The Westin Rusutsu Resort

We stayed in one of the newly refurbished rooms and found it very pleasant and spacious—great value for money, especially in June which is off-peak. For Japan, the room size is impressively large. A big highlight for us was the theme park just opposite the hotel. Since it wasn’t crowded, we enjoyed multiple rides without queueing. My daughter had an amazing time replaying her favourites over and over. Definitely a huge plus for families with kids! As for the hotel itself, we had read some of the previous reviews before arriving. While we understand a few of the comments made, they didn’t really affect us much during our 4-day stay. Every hotel has its unique layout, and this one is no exception. A couple of things we noticed: The emergency exit door near the bedroom area wasn’t very soundproof. The room layout is split-level, with the entrance and beds on the upper level, and the bathroom and basins on the lower level. So we left our luggage upstairs near the entrance. The bathroom basins were set quite low, which might be a bit awkward for some guests. Personally, we felt that it might have made more sense for the room entrance to be on the lower level. That said, none of these were deal-breakers for us. The stay was still comfortable and enjoyable overall. However, I can imagine that during the winter peak season (like December), the limited dining options in the resort could become a challenge when the hotel is full. It's something worth considering if you're planning a stay during the ski season.

We stayed in the newly renovated wing, the room was big and clean. It was great that the restaurant at level 1 provided vegan options and had my favourite cornflakes and truffle fries. Service was amazing, staff could remember our vegan request and was prompt to assist when they noticed that I was cutting fruits to bite size for my toddler.

The resort grounds are musty, old and dilapidated. The restaurants in the two connected hotels are not good. We stayed one night and decided to leave. The ski slopes were excellent but the ‘resort’ needs an overhaul. Fake, dusty flowers and plants, strange singing cartoon dogs, an odd but pretty carousel in the middle and a run down pool were the amenities. For skiing it’s a yes. For staying and eating it’s a NO.