Club Med Tomamu - Hokkaido — Hotel in Shimukappu

We had high hopes for Club Med Tomamu, unfortunately we were completely let down by this resort. Some positives before moving on to the reasons behind this one star review. Jeff the resort manager was outstanding, he frequently roamed around the resort checking in on guests and was just an all round likeable guy, any issues we had at the time were sorted out by Jeff on the spot. The snowboard instructors were also friendly and knowledgeable.

Moving on to the negatives points beginning with the most disappointing:

While the buffet spread was impressive, poor sanitary conditions ruined our stay. I received food poisoning mid way through our time at the resort which left me bed ridden for 3 days, so I essentially paid over $3000 AUD a night to be violently ill. The staff were unwilling to help nor take any accountability for this. The resort held no basic medication on the premises and the advice my wife received was to get a taxi to the closest pharmacy which was 30 minutes away and no assistance would be provided. Additionally, she was told that no food can be brought to the room and we would just need to go to the buffet. To send a potentially contagious person to an open buffet is an example of poor hygiene practice in itself. We also requested a refund for the ski equipment we hired as I was incapable of using it due to the food poisoning contracted from the resort buffet, even though my wife attended the pro shop early in the morning to discuss our situation she was denied. Lastly, there was what appeared to be a rampant virus travelling through the resort, with guests coughing openly, on others, and over the buffet. No measures were put in place to prevent the spread at all. The last thing anyone wants when paying a high price, is to spend their holiday sick, and sadly with the sanitary measures at Club Med Tomamu, it seemed inevitable we would. With a quick browse of the previous negative reviews, it looks like this is not an isolated case and has happened to other guests.

One of the most potentially appalling events that happened was the theft of our IPad by the resort staff. Shortly after leaving the resort, I realised my IPad was missing. The IPad did not leave our room and the room remained locked whenever we left it. I contacted reception to check the room, and they were initially quite accomodating. I then received a call advising me that the cleaning staff had checked the room and that the IPad could not be found. However, I had been frequently checking my Apple account to locate the device and after a short time it was connected to WIFI at a domestic location with appartments a short distance from the resort. When I reported it, the query obviously went up the chain, as I received a response from Club Med that was also sent to 6 other Club Med accounts. The decision on Club Meds behalf was to take no accountability for the theft. Clearly there is no way for me to pursue or prove it, but I personally know the IPad was stolen.

Some of the more minor points are detailed below:

This is an all inclusive not so inclusive resort. Although the greeting from staff was lovely, within the first 2 minutes of arriving they listed at least 5 things that we would need to pay extra for.

The Ski Instructor my wife encountered was blunt and rude, often resorting to poking her chin and smacking her legs to correct her.

This is a VERY family friendly resort. If you don’t have kids and are looking for a more peaceful stay, I would suggest avoiding this place. Children ran rampant up and down the halls, through the buffet, and around the bar.

*No cooling in rooms.

*Refrigerator faulty or disconnected.

Water is only refillable at the bar and restaurant.

Given the length I’ve gone to detail my negative experiences at Club Med Tomamu, it’s obvious we were quite upset with our stay. This was our honeymoon, so we decided to spend above our budget, and at over $2000 a night, plus absorbent ski gear costs it was a major letdown.

If any of these points are a deal breaker for you, give this...

No words can describe my experience at ClubMed but an almost teary farewell with the GOs could very well summarize.

I had intended to relax this holiday but the power-packed activities and amazing GOs made me sign up for back-to-back events from 8am breakfasts all the way till the day ended at 11.30pm everyday!

I’d like to express my heartfelt appreciation to some of the GOs and people who had made this holiday truly unforgettable. 🥰

• Sammy, with her professional and mature leadership during biking sessions, combined with her infectious fun and energetic personality. We enjoyed all our meals together and the enthusiastic dance sessions at night. I always joked that "you can hear Sammy before you see her!" 😂 I'm also thankful to Austin for his ever-present smile and support during biking sessions. He went above and beyond by cycling alongside and assisting those who needed help on the slope. That's no easy feat!

• Roman was one of the first GOs I met, he’s responsible, works really hard and you can always see him giving his 101%. We had the chance to interact during meals and he’s a really sincere, mature person and a joy to be with. Also grateful to Sara who was leading the hike, she has a sweet and caring personality and we enjoyed every moment we spent with her too!

• Abu, the "Gentle Giant" (GG) 😂, is a big muscular GO but is a softie on the inside. We loved his stretch classes & dance sessions, and his passion was evident in everything he did. During meals, he provided excellent health advice, and we truly appreciated his care throughout our stay.

• Jaka, the calmest and most nurturing tennis coach ever! He was patient with everyone and ensured that everyone left his class as a better player, regardless of their skill level. I'd also like to thank Miyuki for looking out for me and providing personalized advice to improve my form. Her skills were truly inspiring!

