and go to reception to get question answered not ideal from a supposed luxury hotel I would of left if I hadn’t already paid Don’t waste your money go get a real experience at a Japanese village ski resort

We (family of 5 – kids aged 18, 15 and 11) visited for 5 days just as the ski season opened in December 2023. We were on a Luxury Escapes 5 night/4 day ski lift package. We chose Lotte Arai as we heard it was an excellent place for beginners. Unfortunately our experience was not positive. Luxury Escapes were not transparent at the time of booking that we were right on the cusp of season opening, which would have influenced our booking decision. Weather was not favourable and unfortunately the snow was not sufficient to fully open on 15/12 as planned (not LE or Lotte Arai's fault of course). This coupled with a broken chair lift (which Lotte Arai did not disclose - we only discovered when we arrived) and another chair lift that couldn't run due to lack of staff, meant our ski options (as beginners) were limited to one 350m run. 4 days of limited ski options at top $ was incredibly disappointing and no way reflective of the quality experiences we had with LE previously. We stayed in a lovely room in the Lodge part of Lotte Arai resort. Spacious comfortable room, somewhat tired bathroom. The resort is a hodgepodge of different buildings that connect only on different floors (it seems the property has grown organically over 30+ years with no real thought to full integration). Navigating from the Lodge to breakfast and the onsen took some planning, especially as one part was almost outdoors, in freezing conditions. Meals were at the buffet styled Plate restaurant in Lotte Arai Hotel (a full 700m walk involving a lift ride, outside (albeit undercover) walk and flight of stairs from our room) which was more akin to 3/3.5 star standard. On the plus side the bus transfer to and from Joetsu-Myoko train station was great; we really enjoyed a lovely dinner at the Japanese restaurant Asahi and the outside onsen was lovely. The separately run Myoko Snowsports school is exceptional and the resort's ski hire enterprise rents quality gear. Plus our step count walking around the various buildings was high! Lotte Arai staff were warm and tried to help best they could. But truthfully for a resort claiming to be 5 star, staff were not as polished or proficient, as elsewhere on our Japan trip. Communication in advance to organise meals etc. was difficult - often multiple days' wait for response and sometimes no response at all. We did speak to the Manager on duty on our last day to offer feedback. He was pleasant and listened. He offered a bottle of wine and free access to swimming pool and indoor climbing wall. Luxury Escapes similarly listened to our concerns and offered a $300 voucher for next booking. On a $4.7k booking it felt more symbolic than significant. All in all the most disappointing days of our holiday. We spent A$6k incl. ski gear on a "special deal" - it was by far the worst value on a 3.5 week holiday trekking around Japan.

The rooms were small unliked advertised. Further I hurt myself on the slope (pulled my calves and sprained my knee) tried to get a refund on my ski gear for the next 2 days I had rented from Salomon station for as I am unable to go out, however was told no refunds was possible despite being injured. Terrible experience from a luxury hotel. Further the rooms were far from the rental and the gondola, and the paths were not covered. Not the ski in ski out experience I envisioned. Pool was also closed after 6pm but was advertised on website to be all day.

11月の土日月に家族4人（小学生と幼稚園児連れ）で2泊3日の宿泊をしました。 閑散期のためか、非常に静かで人が少なく、落ち着いて過ごすことができました。 施設はリニューアルしたかのように清潔でキレイで、特に温泉やプールから見える紅葉の山々が美しいです。 ただ、スタッフの人数が少ないため、受付後の案内はなく、ラウンジやプールもスタッフ不在の状態でしたが、ドライサウナや広い温泉の外風呂では星空を見ながらリラックスできました。 ARAI棟に宿泊し、室内は清潔で快適でした。 ただし、小さな子どもがいる場合、縦開きの窓には注意が必要です。 食事は1日目にステーキハウスでステーキを楽しみましたが、ミディアムでオーダーしたにもかかわらず、かなりレアに提供されたため、焼き直しを提案されましたが、小さな子どもがいるため待てずに残すことになりました。2日目はビュッフェレストランで種類は多くありませんが、どの料理も素材がよく美味しかったです。また、ゴンドラ乗り場でいただいたコーヒーも、注文後に豆を挽いてくれるため、とても美味しく感じました。 アクティビティチケットを購入しましたが、人手不足からか安全面に不安を感じる場面もありました。 ボルダリング施設も故障中で使用できなかったため、次回利用時には安全面に注意して過ごしたいと思いました。 全体的には、コストパフォーマンスの良い施設で、友人にも勧めたいと感じました。しかし、平日は人手不足が顕著で、食事やアクティビティの利用に制限が多いため注意が必要です。 次回も閑散期に訪れたいですが、過ごし方には工夫が必要だと感じました。