Rusutsu Resort Hotel & Convention — Hotel in Rusutsu

4.5 stars, really. Our demographics: 2 parents (45, 43) 2 kids (14, 11) stayed for 4 nights just after the summer season ended, all weekdays. One person avoids dairy. Most of us speak conversational Japanese. We chose the Western style triple room.

Food: we paid for the morning and night meal option that gave us access to the buffet. We loved it. The food was good, the variety was good, and allergens were clearly labeled. Covid measures are in place, so masks and gloves are required at the buffet. We were only in the hotel for one meal during lunch, but we were pleased with the options that were available.

Excursions: Canoe: wonderful way to see Hokkaido from a different perspective. The hotel drove us to the canoe rental, where the canoe guide took over. We were fitted for life jackets and crocs, encouraged to use the bathroom, and asked to leave all valuables (including cell phones) in the provided free lockers. The canoe guide and driver/photographer drove us to the launch location. After a brief how-to and safety explanation, we went down the river. The guide fastened my family’s canoes together to make things easier. There was a brief break for tea and rock skipping, and then we finished our tour a little ways downstream. It was not strenuous. The photographer got some very nice shots of us. Bug repellent and sunscreen highly recommended.

Mountain bike rental: The hotel’s mountain bikes were light and in good condition. Helmets were available for all ages. We rented the bikes for the full day. We biked to Lake Toya, but the hills to get there were much steeper than we anticipated. We wished we had biked around the bottom of the resort’s mountain instead, and ridden the public bus to get to the lake. The bike seats are not made for novices (hard and narrow), and we wished we had only ridden an hour or two instead of 7.

Amusement park: good variety of rides, short lines on weekdays, gorgeous views from the roller coasters or viewpoints in the park. We were surprised to see a cook-it-yourself barbecue place at the top of the park. Very tasty. The park does have some very steep hills, so use caution.

Hotel pool: The locker room is unisex, with private changing rooms for mixed genders on one side, and female only on the other. The changing rooms open at both ends, automatically lock once you close the doors, and both doors easily open by lifting up on the pipe fixed to the wall (it makes sense when you’re inside). Take the stairs to the wave pool, hot tub, and water slide above, or stay on the same level and access the men’s or women’s onsen on either side of the changing rooms. There is an open shower at the far end of the wave pool for rinsing off. No towels are provided in the changing rooms. The area around the pool is extremely slippery, so use caution.

6th floor onsen: I was on my period so I couldn’t enter the onsen, but my family enjoyed it very much. My daughter’s hair seemed extremely silky and shiny after using it. My family said the outdoor pool’s view was obscured by bushes and trees, and too hot to linger in for long.

Bouldering: you must have a lesson to use the bouldering or climbing wall. We didn’t want the lesson, so we didn’t try it.

Go carts: we rode the go-carts in the amusement park, so we didn’t want to pay to use these.

Game zone: looked like a lot of fun, but the prizes seemed cheap so we didn’t play. There was a machine that dispensed edible bugs, though! And there was a 2-story carousel!

Shopping: the stores carried most things we needed, though we did wish it was easier to find coffee and sugar for sale.

The hotel room: firm beds, two different pillows for each bed (one was buckwheat). The pull-out bed was very noisy thanks to the springs. Green tea and hot water are provided in the rooms. It was easy to maintain a comfortable temperature in the rooms. We take half a star off for the bathroom: sink taps were very difficult to turn off, bathroom fan wasn’t very powerful, toilet was extremely noisy when flushed, shower was dimly lit. Aside from that, highly...

