The Westin Rusutsu Resort

“Great place for families with small kids but a bit Kitsch.”

I attended a conference at Rusutsu resort last week with my wife and children 8 and 3 years old staying 8 nights in a triple room on the 3rd floor in the North wing. The hotel has a theme park feel with animated singing animal bands, a free 2-story merry-go-round a talking tree and Disney like rest… lisää

I attended a conference at Rusutsu resort last week with my wife and children 8 and 3 years old staying 8 nights in a triple room on the 3rd floor in the North wing. The hotel has a theme park feel with animated singing animal bands, a free 2-story merry-go-round a talking tree and Disney like restaurant main street between the north and south wings which is great for families with small children. There is a great range of food options for families and a lunch cafeteria with a broad range of cheap food options at the end of South wing on the 2nd floor with a free magic museum to keep the kids busy. The ski lifts and kids ski school is straight out the rear of the hotel and ski locker area. There is no regular group adult ski school though this is arranged for conference groups. The kids group ski classes are a bit pricy though we did get one as a private lesson as no other kids were registered which was overall good value. Be aware they strictly enforce the 4yo minimum age for kids group lessons though allow with private lessons (Japan does love rules). Private lessons through the resort are very expensive though I do here there are external instructors that will give lessons there through some booking sites though they do not get to use the priority lines however the lines at Rusutsu are often nonexistent so this may not be a problem. The free wave pool is safe and shallow (0.8m) so great for small kids and has a fulltime lifeguard. The waterslide to the pool is a highlight for the kids when not skiing. The North wing onsen is heaven. Do not bother with the smaller south wing onsen by the wave pool. There is a range of higher end adult restaurants which all seemed popular, we ate at Kakashi several times (sashimi platter is very good and has kids options) and felt it is good value and felt like we were in Japan. The Chinese in the convention center is very good for dinner and breakfast. The Japanese set breakfast in the convention wing is for those wanting a serious Japanese experience but was not for our kids. The laundry in the South wing is great and has cheap washing powder available. There is a seicomart and a 7eleven across the road from the resort with all the essentials- cheap bear and wine, heated prepared meals and noodles, ice-creams as well as any general items that you forgot. The negatives are that it is a bit dated and kitsch and may not appeal to those wanting a sophisticated adult hotel and the Vale or Westin would be better. It is a ski hotel so gets a lot of battering and there is the odd scuffmark here and there (some from my kids I am sure). The kids creche near the cafeteria is usually booked out days in advance (we could not get in when needed) so plan ahead. The TV has no English channels with no BBC/CNN or kids TV but the internet did allow us to stream video for the kids tablets. They should address this considering over half the ski guests seem to be English speakers. The room does not get a full service every day though they do a daily clear of the bins and provide new towels and a quick vacuum if needed. Beds seem to get made and the sheets every 3 days unless asked for. Overall, we loved this place and after 6 ski trips to Japan (3 to Niseko) this is our favorite with kids and we will return here for the next ski conference.

vähemmän

“Unacceptable guest treatment.”

1) The room cleaning is only replacement of towels, no tidying up of the room. 2) No cutlery, had to call for a teaspoon 3) upon checking out, we can't deposit our luggage at the lobby. Was told to go to coin deposit box, which is insane as we had 10large luggage. 3) We paid $1600 per night for 4 p… lisää

1) The room cleaning is only replacement of towels, no tidying up of the room. 2) No cutlery, had to call for a teaspoon 3) upon checking out, we can't deposit our luggage at the lobby. Was told to go to coin deposit box, which is insane as we had 10large luggage. 3) We paid $1600 per night for 4 pax, this is unacceptable.

vähemmän