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.

とても大きなリゾートホテルです　どこで写真を撮っても映えます　ロッジ棟に宿泊しましたが部屋は広くて快適とても居心地がよく連泊したくなります　 駐車場も屋内がメインとなるので雪の時期でも安心です　エントランスだけでもワクワクしますが、自動ドアが開いた瞬間に目の前に現れる階段で一気に世界観に引き込まれます ロッジ棟のデメリットは食事やお風呂の時にアライ棟までの移動距離でしょうか　朝夕の景色を楽しみながら歩けば良いのですが人によっては遠く感じるかも 星空温泉は遠くても行く価値ありです 広くてキレイでとても良い大浴場です 夜は星空が広がる露天風呂が最高です 　泉質が素晴らしいわけではありませんが快適性が最高です 以前アライ棟にも宿泊しましたが、ロッジ棟をオススメします！　ここの世界観とデザイン、快適性はロッジ棟でこそ味わえます