Hotel Khuls Shigakogen — Hotel in Yamanouchi

I initially booked Hotel Ichinose, but due to an issue with Agoda, the staff kindly contacted Hotel Khuls next door, where one of their team members came to pick us up. They quickly directed us to the dining area as dinner was about to end.

Room: The room was clean and spacious but felt dated. The heater’s knob fell off, making it impossible to adjust the temperature, so we had to open the window to cool down the room.

Food & Alcohol: The buffet offered a good variety, and several dishes changed over the 4-day stay. We had both breakfast and dinner here, and alcohol was reasonably priced (around 800 yen per glass for wine or sake). The only downside was the limited meal times: dinner was from 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM, and breakfast was from 7:30 AM to 8:30 AM.

Ski School & Equipment Rental: We took private lessons (separately, since my wife skis and I snowboard) at 25,000 yen per person for a 3-hour session. It was great to have one-on-one lessons, and the price felt reasonable. Having the ski school and rental in the same building was very convenient. However, the snow boots I rented were quite old and not as comfortable as those from other places. On the plus side, there were lockers available to store our equipment each day.

Ski Resort: The resort is a true ski-in, ski-out location, with the chairlift station just a short walk away. The slopes are wide, making it ideal for beginners.

Access: We took a bus from Nagano Station and changed buses halfway, which was fine, but in comparison to Nozawa Onsen, which requires only one bus, this was a bit less convenient.

Service: We were very happy with the service. The staff were consistently helpful, friendly, and attentive, which made our stay even more enjoyable.

Summary: Overall, this is a great location for those who want to focus entirely on skiing or snowboarding. Everything you need is in one building, making it incredibly convenient. However, I would have appreciated more modern, renovated rooms to match the otherwise...

We booked this hotel, mainly for its ski in/out facilities and for having an outdoor onsen. As we were staying in the Shiga Kogen area for the first time ,we booked this hotel for the adjacent slopes, onsen, and an area that had some stand alone restuarants at night . Before arriving, we found booking, or even contacting these directly proved difficult, so decided to add the dinner option to our booking, which if we did before arrival reduced the price from 3100y to 1800Ypp That was an absolute correct decision. The dinner buffet was excellent, altered each night, and plenty of choices, even if they had no names against the meals and questions had to be asked, "whats is in that" eg, fish, chicken, pork etc|The breakfast was similar standard, with plenty of choices again.|Accommodation INCLUDED SKI RENTAL, although fairly basic, good enough, unless you are an expert, although you would pay a slight surcharge for that type of equipment. All you had to pay was a small insurance fee.|M Sakai, whom I had been in contact as to how to get to hotel from bus stop, as there are a lot of accommodation places at Ichinose, introduced herself to us when at dinner, and was also helpful, in that for our return to Nagano, she offered to us and some other Australians at the hotel a free shuttle ride back. For our group that was a saving of 130,000Y. Also one night when we walked in for our buffet dinner ( you always sit at same table with name/room no. ) we were directed straight to our table as they prepared a special meal for us, as " we were long term guests"!! It was only our 5th night, but a lovely generous touch.|The room was the full Japanese room, with mattresses on the floor, spacious with the bath/shower, separate from the vanity, and separate again from the toilet. Also convenient. The Ski in/out was probably one of the best ive ever had. Great if you have kids ( we did G/children ) or learners.|The Shiga Kogen area is so vast we didnt really explore all of it in the 5 days...

I've stayed five times at this hotel during ski season and can highly recommend staying here. The hotel rate covers breakfast and dinner as well as skiing and snowboarding gear. They do rent ski-wear and helmets as well for an additional fee. The dining area for breakfast and dinner in communal and the food is tasty. For lunch, the hotel has a separate dining area which serves excellent katsu curry, various udon soup dishes, and even pizza which is made at their 2nd floor pizza shop. The hotel is ski-in, ski-out and has a nice public onsen on the top floor. If you're too shy for a public bath, each room has it's own bath for soaking. The top floor also has a self-laundry service with three washer/dryer units which costs 400 yen per load (detergent is included). The hotel has recently installed new heaters and hydrogen electrolyzed water machines in their guest rooms, all of which are very roomy. You also have a choice of Japanese style or Western style bedding. The owners, Mr. and Mrs. Yamamoto, are extremely accommodating and friendly. For English speakers, if you have any questions about the hotel or are trying to schedule a stay, visit the hotel's website and send them an email. Ms. Sakai will reach out to you. She's an excellent communicator and is very friendly. She'll visit you at your table during dinner to check up on you during your stay. Enjoy your stay here. I...