Rusutsu Resort Hotel & Convention

I stayed at your hotel in Hokkaido for 4 days and 3 nights, and everything was wonderful until today morning of our check-out, which completely ruined our experience. At around 4:45 AM , we attempted to check out but were confused by the lack of clear instructions for the self-check-out process. The signage was not helpful, and we couldn’t figure out how to proceed. We noticed a bell at the reception desk and rang it to call for assistance. However, a male staff member with glasses who came to help us showed an extremely rude attitude. He clicked his tongue, slammed things down, and clearly expressed irritation toward us. I am a foreign tourist currently studying Japanese, so my Japanese is not fluent. I communicated with him in English, but his attitude worsened. What shocked and hurt me the most was that, after responding to me, he muttered the word “バカ” (baka) under his breath, which is a very disrespectful term meaning “idiot” in Japanese. I clearly understood this word, and even my two friends with me confirmed they heard it too. We were in a hurry to catch a flight, so we didn’t have time to argue with him, but this behavior is absolutely unacceptable. This is extremely disappointing, especially because we had such a positive impression of the hotel until this point. We had even planned to return to stay here again on our next visit to Hokkaido. Unfortunately, because of this staff member’s behavior, my image of your hotel has been completely tarnished. I truly hope the management takes this complaint seriously and addresses the issue appropriately. No guest especially a foreign traveler deserves to be treated with such disrespect.

Loved my time here, had a great time and never had to leave the resort for anything I needed during my 2 week ski trip. The selection of food was excellent. The staff was great too. I wish they had a laundry service and the shuttle times were not easy to find. I should have left a day sooner if I had known that the shuttle couldn't get me to the airport before 06:00. Still, an amazing trip at an awesome location and the best skiing I've ever seen with beautiful snow!

Didn’t stay here myself but the convention center while definitely showing its age is unbeatable in terms of location. Service and food was also amazing. I also did want to share that the coin lockers ARE available for general visitors to use as well not just for hotel guests. The large lockers 400yen (paid in coins only) and small lockers 300yen. There is a coin exchange machine and changing rooms in the same area as well. I was able to fit my backpack, my medium sized checked luggage and my carry on bag into a single large locker.

I attended a conference at Rusutsu resort last week with my wife and children 8 and 3 years old staying 8 nights in a triple room on the 3rd floor in the North wing.|The hotel has a theme park feel with animated singing animal bands, a free 2-story merry-go-round a talking tree and Disney like restaurant main street between the north and south wings which is great for families with small children.|There is a great range of food options for families and a lunch cafeteria with a broad range of cheap food options at the end of South wing on the 2nd floor with a free magic museum to keep the kids busy.|The ski lifts and kids ski school is straight out the rear of the hotel and ski locker area.|There is no regular group adult ski school though this is arranged for conference groups. The kids group ski classes are a bit pricy though we did get one as a private lesson as no other kids were registered which was overall good value. Be aware they strictly enforce the 4yo minimum age for kids group lessons though allow with private lessons (Japan does love rules).|Private lessons through the resort are very expensive though I do here there are external instructors that will give lessons there through some booking sites though they do not get to use the priority lines however the lines at Rusutsu are often nonexistent so this may not be a problem.|The free wave pool is safe and shallow (0.8m) so great for small kids and has a fulltime lifeguard. The waterslide to the pool is a highlight for the kids when not skiing.|The North wing onsen is heaven. Do not bother with the smaller south wing onsen by the wave pool.|There is a range of higher end adult restaurants which all seemed popular, we ate at Kakashi several times (sashimi platter is very good and has kids options) and felt it is good value and felt like we were in Japan. The Chinese in the convention center is very good for dinner and breakfast. The Japanese set breakfast in the convention wing is for those wanting a serious Japanese experience but was not for our kids.|The laundry in the South wing is great and has cheap washing powder available.|There is a seicomart and a 7eleven across the road from the resort with all the essentials- cheap bear and wine, heated prepared meals and noodles, ice-creams as well as any general items that you forgot.|The negatives are that it is a bit dated and kitsch and may not appeal to those wanting a sophisticated adult hotel and the Vale or Westin would be better. It is a ski hotel so gets a lot of battering and there is the odd scuffmark here and there (some from my kids I am sure).|The kids creche near the cafeteria is usually booked out days in advance (we could not get in when needed) so plan ahead.|The TV has no English channels with no BBC/CNN or kids TV but the internet did allow us to stream video for the kids tablets. They should address this considering over half the ski guests seem to be English speakers.| The room does not get a full service every day though they do a daily clear of the bins and provide new towels and a quick vacuum if needed. Beds seem to get made and the sheets every 3 days unless asked for.|Overall, we loved this place and after 6 ski trips to Japan (3 to Niseko) this is our favorite with kids and we will return here for the next ski conference.

