Lotte Arai Resort

“Ok experience”

We came to Lotte Arai from Sapporo and had some issues getting there. We flew into Niigata and there were not many options from that airport. We ended up taking a taxi to Niigata station and trained to Myoko and then the hotel shuttle took us to hotel. We didn’t reserve but were still able to get o… lisää

We came to Lotte Arai from Sapporo and had some issues getting there. We flew into Niigata and there were not many options from that airport. We ended up taking a taxi to Niigata station and trained to Myoko and then the hotel shuttle took us to hotel. We didn’t reserve but were still able to get on. Check in was ok. At first, they pulled up a completely different name/reservation even after seeing my passport. Once we sorted that out, it was fine. We stayed in Lodge building and had two rooms that did not connect but were right next to each other. They do offer family rooms but by the time i booked, they were sold out. The rooms have a less modern, more rustic feel with dark floors etc. our room had a small balcony that overlooked a small pond. The bathroom was tiled and very cold. Heat did not reach. We tried both breakfast options and they were both good. One was Japanese breakfast buffet and the other was western plus a bit of Japanese. We went really early when they opened so it was not crowded. First night, on arrival, we tried to go to the Japanese restaurant but a customer was complaining about his reservation so the host did not even acknowledge. We bought some things at the self service conbini but it was frustrating to operate. It wouldn’t scan the barcode on the curved cc lemon bottle so i ended up scanning another drink twice. We had reservations at the japanese restaurant the second night luckily and it was sets. The staff did not speak english and did not offer english menu. We ended up ordering two of each set and one of each add on. Everything was good! The second night we ate at steak restaurant and got yelled at by another patron for my loud/laughing 4 year old. I also ordered my steak medium rare and got medium well. Then got it blue and had to send it back a second time. I think if that is a frequent point of confusion then they can remedy with an order form of some sort. The mid mountain restaurant was great but the credit card payment option on the ordering kiosk was down so my cousin paid with Wechat. The onsen had steam, hot tubs and cold plunge inside and two hot tubs outside. I really liked the outdoor setup with the waterfall wall. The lighting indoor was a bit fluorescent and less calming. It was better at their spa. The 60min massage was great as was the 30min before for sauna, hot tub, and cold plunge. The cold tub is outside facing the mountain. Coin laundry is by ski lockers in lodge building. Similar to other hotel laundry setups, this had a 30min wash cycle in a washer and then a separate dryer that took more than 180min to dry. One eventually was deemed out of order. I had to take my damp clothes back up to our room and just crank up the heat. Lodge building is connected to Arai building but Village is separate even though there appears to be a walkway from Club or Nest building. We rented at Village building and it was fine. The little kids ski school drops off there and one of the coordinators told my crying 4year old that no one wants to hear that. The 9 and 10 year old met outside but the instructors seemed a bit out of it, first arriving after 10:15 start time, taking the wrong lunch order, telling me they end at 3 when they end at 4. When we ran into the group mid day, they admitted the groups were not leveled properly. Kids were pretty frustrated waiting around. we did the indoor one morning and kids had fun. There was one staff for the entire trampoline and rock climbing areas. You have to pay and it is one hour. The indoor pool is also pay

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“Over priced and average at best...”

We booked this hotel for 4 days 3 nights and ended up checking out early. Lotte Arai resort is still about 30 mins away from JoetsuMyoko station. The resort offers free shuttle ride to the train station but it will need to be reserved in advanced. It's located in a remote area away from the city. I… lisää

