Yamakei Residences — Attraction in Kutchan

While furnishings were quality and staff did the best within their abilities to service us, there were a number of issues and miscommunications during our 8 night stay that ultimately led to additional costs on our end, which should not have been incurred to begin with.

For this price point, we were surprised when we were told that we had to pay for clean towels or even mid-week housekeeping given the length of our stay. We were given just 1 change of towels in the end because we told staff it did not make sense to us that someone paying for a longer stay is being penalised with having to pay for fresh towels. Not to mention, the bedsheets were rough and scratchy and pillows were uncomfortably flat. There were a few occasions where our service requests were ghosted as well, or staff couldn’t be located at the lobby.

The accommodation also supposedly offers complimentary airport transfers, but poor communication led to a failure to book in the correct transfer time for us despite us providing our flight details beforehand. We were told initially that we had to just accept that we had to go to the airport 11 hours before our flight, despite us requesting in advance for late check out at the beginning of our stay. This could have ruined our last day of the trip, forcing us to wait in the airport doing nothing all day. Eventually, they managed to obtain transport for us at a later time albeit earlier than what we had planned. BUT we were not informed of any additional costs. This was only made known to us in the middle of our drive to the airport, when we had no choice but to agree anyways since we were already on the way, and we had to pay our driver in cash at the end of our trip. This should not have been a cost to us in the first place and the surprise charge was definitely not welcome. Not only were we not compensated, we had to bear additional costs through no fault of our own.

One last point to note is that the apartment we booked looked different from the pictures we had seen online. When we raised this point, we were told it was fully booked so there was nothing that could be done. We were under the impression that both rooms were full en-suites. One of the rooms did not have a shower and this was inconvenient.

Maybe the accommodation is new and there are a lot of teething issues, but for this price point you could have a more comfortable and reliable stay with another property for sure. You do not want to be stressed out by unnecessary administrative issues from your accommodation while on holiday and hence, not sure I would recommend a stay based on my experience despite the location and nice modern decor.

3 stars may be generous given the lack of compensation to us for the numerous issues but staff that we had interacted with were nice and helpful so that...

Was VERY VERY disappointed with the shuttle service provided by the hotel. And Shuttle service in Niseko is VERY IMPORTANT due to the weather.

I had a good first impression when entering the residence. It was clean, and spacious. The location was just okay, It is not a ski in ski out residence so we really need the shuttle service to go anywhere in the area since we are travelling with kids and it was snowing quite heavily.

During the visit, I asked for a pickup from the ski rental in hirafu, to go to a restaurant . Our friend, was staying at the hotel NEXT TO the ski rental place and we saw them on the way , so we POLITELY asked the driver if it was okay for our friend's parents (ELDERLY) to join in our car since we are going to the SAME PLACE. The driver was nice and he agreed, so he pulled over and the elderly joined in our car. After the lunch, we asked for a pickup from the restaurant.This is when we met the SUPER UNPOLITE DRIVER called "FAUSTO". First thing he said when we entered the car was " WHERE IS YOUR OTHER FRIEND?" in an impolite manner. We said these are all. So We asked to be dropped in the ski rental and then drop the rest ( my toddler) to the hotel. He said " SHUTTLE CAN ONLY GO TO THE HOTEL". We were puzzled , cause we never had problem going to any places before. finally he agreed to do what he asked for, HESITANTLY.

Our second encounter with FAUSTO, was the last night of my stay. We had dinner and asked for pickup at 21.54. The driver arrived at 22.02. AND, it was FAUSTO AGAIN!! We entered the car saying "Good evening" But he replied RUDELY " THE NEXT TIME U ASK TO BE PICKED UP AFTER 22.00 I WONT COME" He even said, " LETS GO BACK AND REVIEW THE CONTRACT TOGETHER". He said that the hotel policy was 22.00 is the maximum time for pickup. We were not aware and If he told us nicely I would have apologized and understood.

We were really disappointed by these events. Had it not happened, it would have been a pleasant stay. Yet, since transports are CRUCIAL in niseko trip WITH KIDS, this events is a major consideration for us. We'd rather stay in a ski in ski out resort.

BTW, we did email the hotel management but to our disappointment, we DID NOT get any reply. So do think twice if you're travelling with...

Until the management has fixed the transport/road issue, do NOT stay here. The road down to the property is steep and icy, and due to proximity you need transport to maintain basic necessities (food etc). After a six car pile up the roads were shut leaving us to walk up the steep hill. The walk is challenging as we slipped and fell multiple times trying to navigate up to get food. After a significant car crash at the bottom of the hill the management’s vans were decommissioned leaving all guests to fight for the use of one van. Management could have rented vans to compensate for their fleet being out of action, instead they decided to pinch their pennies and we were left with pure inconvenience and needed to book hours in advance to get a ride to get simple things like breakfast or coffee. Many times we just gave up and put ourselves at risk and walked up the hill, only to bring home cold breakfast to the kids.

After giving direct feedback to the management we were met with a corporate response which lacked accountability.

For what you pay at this property we would expect a heightened level of service and resourcefulness. We will not be staying at Yamakei or at any Portfolio properties again...