Lotte Arai Resort

 

 

Mid Feb 2024

Sandy Lotte Arai

Lotte Arai blew my expectations out of the snow!

Our transit from the station to the resort bus was easy and straightforward. Our room was impeccably clean and spacious, offering the perfect retreat after a day on the slopes. And our large group was easily accommodated at breakfast and dinner through the package. Onsen in the building at the end of the day was just blissful. With young kids, it was lovely to everything close by.

The weather was definitely on our side as it pretty much snowed every day until the day we left. The powder was amazing - we have a mixed group that enjoyed off piste and groomers - both groups were adequately pleased which is a hard thing to do. POW days had a line which dissipated quickly once your got to the top of the gondola as everyone found their stash.

Skiing lesson for the little one (age 3) organised through the snow school made this holiday much more exciting and thanks to Hisae we managed to get that organised quite easily before our trip and so felt reassured we would get some snow time. The ski in ski out arrangement made this less taxing as we didn’t have to deal with transits and snow gear. In addition when we weren’t skiing there was a kids room with Lego and toys to entertain the little one between meals.

Overall, in our group of 11 (with kids) everyone gave this trip a thumbs up. Thank you Hisae for organising us all and giving us a great memory of snowball fights just off piste.

Sandy

 

 

 

 

Early Feb 2020
I did have a great trip in Japan.
The stay at Lotte Arai was good, food and service.
I didn't really enjoyed the slopes there. I'm a beginer/intermediate, the green runs was too flat.
Other than that I did have a good break.
Cheers
Amy
 
 
 
 
Early Feb 2019
 
Love this place. Would be interesting to see with good snow.
This is a great hotel, 5 star.
It has all the facilities, so you don’t have to leave, and getting there from Tokyo is so easy.  The restaurants have excellent food, especially the Japanese and Italian) The buffet restaurant is great and has a good selection of food.  Breakfast is awesome and sets you up for a great day skiing. The bedrooms are clean and spacious. The onsen is the best I have seen especially the outside one, and the swimming pool is great (have to pay to use the pool) I understand there are shops there but I didn’t see them.
The only thing that feels strange is, the whole experience doesn’t feel like Japan, (you almost feel you are in New York)
The ski resort is interesting, strange not skiing in the trees.  We didn’t have the best weather (very warm), and as someone died in an avalanche a couple of days earlier, parts of the field were closed.  The whole mountain looks interesting and I think I would go back.
Kind regards
 
Dave
 
 
 
 
 
 
Early Feb 2019

While the facillities were amazing we missed the Japanese people being around,so friendly and respectful! We felt like we were surrounded by arrogant americans!!

Bruce
 
 
 
 
 

Mid January 2018

 There is no doubt that this is a superb hotel. The facilities are stunning, the staff friendly and helpful and the skiing during our stay was fantastic.

We had been awaiting with much anticipation the reopening at Lotte Arai, and booked a 6 night package that included accommodation, breakfast and lift tickets. We stayed at the Arai in a Twin Room.

However, we soon wished we had booked a half board package as we found the cost at eating at the three main restaurants was too expensive and just not value for money.

  • ·The Italian had two set course options only, 13,000¥or 29,000¥ plus tax. We didn't eat here.
  • ·The Japanese restaurant had an a la carte menu and although the food was beautifully presented and delicious, we still felt it wasn't value for money. 
  • ·The evening buffet at Sou Restaurant at 7000¥plus tax, simply didn't offer the quality of food we expected for the price and wasn't good enough to return. 

 A couple of nights we ate at the reasonably priced, Kororo cafe in Spa Manna, and enjoyed a simple meal and wonderful service. Another night we bought some very tasty baguettes from the bakery and ate in our room. And, one afternoon, we caught the free shuttle to Joetsu Myoko and ate there. 

Whilst we understand that this is newly opened resort and it's bound to have some teething problems, we expected more from management as an incentive to return. At present, we feel It's best to stay elsewhere and do day trips from Myoko, Arai or Joetsu Myoko to enjoy the excellent facilities and skiing.

Janne

Hi Janne, There is now an option to pre purchase meal coupons with your accommodation package and it works out a lot cheaper than buying meals on the day. JSA