Last weekend we spent three nights at the Sierra Resort in Hakuba. It is located between the Iwatake and Tsugaike ski areas. The resort is set in it’s own forest and is in a secluded position. The hotel also functions as a country retreat out of ski season. The resort is 4 stars, but it was very nice, for ski standards. It is quite far away from everything, so if you wanted to go to the bars and restaurants it would involve a 15 minute taxi ride.

The receptionist spoke English OK. She was very helpful and polite. We told her we needed skis, and they were waiting for us in our locker on Saturday morning. We arrived around 9pm and after freshening up we went to the reception to find the bar. Unfortunately they had not bothered opening the bar. The hotel seemed very busy, so that was a shame as the bar has floor to ceiling windows overlooking the forest. So we sat in the lobby and had a drink, but it felt a bit weird. There was WIFI in the lobby and restaurant, but not in the rooms.

The room was quite spacious. It was fairly contemporary. It was not stylish but it had plenty of natural light. We were facing out to the court yard. I recommend asking for a room with the view out to the forest. The carpet had seen better days but it was not stained just treaded well. There was a flat screen TV, but no English speaking channels, so we didn’t use it. There was a two seater sofa and a dressing table. The bed was quite hard. We are actually contemplating buying mattress toppers to take with us from now on, as we are going away every other weekend skiing until the end of March, and I am missing the comfort of my own bed.

The bathroom vanity area was a little cramped, but there was plenty of space to put your toiletries. The showering facilities were traditional Japanese. This means that you sit on a little stool to wash. I actually quite like this, so this didn’t bother me. There was also a Jacuzzi bath, but we never used this, as we bathed in the Onsen every day. The bathroom was clean, but quite out dated in style.

The outside wooden Onsen was a nice feature. The changing area looked a bit like it had been knocked up out of some plywood and bamboo shoots. It was a very warming and relaxing experience. It was super hot in there but it was easy to cool down by simply sitting on the edge of the bath, and the cold mountain air worked very quickly.

The view was out to the forest and the tops of the mountain could be seen on clearer days. There is just the one shower area but the ladies was not busy, so I had never had to wait to use the facilities. In fact both times I had the bath to my myself for the majority of my stay. Yet the men’s Onsen was much busier, and more social. The ladies don’t really talk to each other, but the Japanese gents chatted to my husband freely the whole time.

The receptionist told us that the resort has only one restaurant, and serves French cuisine. The internet site informs that they also serve a Japanese ‘Kaisekki’ course dinner, which is apparently served in a 150 year old farmhouse, but we never saw this.

We chose the French ’Saison’ course dinner for Saturday night. The meal was elaborate, but some courses were very rich, such as the Foie Gras with apple, and the braised beef in red wine reduction. Overall we enjoyed the food.

There were shuttle buses coming about every half an hour in the morning and afternoon to and from the ski areas. There was nothing in between 10:30 and 3:30 pretty much, so if you wanted to stop skiing earlier you had to take a taxi. The first morning I found it all a bit of a hassle. But as long as you checked the shuttle times and organised yourself to be ready for then, it wasn’t too much trouble. It was all very organised and the buses were always on time.

We wanted to ski half day on Monday, have some lunch, and then go back to Tokyo. We asked for late check out, and they were very accomodating. Check out is at 10am, and they normally charge 2100 yen per hour. We wanted to keep the room until 2pm. This was fine and they only charged us for one hour. The receptionist walked us to the taxi when we left and waved us out all the way down the drive way. They were very friendly, but not imposing or over familiar.

Looking back on the weekend, the service was excellent. We had a fantastic three days. Would I go again? I think I would prefer to stay somewhere closer to the piste, and the bars and restaurants. I think that I would return to the hotel out of ski season, as then the grounds could be appreciated. With snow you can’t really stroll around the gardens. But overall a very nice ski hotel, and recommended to those in search of ski, but a peaceful location to return to, at the end of the day.

This review is taken from my blog theexpatwife with a com.