This was probably the worst stay I’ve ever experienced in all my years of traveling to Japan. For a family-oriented resort hotel (upscale, upperupscale?), many aspects were simply unacceptable. The general service quality and offering relative to the ADR charged was poor (midscale-like) and predominantly characterized by a distinct lack of attention to detail and English-speaking proficiency from staff members. Considering the hotel target segmentation is mostly leisure, family, as well as foreign guests, the hotel is sorely lacking the expected service quality and offering. The only positive is perhaps its proximity to the ski slopes, where ski-in ski-out is available. However, I would add that the nearby Westin is just 5 minutes away connected by a mini monorail as well as regular bus service. So if you’re looking for proper brand standards, strong English proficiency, and great service, and you don’t mind paying a little more, you would be much better off staying at the Westin. But let me explain what happened. My family and I stayed for 4 nights at the south-wing of Rusutsu Resort Hotel. We’re 4 and stayed in one room (the hotel charges per head). Of the four beds in the room, one of which provided was a sofa bed, and let’s just say that bed was beyond sleep-able. You can clearly feel every spring underneath when you lied down, which could’ve been easily fixed if the housekeeping staff had added some bed mats beforehand (attention to detail). When I went to complain, clearly distressed from the poor night of sleep I had just had, the hotel staff promptly said they would fix the issue, however, not one word of apology was offered, and that I feel is inexcusable. The hotel has a decade-old card policy of only 2 cards per room (honestly, where’s the capex??). If I am paying per head for a room, I expect the right to access my room unhindered, but ofc this was not the case. One day I returned from skiing before the others, and I didn’t have a card. I went to the front office staff asking for a card to access my room. The front office staff without explaining anything handed me a new card. Little did I know, he had cancelled both previous cards, which consequently left my other family members without access and only one card for the 4 members of my family. This is ridiculous and of course I only found out when I desperately needed to access my room, only to discover I needed to head back down to the front office. When I complained, once again no apologies were offered… What a waste of time. On my final day I brought all 4 suitcases down to the bell desk. No one was around. I asked front office staff where is bell staff to keep luggage? All he said was “no”. (For a leisure family ski resort hotel, no bell luggage service? This is frustrating). When I asked front office what then I should do? They offered one word “coin locker” and pointed in the direction of the coin lockers. Ok fine. I go there with my family, tried every single coin possible, wasted more time, only to then find out you needed a token from the front office. To add insult to injury, I then discover, the family friends we were travelling with were able to keep their luggage at the bell desk. Now I’m seriously questioning their service standards, whether there is any at all. At this point I was honestly angry, I called for the front office manager. Mr. Yuji Jimbo san came to speak with me (unfortunately he did not speak English either, however another staff helped translate) and I told him all the issues I had experienced. At last the first apology for all my complaints. He apologized sincerely, offered lounge access and also took care of our luggage. However I worry that nothing will change...

I attended a conference at Rusutsu resort last week with my wife and children 8 and 3 years old staying 8 nights in a triple room on the 3rd floor in the North wing.|The hotel has a theme park feel with animated singing animal bands, a free 2-story merry-go-round a talking tree and Disney like restaurant main street between the north and south wings which is great for families with small children.|There is a great range of food options for families and a lunch cafeteria with a broad range of cheap food options at the end of South wing on the 2nd floor with a free magic museum to keep the kids busy.|The ski lifts and kids ski school is straight out the rear of the hotel and ski locker area.|There is no regular group adult ski school though this is arranged for conference groups. The kids group ski classes are a bit pricy though we did get one as a private lesson as no other kids were registered which was overall good value. Be aware they strictly enforce the 4yo minimum age for kids group lessons though allow with private lessons (Japan does love rules).|Private lessons through the resort are very expensive though I do here there are external instructors that will give lessons there through some booking sites though they do not get to use the priority lines however the lines at Rusutsu are often nonexistent so this may not be a problem.|The free wave pool is safe and shallow (0.8m) so great for small kids and has a fulltime lifeguard. The waterslide to the pool is a highlight for the kids when not skiing.|The North wing onsen is heaven. Do not bother with the smaller south wing onsen by the wave pool.|There is a range of higher end adult restaurants which all seemed popular, we ate at Kakashi several times (sashimi platter is very good and has kids options) and felt it is good value and felt like we were in Japan. The Chinese in the convention center is very good for dinner and breakfast. The Japanese set breakfast in the convention wing is for those wanting a serious Japanese experience but was not for our kids.|The laundry in the South wing is great and has cheap washing powder available.|There is a seicomart and a 7eleven across the road from the resort with all the essentials- cheap bear and wine, heated prepared meals and noodles, ice-creams as well as any general items that you forgot.|The negatives are that it is a bit dated and kitsch and may not appeal to those wanting a sophisticated adult hotel and the Vale or Westin would be better. It is a ski hotel so gets a lot of battering and there is the odd scuffmark here and there (some from my kids I am sure).|The kids creche near the cafeteria is usually booked out days in advance (we could not get in when needed) so plan ahead.|The TV has no English channels with no BBC/CNN or kids TV but the internet did allow us to stream video for the kids tablets. They should address this considering over half the ski guests seem to be English speakers.| The room does not get a full service every day though they do a daily clear of the bins and provide new towels and a quick vacuum if needed. Beds seem to get made and the sheets every 3 days unless asked for.|Overall, we loved this place and after 6 ski trips to Japan (3 to Niseko) this is our favorite with kids and we will return here for the next...