Noboribetsu Sekisuitei — Hotel in Noboribetsu

Tl;dr - I think they probably really wratcheted down on costs during the pandemic and haven't realized they're no longer delivering the experience they're promising. Their current offering isn't really worth it, even considering we had a discount.

The hotel wasn't horrible, but... our experience left much to be desired. We've stayed at similiarly rated hot spring hotels several times before, so we have a picture in our head of how things typically flow. While we enjoyed our stay in Noboribetsu overall, there was just so much wrong with the expectations Sekisuitei depicted on their website and reality. Where to even start?

---The buffet meals (dinner and breakfast)

We're perfectly happy with food at all different price points, but their buffet dinner and breakfast buffet was so incredibly mediocre across the board. We were very disappointed.

Don't get me wrong, it was perfectly edible. But what they depicted on their website and the reality are vastly different. I recommend expecting the standard simple Japanese breakfast, and convienence-store level flavor for dinner. Oh, and they charge for soft drinks at a buffet...

---The staff

With one or two exceptions, namely at dinner, it felt very much like they didn't communicate with each other.

I tried to book a massage at their in-house esthetician not once, not twice, but three times. The first time, I was told to talk to reception staff the following day. The second time, in the morning, I was told by a receptionist that I would have to call the esthetician after 2:00 pm (while out and about) to reserve. My final attempt was around 5 pm, when I asked the reception desk to book it for me and they literally handed me a phone. I've had better service at multiple hostels in Japan.

We asked to have a different dinner time slot (17:00 was a little early for us after a busy day) and we were told it was too difficult. We weren't even asked when we'd like to eat initially, we were just handed pre-issued cards for it.

And we arrived within our breakfast time slot (8:00 ~ 8:15) and were told at 8:30 that the breakfast buffet was closing shortly. Worse, our second breakfast slot was slated for 6:30 - 7:00, and neither of us are morning people... Thankfully they didn't say anything about us being a few minutes late.

Finally, we'd been asked if we'd like full room cleaning or just towels exchanged. I said just the towels. Imagine our surprise when the room was fully cleaned with the futons put away, including our pajamas dumped on the floor in a pile.

---The baths

They were fine, and probably the best part, which is why we're giving 2 stars. If you're a family or a couple, the private bath is quite relaxing, and they have several baths available for rent (although they're all the same). The time they let you use it (50 mins) is generous as well compared to our other experiences.

---The rooms

We booked a Japanese room as a couple (so we could sleep next to each other in futons) and were issued a room with two twin beds. Not a huge deal breaker on its own, but with everything else, it's just another grating thing.

---Other thoughts...

I won't discuss the aging hotel itself; that's fairly typical in Japan, but their lack of smart use of the space is just odd. No table tennis that we could find, a hot spring staple. Lots of empty old rooms, dark hallways. The arcade lowkey felt like something out of the...

Points to Highlight:1) Shuttle Bus Booking Experience:Booking the shuttle bus was a frustrating experience. The reservation form received no response, so I had to call the provided phone number. However, the lady who answered spoke limited English. I repeatedly asked her to speak slowly, but she was somewhat rude and refused to provide booking details such as a confirmation number or even her name. She abruptly ended the call after confirming my shuttle booking. This left me feeling uneasy until check-in day when I finally saw my details on the list. While her attitude was not the best, she did complete the booking, so I have no major complaints.For reference, the shuttle bus costs 2,000 yen for a round trip if booked through third-party services.2) Hotel Bathroom Issue:Upon checking into the hotel, we discovered that the bathroom was flooded with water. At first, my friend assumed it was due to not closing the shower curtain properly and cleaned it up. However, when the next person used the shower, the flooding happened again. We then realized the issue was caused by a clogged drain.Since there was no phone number provided to contact reception, I had to go down personally and show them a picture of the flooded bathroom, as the water level had risen to about 2 cm. Within 15 minutes, a technician arrived and did a great job clearing the blockage and draining the water.The next day, we received additional dishes with our dinner. I’m not sure if this was a complimentary gesture due to the bathroom issue, but what really impressed us was the technician’s professionalism and excellent attitude in resolving the problem.3) Overall Hotel Experience:The hotel itself feels a bit old-fashioned and overpriced, especially considering the bathroom faucet requires separate controls for hot and cold water, which can be inconvenient.That said, the onsen experience in winter was enjoyable. However, guests are charged an additional 300 yen per person per day for onsen cleaning costs, regardless of whether they use the...

Booked this hotel after reading the reviews in Tripadvisor. |Having paid about 64000yen for a Japanese Style Room for 2 nights for my family of 4, i was expected to be greeted by a high class hotel with big room. |However, upon reaching the hotel, i was greeted by old and stained looking carpet in the lobby. During check-in, i tried to change my booking to a Western style room but was told it's fully booked and only smoking room is available. Decided to keep to my original booking. |The room given to us was very small. The tatami bed was not set up. Hence, we hv to set up the tatami bed. After setting up the bed, there was basically no walking space luggage space. |On the 2nd day, before we left for our sightseeing, we have stacked our mattress together so that the housekeeping staff has space to walk around during their housekeeping. However, upon returning, we were shocked to see that our beds have been undone and or mattresses have been packed into the cupboard. This means that we have to go through the hassle of setting up our beds all over again. In addition, i have placed my shower cap beside the wash area in the toilet. When i returned, it was gone. Apparently, the housekeeping staff had thrown it away this is the first time i had encountered my shower cap being thrown away during housekeeping. I was very disappointed as the hotel does not provide shower cap at all. |Last but not least, the hotel is located above a slope. To get to the town area, you will have to walk down the slope and it takes about 10 mins to reach the town area where all the shopping is. |I will not recommend this hotel to families with young children or senior citizens. There are other hotels that are in close proximity...