Yuzawa Grand Hotel — Attraction in Yuzawa

Very old hotel in serious need of upgrade. Not worth the price we paid.

We stayed here as a couple, our request was for one big bed, but we got two singles instead, which could not be combined because of a permanently fixed table in between.

Requested feather-free bedding (due allergy) but this was not prepared prior to our arrival.

The room temperature was extremely hot and could not be controlled. Staff came to turn off the heat but we still had to keep the window slightly open to cool down the room for the duration of our 6-day stay. A fan was also needed and provided FOC to assist.

The room was noisy and we could constantly hear our neighbors above walking and moving around the furniture. We mentioned this to the front desk staff but the message never got through. We were only able to sleep few hours every night due to the noise.

Our room wasn’t cleaned for 6 days even though we hung the “please clean room” sign on our door for the whole day while we were out skiing. The cleaning staff only left a package of clean towels hanging on the door handle overtop of the sign.

The wifi did not work for our whole stay (rare for a hotel of this standard), so we had to use our own pre-purchased wifi to do our skiing research.

The staff were very pleasant but do not speak English at all so we could only communicate using google translate. Not ideal.

The hotel was full of families with noisy kids, even the on-site onsen, which is normally a place to relax and unwind, was full of noisy kids. One time it was literally being used as a public swimming pool with foreign kids using toys and towels to noisily entertain themselves.

We paid extra thinking this hotel would be of a higher standard (based on the 5 star ratings) but we were sadly disappointed. We will not be staying here again as there are many other nice hotels conveniently located in the same area, literally right next door.

I will say though, the staff at this hotel are superb! They were all very polite and always...

Wanted to stay near Echigo Yuzawa station for easy access & try their buffet dinner snow crab & beef steak so chosen this hotel. The only room left was 12+sqm japanese style room, we were hesitate to book as we are afraid of small room. Our room is just besides the lift, but lucky not noisy except some noise from hotel guests passing by but acceptable. The futon bed blanket print is very pretty! in fact the prettiest I ever seen!||||We enjoyed the buffet dinner, wide selection of dishes snow crab, beef steak, tempura etc etc, rockmelon is so juicy! ||||Breakfast, first time encountered freshly bake bread at buffet counter! simple bun & custard bread but it's warm & soft, so good to have it in a cold morning! very customer service oriented! I don't find such quality service in any 5 stars international hotel i stayed before (except Westin Hotel provides freshly squeeze juice for breakfast), freshly bake pancake & waffle is common but not bread!||||Onsen bathing area has green plants around & extra varieties of shower gel etc, something new from many other onsens I been to in Japan. Somehow the greenery make the bathing area as if bathing in a garden instead of concrete building. That's nice relax feeling.||||Hotel has free shuttle bus to & from Echigo Yuzawa station which make our journey less tiring with a big luggage travelling around. Hotel staffs are very helpful. Lobby sitting area look relax, but time not enough. Souvenir shop closed quite early after dinner was closed, so we didn't manage to shop there. Wish I took more photos of the hotel.||||A new hotel experience with "freshly bake bread & bathing in greenery" added to my travel journey...

Name of Accomodation: Yuzawa Grand Hotel Duration of stay: 1 night. Driving direction: We took Shinkansen from Oeno Station to Echigo Yugawa. The hotel is about 300m from the station. However, it is up slope. So if you have big luggages, you can go the the Tourist office and request them to call the hotel to send a shuttle bus to fetch you. Otherwise, it’s ok to do a bit of exercise to push your luggage up the slope. Parking: Open air, plenty of lots. Hotel room: We staiyed at room 518 for 3 adults. This is a big room. Nicely decorated and looks new. It has indoor onsen, a massage chair and a corner area, The room overlooks the Echigo Yuazawa station. Nice view. Hotel Meals: We have dinner and breakfast as part of the reservation. Dinner was buffet. A good variety of selection, including hot pot. Breakfast was buffet with a great local spread. Number of onsens: A big public bath for Men and another for Women. There is no switch of venue. The onsen looks newly renovated. Surrounding attractions: Best attraction nearby is the Echigo Yuwada station with a good variety of food and sake. There is a ropeway nearby, Good for winter skiing. But not worth going up during June period where it rains and some places are closed. Overall, will i come back again? Yes! This hotel looks unassuming from outside. However, inside it is well kept and well managed. Nice place to visit again. PS: there’s a Toyota-car-rental right next to the hotel. It was really convenient for us to rent a car, and return it later in Niigata. This hotel is also our pitstop before going to the Kiyotsu Gorge Tunnel, a very scenic tunnel to...