Wadano Gateway — Hotel in Hakuba

My partner and I spent a week at Wadano Gateway and we enjoyed the experience. ||We arrived on a Monday after catching the Alpico bus from Narita Airport. It is approximately a five minute walk from Happo Bus Terminal to Wadano Gateway. The hotel did say they would have picked us up but we didn’t mind the walk. ||Upon arrival we checked in and were informed we still owed money for the rooms which was a bit annoying because this had been paid way before we arrived. ||Next to reception there is a place to store ski equipment which was great. There was plenty of room to store everything. ||The hotel was warm and rather luxurious, you could tell it had undergone a good renovation. ||Our room was very nice, it was one main bedroom with a lounge area that you could section of and use as a second bedroom. The room was always very warm and we didn’t have any issues with hot water (shampoo, shower gel and conditioner provided in the shower) which was great after a day on the slopes. There was also a little kitchen in the room, with a fridge, freezer, stove, espresso machine, microwave etc. We didn’t use any of this but it’s a good option to have in the room if you didn’t want to eat out all the time. The plugs in the room use Japanese plug sockets however there is a couple of USB points on the bedside tables which you can use to charge phones etc. The room is comfortable for two people, if you had four people or a family in the room it would become quite chaotic, however one thing I’ve found with the rooms in Japan is that they are always small. The bed was comfy and we didn’t hear anyone in the other rooms either so that was great. The pictures on the hotels website do represent the rooms in my opinion. It is worth noting that there didn’t appear to be a safe in the rooms either. ||The room wasn’t serviced all week, even the bins in the room didn’t get emptied. Fortunately we didn’t eat in the room but had we done we would probably have had to get them to come in to empty the bins. We got offered once after the second day if we wanted new towels, but other than that there was no other interaction with regard to cleaning our room. My partner even had to ask at reception after our fourth day, if we could have new towels. I’m not saying the rooms should be serviced everyday but if you are stopping a week then at least once in the week (midway point) someone should come in and check the rooms and provide new towels etc. ||The hotel has drivers that will take you to places mainly to local bus stops with your skis and everything so then you can get a bus to the ski fields. The drivers will take you to Iwatake and Happo One but won’t take you to the other ski fields so you have to get buses to get to the other fields. The drivers were usually always available which was great. Iwatake didn’t have a lot of snow when we were here so that was mainly closed and Happo One isn’t great for beginners/ intermediate skiers so we were usually getting dropped off at a bus stop to then get another bus to the other ski resorts. At the end of the ski day, buses will drop you off back in the resorts, we found that the buses always went to Happo Bus Terminal so we walked up from there however the drivers from the hotel would collect you from the bus terminal if you rang them. ||Breakfast was good and included in your room rate. This usually consisted of bacon and eggs if you wanted a hot breakfast and a continental breakfast. There was tea, coffee, apple juice etc. If you wanted a cappuccino (in a mug with two shots is amazing by the way) hot chocolate then this was an extra payment. Breakfast was between 7am and 10am and never appeared to be to busy except on the last day when it was super busy. I suppose there’s not a lot the hotel can do if everyone comes down for breakfast at the same time. ||Inside the hotel it self there was two bars which seemed to be open all the time which was great and reasonably priced. There is a pool table, football machine and a nice area to sit down and relax after a day on the slopes. It had a nice luxurious feel to it. ||One of the restaurants was a brassiere style, the food there was reasonably priced and had a good selection. One night we had an issue with the food but the staff sorted it out quickly and didn’t charge us for it and even gave us a free drink each which was good. ||The other restaurant was an Asian fusion style, it’s famous for bau’s and the pork bau’s are a must try in my opinion. ||There is a laundry facility in the hotel, they provide free washing powder but you have to pay for the dryer. ||Overall the hotel is very good, it’s in a good location (Rhythm ski shop is a 10 minute walk), there’s bars on site, restaurants, the staff have been accommodating, it’s new and I would definitely stop here again if I came back. It’s definitely hard to fault the hotel in my opinion. ||I only gave it four stars because of the rooms not being serviced, the issue with the food and it was just annoying getting on buses everyday to get to ski resorts which isn’t the hotels fault but maybe they could do trip to a different ski field everyday based on their recommendations at say 9.30am and everyone who wanted to go there could be taken by the hotel rather than having to wait for public...

We made a last minute booking for the 2019 powder season and were short of options with most of the hotels and lodges already fully booked. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise however as new kid on the block wadano gateway had just opened its doors and could accommodate us. And not just a pretty face, the lodge is conveniently located being a 15 min walk (depending on snow conditions) or 5 mins drive from the Happo Bus Terminal.||||The lodge is as mentioned spanking new and the rooms were well designed. Clean, minimalist furnishing with a modern twist and amazing space as it has a separate cozy little living room area. The room also has a kitchenette fully equipped with a microwave, kettle and coffee machine for that late night small bite purchases you make from Lawsons which is also conveniently, a 10min walk from the lodge. Bathroom was spacious with a cabin style shower and amazing water pressure. That powerful hot shower at the end of the day to soothe aching muscles was priceless! ||||There is also pool table and communal area to hang out and relax when you're not out hitting the slopes. For dining options, there is the in house restaurant Lantern which specializes in hot pot. Perfect for winter nights though we didn't actually get a chance to dine in. Breakfast options however weren't great with just cereal, toast and freshly prepared eggs daily.||||Shuttle services came in extremely helpful as they not only pick you up from Happo Bus Terminal upon arrival but also offer daily trips to the local supermarket which then allows you to stock up on snacks, drinks, fruits and food to pack for the slopes if need be. The shuttle service also drops you off at 2 nearby popular slopes ie Happo-One and Iwatake in the morning. Because the lodge has 2-3 vans, the staff who rotate on duty will also pick you up from both ski slopes at the end of the day if they are available and are not running the scheduled shuttle to the grocers. It isn't guaranteed as the fixed shuttles are only to the grocers in the evenings and morning drop offs, but if they are not busy (ie no guests wanting to head to the grocers on any particular day) they are more than happy to accommodate and provide you with a ride so long as its not too far off. ||||Overall an extremely pleasant stay, with english speaking staff and...

I cannot say enough nice things about this place. We stayed 3 nights with our two small children in one of the 2 bedroom apartments. We weren’t sure if the pictures online would actually be realistic. But they were! We were so pleased with our choice of staying at Wadano Gateway. Also, the breakfast was super unexpected. They had not only your typical grab n go items (toast, cereal, pastries) but also a freshly made menu which included French toast, chicken croissants, and scrambled eggs while we were there. Beds and pillows were comfortable, big screen tv allowed us to stream all of our favorites from Amazon prime to Netflix. Hospitality was top notch. We felt so taken care of and the free shuttle provided by the hotel was super reliable and responsive. Souza went above and beyond to help us safely get around with our two kiddos and ski equipment through crazy snowy conditions. Room: They provided portable crib for the baby, and had high chairs available to borrow from the restaurant downstairs. We loved the wooden ski lodge feeling, which included several unexpected but much appreciated items such as heated towel rack, blackout curtains, all the high quality kitchen items to make a basic meal, a nespresso machine with pods, as well as all of the awesome features already listed when booking. Restaurants: weren’t serving alcohol due to covid restrictions, but you could BYOB in the huge lobby which had plenty of seating. We tried the Thai food, which wasn’t bad. the Mexican restaurant was not open during our stay. Amenities such as laundry and ski storage were great to have, but we especially loved all of the activities that the lobby provided - board games, billiards, fuzzball, and a toy corner for little kids (like ours). We will most definitely stay here next time we...