Kusatsu Now Resort Hotel — Hotel in Kusatsu

This was supposed to be a week of skiing with the family (2 adults and 2 kids) as part of of longer Japan trip but we left after three drays. ||The hotel was supposed to be 4 star recommendation with half board and kids friendly. It also offered a choice of restaurants and is close to the slopes. So all sounded good. ||The location is ok and indeed close to the slopes. The Onsen (private and public) is ok. Parking is free and ample availability. These are the pretty much the only few positive points I can have. ||Here is a short summary of the bad things which left us leaving early (after a longer discussion that they wanted to charge us for the full stay):||- Hotel is not at all international standard at all: very few people who speak English, very old rooms, poor very overall condition of the estate||- The hotel is expensive but everything is still charged extra: e.g. the use of the pool is chargeable for hotel guest (!), half board is only for the buffet dinner which is overcrowded and everyday exactly the same food, even table tennis cost money||- In spite of price, the hotel is old and outdated. The reception areas has gone through a recent renovation a few years back, but that is about it. ||- The rooms are a disaster. They are small, old, unkept, the Tatami Room which was supposed to house a family of 4 does not allow any luggage space and the Tatami area will be used for Futons for the kids. The furniture is run down and overall condition is poor. ||- The bathrooms are 1970s plastic shower cells similar to a camper, which do not even allow anyone to stand straight (floor to ceiling around 170cm). They are outdated, run down, super small and basically not usable. The hotel told me, I am supposed to use the common shower facilities at the Onsen and not the bathroom in the room?||- The pool is old, under reno and completely run down. ||In summary, I can only warn to stay here. Overpriced and way below standard. I have attached a few picture to give you...

This was supposed to be a week of skiing with the family (2 adults and 2 kids) as part of of longer Japan trip but we left after three drays. ||The hotel was supposed to be 4 star recommendation with half board and kids friendly. It also offered a choice of restaurants and is close to the slopes. So all sounded good. ||The location is ok and indeed close to the slopes. The Onsen (private and public) is ok. Parking is free and ample availability. These are the pretty much the only few positive points I can have. ||Here is a short summary of the bad things which left us leaving early (after a longer discussion that they wanted to charge us for the full stay):||- Hotel is not at all international standard at all: very few people who speak English, very old rooms, poor very overall condition of the estate||- The hotel is expensive but everything is still charged extra: e.g. the use of the pool is chargeable for hotel guest (!), half board is only for the buffet dinner which is overcrowded and everyday exactly the same food, even table tennis cost money||- In spite of price, the hotel is old and outdated. The reception areas has gone through a recent renovation a few years back, but that is about it. ||- The rooms are a disaster. They are small, old, unkept, the Tatami Room which was supposed to house a family of 4 does not allow any luggage space and the Tatami area will be used for Futons for the kids. The furniture is run down and overall condition is poor. ||- The bathrooms are 1970s plastic shower cells similar to a camper, which do not even allow anyone to stand straight (floor to ceiling around 170cm). They are outdated, run down, super small and basically not usable. The hotel told me, I am supposed to use the common shower facilities at the Onsen and not the bathroom in the room?||- The pool is old, under reno and completely run down. ||In summary, I can only warn to stay here. Overpriced and way below standard. I have attached a few picture to give you...

In the past two days, it had been snowing continuously in the Kusatsu Onsen area. We needed to catch the 10:35 AM shuttle bus to the bus terminal. The snow was still falling, and the wind was strong. Many guests lined up outside in advance. Since the hotel is in a remote location, the shuttle bus is the only way to get to the town center and the bus terminal. Most of us were at the end of our trip, heading back via bus and Shinkansen.

We started waiting in the snow and wind at 10:25 AM, but we didn’t get on the bus until 11:24 AM. During this entire time, not a single staff member came out to inform us about what was happening with the shuttle, when it might arrive, or whether we could wait inside the lobby. When I questioned the front desk, they didn’t even know what was going on outside. That’s why I give their management and service a one-star rating. They simply didn’t care about guests who had already paid and were leaving!

We understand that bad weather can cause transportation difficulties, but not being informed at all and having no proper scheduling or arrangements is unacceptable. While we were waiting, a large shuttle arrived but only took a few guests heading to the ski resort, leaving half-empty, which made no sense given the situation. This level of service does not match the price we paid!

Later, when the shuttle finally departed, we saw that the roads had already been cleared, and there was no traffic congestion. This made it even more puzzling why they failed to run the shuttle on schedule.

As for the guest rooms, the soundproofing was terrible! Do not book the tatami room that accommodates three people. The mattresses were too soft, the blankets were too heavy, and you could hear every word from the neighboring room.

The buffet quality was mediocre—don’t expect too much.

For a room that cost over 100,000 JPY per night for three people, it was absolutely not worth it!

I do not recommend this hotel and will never...