GGuest UserPerfect location for skiers - a two minute walk across the carpark and you're at the gondola/chairlift base station. The hotel also has a bus stop outside which is helpful to get to the JR station or into town, although buses are pretty infrequent. There are some dining options nearby, and a convenience store about 10-15 min walk away. The hotel sells discounted lift tickets (which you need to exchange at the ticket booth for a real ticket).
The hotel has an eclectic older style charm. The ”owl” branding throughout was cute, and there's a nice lounge where non-skiers can relax with lots of reading material (most in Japanese). Free snacks and drinks each afternoon in the lobby are a nice touch. The onsite indoor and outdoor onsens are relaxing. There's a laundry with coin operated washer dryers, which is handy.
Breakfasts were decent, although some dishes were a bit sweet for our taste, and there was very little variation from day to day, which is an issue for a ski resort where guests typically stay for multiple days. Staff allocate you to a table (different each day), a system which works pretty well and avoids having to hunt for a table at busy times.
Some procedures seem a bit overcomplicated - checkin involved our name being taken, then being called 10 min later and guided through a self-checkin touchscreen system which wasn't super reliable at reading passports. Also you need to specify your breakfast time each day and then come back and get a ticket later, which seems overcomplicated - better to just let you specify a default time on checkin with the option to vary manually if desired. However staff throughout the hotel are polite and helpful.
The room we had was spacious with a view over the ski field. The bathroom was a modular unit - clean but a bit dated and with an awkward step up to get in.
Beds were made up in a rather strange way - rather than a having a fitted bottom sheet, there was a thin mat laid on top of the mattress. If you move around at all while sleeping this mat ends up a lumpy mess and you often find yourself sleeping partially on the bare mattress.
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