We booked this hotel for 4 days 3 nights and ended up checking out early. Lotte Arai resort is still about 30 mins away from JoetsuMyoko station. The resort offers free shuttle ride to the train station but it will need to be reserved in advanced. It's located in a remote area away from the city. It takes about 10 min taxi ride to the nearest convinence store so you are pretty much stuck in the resort. The resort does not have the feel of Japanese hospitality that we were accustomed to while traveling in Japan. The resort is filled with foreigners and feels like an average ski resort back at home. The resort is fairly large and consists of couple buildings accessible through internal walkways. The resort is kept well but it is not luxury as other reviews have mentioned. The most annoying thing is that there is a wood burning fireplace in the lobby. The smoke is trapped in the lobby area through the 2nd floor making it hard to breathe. A good size room and the bathroom is large. The room is equipped with an annoying automatic sensor foyer light that turns on automatically whenever you are in the foyer area. The rolling bathroom door is also annoying since it makes a lot of noise. Both items makes it hard to stay quiet while sharing your room with others. Our room was in the hallway of going to the onsen so noise is an issue with the foot traffic. There is a sign that tells guest to be quiet but nobody pays attention. It does have different things you can do but most of them cost money. The room costs comes with breakfast for adults only. There's a charge for children. The onsen facility is included in the cost of the hotel room. Lotte charges for the indoor pool even for hotel guests. They also have billards, ping pong, karaoke, adventure park, washer/dryer all for a fee to use. One note about the laundry facility, it is constantly packed with people. Especially guests who forget to pull their clothes out of the machines. Their dryer is also completely useless! It doesn't even dry your clothes with 1 hour drying time. This causes a huge delay of people waiting for dryers. Since there is nothing around the resort, your option is to find dinner at the resort or take a taxi to a restaurant. For lunch there is a food hall at the village. It is pricey and food is medicore. We did the dinner buffet at The Plate and it was abosultely disappointing. Our reservation time was at 6:45 and when we arrived there was no food left. Many of the plates/displays were all empty. The restaurant could not keep up with the demand of the idea of a buffet. The buffet is expensive and we barely got to eat anything decent. The best part of this resort is the onsen. You can tell there are some bathtubs that are not kept up but overall the facility is large and has a beautiful outdoor soaking tub. This was the highlight of the stay. Overall, if you are there to hit the slopes the resort is fine. But if you are not hitting the slopes and trying to pass the time, it would cost a lot to keep yourself entertain. Thank goodness snowplay is free! Had I did more research on this place, I would have brought my own food and other items to pass the time. The hotel is overpriced for what it offers.

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“Nice place but definitely not luxurious.”

We stayed at Lotte Arai this month for six nights. Positive: v clean, rooms are spacious and beds comfortable. Onsen is beautiful. Indoor snd outdoor pools and a sauna. Also has a warm water spout that falls from a height of about 5m and can massage your shoulders or back. Needs a relaxation lou… lisää

We stayed at Lotte Arai this month for six nights. Positive: v clean, rooms are spacious and beds comfortable. Onsen is beautiful. Indoor snd outdoor pools and a sauna. Also has a warm water spout that falls from a height of about 5m and can massage your shoulders or back. Needs a relaxation lounge. Many of the staff are helpful and welcoming. The buildings and facilities are v nice. There is a very nice Vietnamese restaurant which is v welcoming, and serves v nice food at reasonable prices. (Bowl of pho is about 1500 yen). The ski school (Myoko Snowsports) is excellent. Instructors are from a range of countries and speak English. Great for kids. The guests at the hotel are mostly young Aussie families with primary school age children, and then some young adults from Asia ( mostly snowboarders) Negative: the breakfast and dinner buffets are v ordinary. None of the food is delicious but it’s definitely edible. Many of the staff are doing their job, but they are not welcoming and they don’t smile or greet you. I think this attitude must come from management and work its way down. Eg no ski locker available for me to store our skis and no apologetic or helpful attitude. When I asked for help to post a postcard I was told that it’s not possible. Food on the mountain is expensive eg 3800 yen for eel rice bowl, 2000 yen for curry and rice. Lift tickets also expensive (9500 yen for a day pass) compared to other Japanese ski fields. Restaurants outside the resort (eg in Myoko) are too far for a taxi trip there and back. The ski field is apparently renown for off piste skiing and boarding but the groomed runs are limited. So if one run or one lift is closed, there would be very limited options. The beginner run is v flat and the next run up Is too steep for beginners. Suggestions for improvement: lift the standard of food at the breakfast and dinner buffets. Provide trays to assist diners to select their food. An omelette station at breakfast and a noodle station at dinner would be wonderful. Train the staff to be helpful and welcoming ( like everywhere else in Japan).

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