Yu Kiroro — Hotel in Akaigawa

Stayed in a 3 Bedroom Suite for 6 days. January 2024

A nicely designed foyer/reception area. 6 meerkat staff behind checkin desk looking lost & I’m standing there for 3 mins till someone greets me to ask whether I’m here to checkin.

Only “ONE” restaurant available to utilised for Yu Kiroro guests, yes 1! Breakfast/Lunch & Dinner. If you ask any staff member about other options, they have NO IDEA or have any suggestions or solutions. Meals are well priced considering its location but meals are staggered on delivery.

You are the meat between the sandwich (Clubmed) you can’t get any access to either Clubmed locations unless you pay a daily food pass. No collaboration with even getting access to their mini mart shop. Good luck ladies if you require female sanitation products. Nothing at Yu Kiroro.

The washing/dryer within the room is just USELESS. 5.5kg but don’t even think of using that weight load. It’s really a 2.5kg & wait for 4hrs for fully dried clothes.

Kitchen Facilities are good but make sure you load up on ALL food items before arrival. There are no 7/11. Remember, cult Clubmed gives you no access to their facilities. In-house Uber delivery are provided but must order in advance. Hotpot was nice but sushi platter was not worthwhile for the price.

NO in-house service on rental of ski’s etc. Nothing! Not even a valet service for a fee. You have to hike to the cult Club Med Kiroro Peak by shuttle (unreliable) or gondola, where you have to walk 10 mins, gondola ride for a further 10-15 mins & walk another 10-15 mins to Kiroro Peak. Remember, don’t even try to get access to cult Club Med Kiroro Peak side entry to save a 10 min walk to the rental area.

Shuttle Bus - don’t bother asking the meerkat staff members at the front desk on whether the bus is in service. They can’t even read or understand their own timetable. After waiting for 45mins+, asked one of the staff what’s the status of the shuttle bus… “hmm, it may be out of service or delayed due to bad weather” seriously!!! At least place a sign up over the timetable to explain this. Customer Service = 0

Guests placing their bare feet up against the glass of the foyer fireplace glass - this is disrespectful & staff members should be trained to speak up & not allow this sort of behaviour. Diners wearing their in-house supplied slippers - again, shocking etiquette. Why are staff members not trained to stop this???

For the cost to stay at Yu Kiroro, the Customer Service from all staff members are lacking in “initiative”! You’ve had plenty of time to recruit & train your staff members to deliver a better experience & informed all guests better.

Single stay experience for me till Management notices the challenges I’ve noticed and issues raised...

We have enjoyed 2 stays at Yukiriro, and have booked our 3rd stay for later this winter. The hotel itself is quite beautiful, and is a true “ski-in" resort. The rooms are large and comfortable with kitchens and clothes washing machines, views from either side of the building are great.

The staff and ski valet are attentive and helpful, and they can speak English. There is a gondola to the slopes about 100 meters from the ski valet entrance, or you can take advantage of the free shuttle. You can arrange pickups and drop-offs with short notice.

Ski rentals are available next door at the Kiroro resort. The Kiroro resort is an old facility, not as modern or clean as Yukiroro, but has an assortment of shops and restaurants which are within easy walking distance.

Yukiroro's Yukashi restaurant is wonderful. The decor, ambience, and food are first-rate. It’s a great place for a wonderful meal, or for drinks after a day on the slopes.

Other great facilities include a traditional onsen bath in real cedar tubs, a kid's room with books, games, and movies, not to mention complimentary snow toys, sleds, and such.

Yukiroro is far enough away from the more touristy area of Niseko that slopes aren’t so crowded with "foreigners." The Kiroro Snow World has a wonderful collection of slopes, and is especially friendly for beginners.

Snow World also has Annie’s Ski School for children, which is wonderful for small and big kids, and which offers serious lessons. Our children have had several lessons at this school, and though they were tired by the effort, they learned a lot. I took a couple private lessons for myself, and found the instructor to be knowledgeable of all the little tricks and tips useful to improve my skiing.

There are many options to get to Yukiriro, you can rent a car at Chitose airport, or use a shuttle. We like to use Markone Style, which is a car service which can take you to-and-from the various resorts in Hokkaido. They speak English, have vehicles for large or small parties, and are happy to make stops along the way for snacks and such.

I can’t say enough good about Yukiroro, and I can’t recommend it highly enough. It’s a very good value for the rooms, service,...

Yu Kiroro is marketed as a luxury ski property and the rooms are very luxurious but is let down by small issues, like no towel hooks in the bathroom and next to useless washer dryer. This was resolved having drying racked provided by the hotel which meant our luxurious room is crowded with clothes hanging out to dry.

It's sandwiched between 2 Club Med but location is good. Access to ski base is via a shuttle and a gondola. The snow conditions is great. 2nd to no other place we have been to. They closed most of the mountain because there is too much snow....while rest of Japan is seeing grass. 👍

The staff is very friendly and polite but training needs to be improved. Japan has the best service in the world but the staff here does not show that and they all need to be educated on how to run a ski resort and what skiers require, eg information about snow conditions, weather forcast etc.

It will also do with a valet service for ski rental. If not in the resort, at least a paid service where rentals are delivered and fitted in the resort rather having to take a shuttle or gondola for 20mins to the mountain centre.

There is only one restaurant that you can access, there is no access to Club Med facilities unless you pay their daily pass which is between ¥30,000 to ¥48,000. So unless you want to do that, makesure you bring all your food. The kitchen is well equipped. However the restaurant has ok food and is reasonable in cost.

Overall, the property is not cheap but lacks the service that it is trying to portray. Staff is friendly and polite but lacks the professionalism of a luxury ski property. Hope it improves and make it self stand out ahead of the 2 Club...