• Yaya was enthusiastic, fun and introduced us to more GOs and we’re so grateful that it heightened our experience in ClubMed! And to Gary, the Sports Manager, who seemed to be around us all the time 😂 - he went around and always ensured that we’d got what we needed and took care of us!

• Chokri, for being the best F&B Manager - whose energetic personality always made us look forward to being hosted at the restaurant. He remembered the activities we were doing, displayed great hospitality, and, did I mention, was fantastic at leading dances!

• I would also like to extend my thanks to the rest of the amazing crew who played a part in making this holiday so special - Adi for always wearing his gorgeous smile and serving the best cocktails, Bianca and Julie for their cheerful and helpful presence at the bars, Iris for her great hospitality at the boutique & Susilo for being friendly over the food counter.

• Last but not least, the biggest thank you to the Chief of the Village, Eric! He’s an unassuming leader who made the effort to interact with the GMs, he’s got such a positive and outgoing personality and he hosted every shows and dances with great passion. I’m so grateful to have experienced my very first ClubMed under Eric’s great leadership.

What was truly impressive was that many GOs are non-professionals in the activities they led but they executed with great professionalism. Most of them are also multi-talented where they took on several roles across different functions! Some of them were also new to the job or interns but you can never tell them apart as they all took the same pride in their roles!

Never did I expect to leave a part of my heart in ClubMed Tomamu. It’s been 2 days since I’m home but I still think about what the GOs are doing and the music of the different dances are still ringing in my head. I’ll be forever grateful for the beautiful friendships forged during the trip with the GOs and fellow GMs.

Thank you ClubMed Tomamu for giving me the best holiday...

Clubmed Tomamu review

Totally enjoyable ski holiday 15-22 Dec 2018

This was our first experience in skiing and for our two girls their encounter with snow. We reviewed the recent comments on tripadvisors, and there seems to be some operational hiccups for those who stayed at this resort in early Dec, which seems to have been resolved during our stay.

For those who are considering the choice between Club Med Sahoro and Tomamu, the latter just opened last Dec and the facilities and room are new, ski equipment are better shape.

From the start when you book from the internet, try to ask for the larger rooms in block 3 (Nemuro) as this includes a king size bed, two small singles and can sleep 4 pax (2 adults and 2 kids). There is a detached toilet from the bathroom which has a bathtub. The room comes with free PET bottle water, and they recommend that you reuse the PET bottle and refill with water from the tap which is drinkable. There is an iron and hairdryer in the room, as well as a mini-fridge (empty). There is free wifi for the whole resort but the bandwidth is slow (about 1Mps), and the 4G connectivity in the rooms are very slow. You can purchase faster speed internet access (5Mps) for 3500Yen/day, and link up to 4 separate device. This is recommended if you want to watch streaming videos including Youtube in the rooms. Room has cooling and heating and since this is winter, you should just set the mode to heating and the temp for the heating to come on. If you want the room to cool, then set the temp below 20C, or any temp above 20C will have the heated air coming up (useful if you want to dry the kids wet gloves or dry the clothes overnight).

Daily resort charge varies between adults and child, and covers all meals and even drinks at the bar. Beer and house wines are free, and there are selections for bottled wines and whiskeys in the restaurant, bars which you have to pay extra. You can book ahead of time for shuttle bus transfer from Chitose airport to the resort, it is 5,000 Yen per person one way. Please ask for the bus departure schedule when you make your reservations and where to wait for the bus at either the international or domestic terminals. We were not given the information as the bus leaves every two hours from the terminal, had to wait for two hours between our arrival and the bus shuttle departure. The bus journey takes about 1.5 hours and they may even drop halfway for rest stops.

On skiing, the daily resort charge includes the ski lessons for everyone, but you will have to register at the ski counter at level 3 between 6pm to 8pm daily for your classes. For kids who have not skied before, they will start at either Flake 1 or 2, adults who have no ski experience will start at club beginner. If you have not brought any ski jacket or pants, you can rent them from the boutique shop at level 3, 5000Yen/day for adult (jacket and pants) and 4000 Yen for kids. You can either rent for multiple days ahead of time or renew your booking for the next day in the evening. Suggest that you try for one day and then decide on multiple days as you can’t refund if this had been booked. You can’t rent the ski jacket or pants ahead of time from the internet booking but you can pre-book the ski gear rental ahead of time. There is daily charge of the ski gear (helmet, ski boots, ski and poles), and you will need to get fitted between 4-6pm or 8-10pm. Strongly recommend that you purchase your ski goggles ahead of time as it will come in handy during skiing when it starts to snow and visibility is low, otherwise these can also be purchased at the boutique shop. There are different timings for the daily ski sessions, and the kids lesson start before the adults, and you have to bring them to the kids club 30 mins before the lesson to gear up.

Overall good stay and enjoyable snow filled...