5-Star Hotels in Niigata Prefecture, Japan

We are not allowed to wear our own shoes once we enter the lobby. If we are expected to walk bare feet, maybe the hotel should consider providing guest with indoor slippers. It is very uncomfortable walking to the restaurants barefeet as no matter how clean they keep the floors, there’s bound to be food spills and oily surfaces. Breakfast and Dinner are great, just need more variety for guests staying more than 3 days.

The hotel itself was nice, but the staff at the ski resort was horrible, the rentals are also not well maintained. The boards are not waxed, which makes it difficult to work with as there are a lot of flat routes which are difficult to avoid (Pony and village road were the flattest slope Ive ever seen in my life, I had to unstrap and walk and the board just wouldn't move). Ski resort staff were unfriendly and the rental staff was the worst, there was a lady there that was cold and rude. The only reason why the rental shop is surviving is probably because the equipments are salomon branded and that there is no other option.  I would visit again but only because the routes are fun, Myoko long run was the best, but I would never want to rent from the shop again. The food was very very good. For breakfast, you could choose from western or Japanese buffet. Western buffet is highly recommended, the omelette was the best ive eaten in my life and there was a diy risotto which was great as well. For dinner, there were 4 options, either buffet, steak, Japanese or shabushabu. All requiring reservations which is tough if you are checking in the evening as some might not be available. Highly recommend the steak, the food was good and the staff were amazing. Japanese was the hardest to get a reservation for but the food was quite underwhelming. The room was clean and ski lockers are also provided but it's tiny and can barely fit 2 boards. But I wish that in the toilet in the common area, you can adjust the tap temperature as the water is freezing cold. Amenities wise, bottled water are provided daily, also, yukata was provided but you can only wear them to the onsen which was extremely troublesome as I had to change multiple times a day.  The hotel provides shuttle bus services to and fro jyoetsumyoko station which was easy to book. The bus drivers were also friendly and helped out with the luggage. In summary, for a 5 stars hotel, it didn't live up to expectations, ski resort and rental staffs were unwilling to help and unfriendly. Also, some of the staffs could not speak Japanese which is puzzling for a hotel in Japan. If not for the amazing snow and slopes I would never come back.