Alpine Lodge — Hotel in Hakuba

We had booked a week-long stay well in advance at this lodge.

The best thing about this lodge is its location—conveniently close to ski rentals and the ski lift, making it easy to get on the slopes quickly, and also near restaurants, cafés, and bars in Happo. However, beyond that, our stay did not quite meet our expectations.

We were given a very small room that didn’t match any of the photos in the listing on Airbnb —we wouldn’t have chosen it had we known. There was barely any space for luggage, and unfortunately, it also had a number of beetles inside. The heater rattled loudly throughout the night, which we ended up fixing ourselves, as we didn’t feel entirely comfortable asking for assistance all the time as there were other issues before. The advertised photos seem outdated, and features like the fireplace shown in the listing are no longer functional. If this was the last available room, it would have been helpful to have that communicated beforehand or reflected in the pricing to better manage expectations.

Shayne, who runs the lodge, is friendly, helpful, and full of useful information about Hakuba, which we appreciated. The lodge itself has a lot of potential but could benefit from some maintenance, as it currently feels more like a budget hostel than the cozy lodge we had anticipated. If you’re on a very tight budget, it might still be an option, but for a bit more per night, there are more comfortable alternatives available—especially when booking well in advance, as we did.

We ended up spending most of our time outside the room, enjoying onsens and other hotel facilities in the area. A small but helpful improvement would be providing a machine with drinking water, hot water, tea, and coffee for guests at any time.

Overall, if you’re simply looking for a basic place to sleep after skiing and don’t mind minimal amenities, this could work. However, if comfort is a priority, you may want to consider other options.

This place was previously called ALLURE - if we would known that, and read the reviews, there is no way we would have booked. Quite disappointing in overall re mis...

What an adventure ! Okay it’s not the Waldorf - you’ll need to adjust to the size of the rooms and the bathroom - but the water from the shower comes in thick and hot and is sublime water. As for the rest of it - it’s totally 80s cool. Absolutely no pretence. Black leather couches you fall right into, a lovely common area kitchen and a bar that is so open and easy to use. But what you are really here for is this location amongst the trees away from the other hotels and lodges where the snow falls in such a manner that the world becomes silent and you honestly think that maybe you are in Narnia and it’s all a dream. There were times when I would just look out my window and watch the snow fall or open my window at night until the cold air and snow coming in were too much. Add to this Shayne and his daughter Charlotte’s helpfulness and expert ski knowledge and you have yourself a very good holiday - alone, with friends, or with family.

Ps- one pointer - when wanting to get to Happo - exit the lodge turn left and follow to right and take that road down when walking - it’s about 6 mins and relatively no cars as road is closed for descent during winter. Always wear snow boots for ice on roads can get tricky. A head lamp helps at night. The walk is very beautiful you’ll become addicted. Take...

My family of 5 had a fantastic stay at Alpine Lodge. Walking distance to the ski slopes, comfy rooms, nice breakfast, and the service Shayne provided is absolutely top tier.

Shayne made everything so simple. He has extensive (and often personal) contacts to the local network of businesses, which made the arduous task of renting ski equipment and lugging it around an absolute breeze. More than once he got us squeezed into restraunts that were otherwise "full" and had sign outside saying as much, but they made allowances to let us in because Shayne knew the owners, their family members, or had some other contact. These restraunts were the amazing hidden gems serving authentic Japanese cuisine without the associated "tourist tax" you often get in places as high profile as Hakuba.

The rooms were a simple affair, with a kind of cabin feel but reasonably spacious, and kept warm via floor heaters, which is frankly awesome - no draughts and not as dry as other heating methods. The bathrooms are very small, but the showers are hot and have high pressure.

If you're looking for a relatively cheap stay with simple rooms, but also looking for 10/10 service with a built in local knowledge encyclopaedia and logistics manager (Shayne) then I would highly recommend...