Vacation Niseko — Local services in Kutchan

This is our 3rd time staying at Aspect Luxury Apartments, and sad to say we won’t be coming back again. Compared to our previous 2 stays, this round fell severely short of expectations.

Prior to our stay, communications with sales representative Mark from Vacation Niseko (we only heard of the change in management to H2Life nearing the commencement of our trip) was sub standard. He was not helpful really, lacked clarity and was sometimes curt in his replies. Our inquiries and requests were met with “Sorry, can’t help” kinda responses more often than not.

On our previous 2 stays, we were welcomed with a fruit basket, chocolates and complimentary breakfast and coffee/tea during our stay. Unfortunately, this little touch was absent during our most recent stay.

Housekeeping was only partially done on one occasion. Only 1 out of 3 bedrooms were made up and had a change of fresh linen and towels. The airbed that we paid extra for was faulty, which meant that it would deflate in the middle of the night during our sleep, and we had to blow it up and wake everyone else up.

Amenities wise, Aspect no longer provided transport to nearby areas like they used to, which made exploring areas outside Hirafu much less convenient. During booking, I was informed that the transport was subjected to first-come-first-serve basis, but during our stay, we were informed that no transport would be provided at all. Even transport to Hanazono ski resort was no longer provided, despite the fact that Vacation Niseko only assists in bookings with NISS. Very disappointing indeed!

Concierge wise, apart from Natto who helped to send my husband to and from NIC for treatment after his ski injury, the rest of the team showed rather lukewarm hospitality. On occasions, there was no one manning the front desk during office hours and we could not get the help that we require. There was also once when I approached the concierge for suggestions on food options and they were clueless.

So in all, the service standards and hospitality that lured us back to stay in Aspect year after year was no longer the same during our most recent stay. I would highly recommend that you reinstate the transport service for your guests as that was what set Aspect apart from the other establishments in the area. For guests like me travelling with a big family and young kids, that would have made a huge difference in making our stay an enjoyable one.

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So it seems like Vacation Niseko isn’t exactly pleased with my review. So to justify my review, I’d like to add the following points in response to their reply.

VN listed a timeline of information. Yes I was informed of the change in management in June, but I wasn’t informed that the new management was H2Life.

VN quoted my “words of appreciation” to Mark. Honestly, I think those are basic good manners which VN has taken for granted and definitely should not be construed as words of commendation. And just so that you know, the request to change bedding configuration was not communicated in the end as Bedroom 3 was not a twin when we arrived.

VN maintained that their staff was helpful, courteous and forthcoming. I too mentioned that service standards has fallen COMPARED to my previous 2 stays. VN can check my email correspondences with Elgan and team back in 2018 and 2019. They helped with dinner reservations, were informative, provided useful suggestions for ski related matters without my having to ask, and were extremely courteous and forthcoming that you could actually feel their earnestness in trying to help even through emails. I’m afraid I can only say that the same service standards were not upheld by the current team. Or perhaps, the fact that the property was no longer under VN’s management led to their lack of commitment in offering good...

We were super pleased with the services we got from Vacation Niseko, the two bedroom condo had more than enough space for our family, and having the skiing a block from the Gondola at Grand Hirafu, was most appreciated. A short walk up, and we were sitting on the first gondi almost every day we were there. The condo we were at, was beautiful, and it was helpful to have an entrance at the back of the building as you exit out of the locker room, so one can boot up and get the gear together for the day, and reverse it at the end of the day. I thought the front desk was especially helpful, as they spoke English. A special shout out to Kenny at the front desk who went above and beyond his call of duty. I was sick and had an appointment at the medical clinic, and we couldn't get an available Taxi, so Kenno drove me to the clinic himself in mid-town. Making the doctor's appointment there and getting some prescriptions from them, allowed me to ski the rest of the week. Also very helpful was having the ski rental shop right next door to our condo, and being able to give the rental shop all our info BEFORE we even arrived. It was top notch, from the time we landed in Sapparo and took shuttle bus over to Niseko, and having Kenny again come to get us and all our luggage and get us all checked in. I was very impressed with the entire operation of Vacation Niseko. And last but not least, the legendary powder snow lived up to the hype, it was the lightest, fluffiest powder we've ever skied, and we live our winters in Jackson Hole, WY and while the terrain isn't nearly as steep, the deep powder is unbelievably fine, and we got a kick out skiing through the bamboo glades. Because four ski resorts are connected there was plenty of terrain to explore. We...

Had a lovely stay in Niseko. Mountainside palace was a great apartment and very central for restaurants, food trucks and shops. However it’s a bit of a trek to the nearest lift and gondola. They do not clear the paths of snow and ice so it’s a bit tricky trying to walk to the lifts. Maybe there is a courtesy bus to bring you but we were never told about one . In fact there was no information about local shuttle buses to the different base resorts. There was a mound of ice just outside the apartment building which was treacherous to try and navigate. The entrance to the apartment is on a side street, on a hill. Everyone seemed to slip and fall while trying to walk on this road. There was no communication from Niseko management during our stay to check if everything was ok. Got a miscommunication email telling me I had to make my own arrangements to arrange transportation to get the bus back to the airport where as it turns out they( Niseko vacation) had in fact already booked and arranged transportation. It was those little things and lack of communication that lead to frustration. Very difficult to find info in English about the resort when trying to organise the trip. Also an unrelated matter but why is there very little signage on grand Hirafu mountain showing the different trail names - at least on Hanazono and Niseko the trail names...