Yukinohana — Hotel in Yuzawa

I was surprised to find out that Yukinohana is only three years old. It's probably been empty during this pandemic, and now they are open for business. I was the only one on the onsen and had my choice of three private baths, which are easy to reserve and don't cost extra.

I like that you don't need to wear slippers, just socks. I don't particularly appreciate wearing those plastic shoes that they give you at places like this, so I was glad to know that I could be barefoot or wear the socks they provide when I strode the halls and went back and forth onsen and the dining areas.

I can tell that a lot of thought and care was put into every detail of this place. I appreciated the manager on duty when I pulled in and spoke some English, which made it easier for me to get settled in. They also had English printer information about the public bathing areas, private baths, and relaxation spaces. Much obliged.

The attention to detail and high-quality furnishings started making more sense once I discovered that this property is owned by the large, Tokyo-based Kyoritsu Group, including Dormy Inn. I could tell that they have invested a lot in this property and have significant resources backing them up. It makes sense because the property came up first in my search on Hotels.com, which means that they are paying a fee for that placement.

I drove a few hours out of my way on my road trip to stay here, and I'm glad I did. There's a lot to like in this place.

If our kids were younger, I could bring them here to learn how to ski because there's a bunny slope right behind the hotel.

This place is really well thought out and well laid out. It's nice to be in a new facility for a change. We tend to frequent older, more traditional places. Those are great as well because they have a kind of old-world charm. That said, it's nice when things look and smell new and nice.

The only thing I think they missed is that the faucets in the bathing area don't remain on. You have to keep pushing them every minute. I understand that it saves water, but it's nice to feel the luxury of water flowing as it does at home. Otherwise, I can't think of anything to fix.

Overall, I highly recommend Yukinohana and hope to return with my family.

Thank you, and see you next time 🙏🎉😄

PS two more things I loved about this place. First, they don’t have hotel slippers. I really don’t appreciate wearing someone else’s shoes, so I am glad that this place never asked me to do so.

Second, I love that I could grind my own coffee beans in the morning and make a proper pour over in the comfort of my room. I’ve never seen this at a Japanese hotel before and...

My experience this time is vary of the others.

Needless to say, the facilities are well-maintained and accomplished, thus the locations provided a great vicinity enjoy our trip, for example the ski resort as well as the Shinkansen station nearby.

However, we were not so satisfied with the attitudes of some staffs towards us. While we’ve just arrived the hotel in a rush and was going to head to the ski resorts, the staff acted so discouraging: We found a shuttle bus timetable, and decided to check that out. Unfortunately, their staffs rushed to us, deterred us from checking the timetable, which was considered nonsense at all.

Soon, we were back from the resort and asked for our pieces of luggage that was handled by them, and was replied with sarcastic words and sentences stating that the luggage have been moved to our rooms separately, whereas I don’t agree that sarcasm is the only way to communicate with each other, especially towards customers.

The most important part, we realized that we’ve been treated differently as being a Chinese, where the racism has been occurred, we feel being discriminated. Comparing to the local visitors, they put a blank eyes on us and stared at us often.

It should’ve been a memorable and fun trip but has been ruined somehow. The attitude of specific staffs ought to be more respectful and polite. To sum up everything, the location was absolutely perfect, rooms were tidy and comfortable comparing to the surrounding hotels. However, we would be more appreciate if the staff’s attitude...

There’s pickup and dropoff for Echigo stn 2. No shoes allowed beyond the hotel entrance3. Front desk have a local Japanese staff that can speak English. Pretend to be nice not. Anything else , he will tell you don’t know. Go find yourself. Besides selling tickets that he will earn money. You’ll get no information from him4. 1st day check-in, my in room hot spring tub is slimy n dirty stained wil algae. I scrub a lot out and took video. Same Japanese man came and nothing. Till I show him the algae I’ve scrub and the video, he kept quiet. Housekeeping do scrub off within 30mins5. Breakfast is same everyday6. Dinner, slight changes but still 99% same.7. Child meal is hopeless. Stayed for 5nights, same meals daily. 8. Want to bring a cake to dinner to celebrate my Daughters Birthday, we were forbidden to do so. Nothing besides what they bring to you. 9. Onsen was good10. Basic ice cream treats. 11. Simple ramen in the eveningHotel is too rigid. It’s really expensive during our visits. The rules at dining and the same meals daily, it’s unbearable. Kids have nothing much to eatFor the price, I’ll not stay in this rigid property. Many other Ryokan resort for lesser price and better options. It’s not ski in ski out and yet price...