“Great accomodation. Helpful and efficient staff. Shuttle bus to Hirafu village was very useful, although the 10 minute walk into town was not difficult. Breakfast was plentiful, tasty and varied options to suit all tastes . We will be back.”
“Always was a great hotel - I'm hesitant to actually give it a full 5, but I will, as my only real complaint about it is most likely a result of its location. I think that the substantial discount vs properties closer to the centre nullifies this complaint.
Regarding accommodation, great - a lot cheaper than other options in the centre of Grand Hirafu - comfortable bed, great views, great service. Shuttle buses running every 30 minutes during the busier times in the morning, hourly thereafter - great friendly drivers, dropping at several locations, Veil next to family lifts for beginner slope, welcome centre next to main lift, and sometimes to the gondola.
In regard to amenities - breakfast from 6:30 - 9:30, decent range of food in a buffet style, mostly western - e.g. bacon, eggs, sausages, with some Japanese options always available, e.g. miso, natto, rice. Western things would be rotated out on some days for Japanese options such as yakisoba, hamburg, curry, etc. Cereal/yoghurt always available, tea, water, orange juice, etc.
However, there is no bar, and nothing to do there at all between breakfast/lunch or after lunch (11:00-14:00 after dec. 5). I understand it's probably unreasonable to expect a bar given that there's nothing around it, and it would likely remain empty most of the time, but it does force you to always grab a shuttle or walk to/from the main village centre to do anything outside of skiing/boarding. This can be frustrating while waiting for check-in, or after check-out at 11am when you have a bus out later in the afternoon.
Given the substantial discount vs other options further up the road, it's hard to justify docking points from a review for this, but it'd be nice if there was even just a lounge type area. It's approximately 15min walk into the centre if you've missed a bus.
Great value, would certainly stay again for a budget choice!”
“Nice little hotel that serves your basic needs for a ski holiday. Its location is within walking distance to the slopes if you don't mind a bit of walking. Otherwise, they have shuttle service too.”
“Pretty good location, realistically only 10 minute walk into town. Rooms are big enough, comfortable, clean and with great views. All the staff were extremely helpful, courteous and polite. Worthwhile getting breakfast included. The restaurant has food available pretty much from breakfast through to close of a night and it's all pretty reasonably priced. Good storage space for all your ski/boarding gear and it's safe. The guys on the shuttle bus are awesome. The shuttle buses run every half hour - don't be late, they run a tight schedule which I liked. Personal preference thing here, but I needed two pillows for sleeping which the staff made sure I had delivered to the room almost immediately.”
“The staff was extremely helpful and was there to answer any question we had. Although Always Niseko is not directly in the Hirafu village area, it is really close, only about a 10 minute walk. There is a shuttle that comes every half an hour to take you to the lifts or the welcome center. It would be nice if the shuttle ran more often but we didn't mind walking and actually ended up walking most of the time we were there. There is also a board and boot room so you don't have to lug your stuff back and forth to your room every day after riding.
The room we stayed in was really comfortable in terms of size, there was enough space under the bed for us to put our luggage so it didn't feel crowded at all. It was also really well insulated we didn't need to use the heater once. My only complaint in the room would be that the pillows were extremely uncomfortable. We got daily breakfast included with our booking and that was pretty great. The selection didn't change very much throughout the week that we were there but it was really nice to be able to go downstairs and have a hearty meal before snowboarding all day. We also ate at the dinner buffet one night which was pretty good as well.
All in all a pretty cool little hotel, just a little bit out of the way but it's perfect for the price if you don't mind a short walk.”
“Room and facilities were clean and spacious. The breakfast was very tasty and there was a good selection to help kick off the day. The staff was knowledgable and helpful. I would consider this hotel when I visit Niseko again.”