Amazing! We booked for early snow season because it was definitely cheaper than what it would be during peak. The ski resort has just opened as we got there and each day after it snowed plenty. There’s a free shuttle bus from Sapporo - Rusutsu Resort which is super handy! You just have to book through their website. If you arrive early they give you coins for lockers to store luggage while you wait to check in. There’s so much to see and look at. Plenty of shops and a few restaurants/cafes with a 7/11 just across the street. We stayed in a Japanese style room for 5nights. It suited us all perfectly. Plenty of room. Although… going from a super comfy bed to a futon mattress on the floor 😂 it took my body some getting used to. As I have tattoos I wasn’t allowed to use the onsen, which is okay! The bath & shower in the room did the job. We did a snowboard lesson through the hotel. $1100au 4 people 6 hour lesson & lunch only $1300au for snowboard, boots & helmet rental for 3 days and because it was still “early season” it was $211 per day for lift passes. I’ve heard people say this resort is expensive but in early season.. it was much cheaper than others and not too busy. During peak I know the prices are hiked up and tbh I dont think it’d be worth how much you’d have to pay then. Samurai kids park opened a few days before the date it was meant to. $15 for the kids to play with a few toys & slide down the hill on the tubes. It kept them occupied for hours and they said they enjoyed it so I can’t complain. We ate most our meals from the 7/11 because they’re THAT GOOD! the cricket pub closed before we’d finish snowboarding so the 7/11 was the most convenient. We did go to the Izakaya one night and the food was so yum! Pricey but still good. Overall we had the best time! And I would definitely come back here next year at the same time or later in the season.

Generally great experience for first time skiers! They provide equipment rental and lockers at a rather steep price but that’s to be expected. Hotel at the 2 wings can be confusing especially when it comes to lockers. Food was mid but we loved the onsen!

Spent 6 days here in late Feb and was NOT impressed. First the good parts: Service- Check in was smooth and we had our skis shipped here in advance and that was taken care of seamlessly. Staff was helpful and attentive. Onsen: Especially the newer one on the VALE side was quite nice Bellevue restaurant: Very nice dinner at Bellevue. Great steaks and seafood and awesome service Location: close as you can get to skiing and the lockers for storage were nice Now for the BAD: Rooms: very small and very old and outdated Food: breakfast buffets were crowded and not good in general Ambience: WEIRD.....1980 Chuck E Cheese robots singing about America....very limited authentic Japanese food or culture. The sports bar is small and crazy crowded. This is like being on a cruise ship. If it's your thing, you'll love it. It's not our thing and we hated the resort part of our stay. The actual skiing at Rusutsu was awesome, the resort is NOT.

Rusutsu is a really nice ski mountains. They offer night ski till 8pm but like 5 slopes, still nice. This resort has pro and cons . It's a nice ski in/out IF you are in the NORTH wing. Locker room: They provide ski locker when you check in (before they provide coin for coin locker for free). The ski locker are spacious BUT they are not heeted so your boots are still wet in the morning. Even if you bring them in your room without a hairdryer or insane heat in the room, they still be wet in the morning. That's an issue. The Locker room for north wing is just 5 min walk to the chairlift. Room: The room is ok. One of the two beds was comfortable, the other one was way too hard. I was on north wing 6th floor (the best ine cause is the one, the onsen is on) The room is clean and spacious. I'm a resourceful person. But for the price, they should provide waters bottles in the room. . The heat in the room is hard to control. The bathroom is old, but does the job. Mini fridge in mini. A microwave and some utensils will have been a good idea (the walk to the shared microwave is pretty far). No separate heater (like most place) to dry your equipment. Onsen: On the 6th floor People are not really respectful, they talk loud, some bring their kids and let them scream all over. It's close at 1 am.. It's spacious though and when you have some silence it's pretty enjoyable The downside, they close it from 9am to 2pm (also the public bath in the south wing). So if you wanted to take a day off, you cannot relax in the bath. That's quite a bummer. They have massage at reasonable price. 8000 an hour. FOOD: breakfast (include in the room) only did the Octoberfest buffet cause it have pretty much anything you liked. They are some other options but seems to be less popular. Dinner is something else. Japan is supposed to be a foody experience, not in rusutsu. Did not try any dinner options cause they where so much expensive, started at 6000-8000 yen most options, and from the comments it clearly did not worth it . They have some restaurants outside the resort but most get full pretty quickly. So if you are a big group, reservation is a must. It would have been fun to enjoyed ski and food. Not just one. Cafeteria in the mountains with standard food. Free parking So yeah, in the end if you want a ski in/out experience and have extra money, you'll enjoy this place for the proximity of the slope and the onsens. Food in general in rusutsu is not japan standard but have nice shabu shabu.