Powder Temple

Good location, nice staff. Close to all ski resorts.

There were dozens of pests found throughout the hotel (ants and stinkbugs). There was an issue with the shower plumbing which caused the 1st floor and the shower rooms to flood eveytime any guest took a shower. This occured every single day. Everytime we would step out of our room we would be stepping out into a puddle. Also this caused the entire 1st floor to smell of mold, rot, and sewage as the drains would back up. Additionally, hot water was unavailable for a day due to the hot water heater giving out.

Nothing. The beds were extra small twin beds, and rock hard. Almost like a child's bed. The property charged an exorbitant amount of money over what a Hostel style hotel should charge. Additionally, they said that breakfast would be included and the kitchen was closed. There was said that dinner would be available and the kitchen was closed. When we arrived, the person checking us in asked for showers to be kept to 30 seconds as the bathrooms would otherwise flood. Signs on the bathroom doors said to keep showers to a minimum and that if you were looking for more bathroom time you could go to an onsen and pay for a shower. Additional signs around the property also said that they would charge a 1000 yen fee if you were found to have outside food or beverage on the property. The bathrooms were also co-ed, which there was never any mention of. I was brushing my teeth very early in the morning to beat the crowds and a man came out of the bathroom stall wearing nothing but his underwear. This could be very alarming for someone that was not expecting this to be the case. I would not stay here again with the lack of transparency. Additionally, this property should not be charging well over $100 US dollars per night for accommodations of this nature.

Pleasant

Under renovation. Flooding shower, sewage smell. Small rooms.

The staff were all very friendly and welcoming. They were always helpful and gave us lots of good recommendations for ski resorts, food and bars. Staff created a very homely vibe.

Breakfast was great! Free with your room and buffet style. The staff was helpful throughout the entire stay! Bonus - the hotel is partnered with Rhythm Sports for easy rental pickup and drop off for skis and snowboards. Not the most modern or up-to-date place you can stay. Shower curtain constantly blew onto your body due to how flimsy it was. Each night we had to deal with a stinkbug in our room as well. Not ideal, but not a deal breaker.

Great staff on site! Kohi and Brandon really made the trip showing us the best powder runs in Hakuba.

Amazing location and friendly staff

Staff were super friendly. Even gave us a lift to get rental gear and also to the bus terminal the next morning. Yummy breakfast every morning was a bonus! It was quiet in the bedrooms at night. Bedroom didn’t feel like it had been vacuumed in a while

Generally a kind of loud place to stay.

We did not like anything from this property nor the customer service. Everything! From pickup to leaving was overwhelmingly disappointing. Pickup: Staff were 20 minutes late to pick us up from the train station, even though they were only a 2 minute drive away. The pick up vehicle was tiny and filled with rubbish. The staff member who picked us up wore what appeared to be pyjamas and her crocs (shoes). It looked like she had just woken up, even though it was 4pm. Check in: We didn't get checked in properly. We were shown our room. We were only vaguely told where the bathroom and toilet were located, but we were never taken to them. We were told we would "figure it out". We looked around the room and found a half empty tube of sex lube and used toilet roll in the drawers next to the bed. The room was very dusty. Our allergies and asthma immediately flared up. The pillows on the bed had several different coloured hairs on them. Long and short hairs of different colours. How long had it been since these pillows were actually washed? Our booking was for a shared bathroom toilet. The toilet/shower on our level was located in another room, which was empty at the time. The first thing I noticed was the half-empty packet of toilet paper sitting in the middle of the room. The toilet, sink, mirror, and shower/bath were disgusting. I've seen public toilets cleaner than this. We went for a 3kms walk to the ski rental shop, during which I was still very itchy and found it difficult to breathe. During the walk, we spoke to bookings.com. They informed us that they would contact the owner of Powder Temple. Upon returning to the property, the "manager" was busy celebrating his birthday rather than talking to us. We had to interrupt the festivities to talk about any communications with the owner and bookings.com. The manager stated that he had spoken to the owner and that we would get a full refund. Continued next section------------- We were invited to stay there for our duration for free. The fact that we didn't should tell you something about the state of the place. Who would turn down a free week of accommodation in the snow? We packed up all our stuff and frantically searched for a new property to relocate to. This was all at the end of a long day, having left home at 7:00AM and having travelled to Hakuba, it was by this time about 9:00 PM. We eventually found a new place to move to and while we waited to be picked up by the new accommodation, another staff member came down to the reception area. She asked if we were okay. I told her this place is disgusting and that my asthma had worsened and that my oxygen level was low and that my skin was inflamed and very itchy. Her unsympathetic response was, "Goodluck". Throughout the establishment there were no bins. There was rubbish and dust everywhere. The unfinished renovations were apparently due to an unscrupulous tradesman who had decided not to finish his job. Still, while that might explain the loose tiles in the lounge room and other half-baked things, it does not explain why there were no bins, dust, rubbish and equipment such as vacuum cleaners and other cables absent mindedly left in the corridors. We have not received any direct apology from the owner. Instead, the owner sent an obviously depersonalised copy/paste message on our last day in Hakuba, which asked us to not post any negative reviews. Instead of accepting responsibility, the owner blames the contractor for everything. This place is a complete joke. The reviews are absolutely false. No one of sound mind could stay there and consider it to be clean or suitable, except, of course, they are cave-dwelling troglodytes with scant regard for sanitation. Due to word count, this review was shortened. Regrettably, photos were only taken frantically while waiting to be picked up.

Good

I like loction andOtherwise there is nothing.and owner help me to cancel one of my room.(cancel policies very tight) rooms are not cleaned.,pillows not washed,door locks not working,when I go to check in there was no one in reception ,they wrote a note and leave and one of gust help us to find our rooms, check in time 9-23.30 we went there in 19.30. and they haven’t any phone number in japan. if you want to contact them only way is massage.and provided phone number work but not answer.and they haven’t any responsible person, next day morning I complain our room door lock problem and they said sorry.and I ask fixed or can your exchange any other rooms-they said we can’t do anything. breakfast:- not good .first day bread only we ask butter again sorry we don’t (おわりますので　もない). staff :-friendly promises:- under construction bathroom:- good toilet:- only one don’t see any other : I think new one under construction room price:- cheap and cannot be canceled.( before 2 month you stay can be cancel) if you think your vacation stay here think twice.

Friendly staff and good location!

Even thought Powder Temple is in the process of renovation ( delayed from Covid), Jake and Callum showed over the top hospitality, offering to pick us up and drop off to get snow gear and transport. There was a good vibe. The snow shuttle is right out front and there are 7 eleven and two lovely local restaurants a short walk away. We most probably wouldn't have found these ( Haris and Garlic) without them sharing this local knowledge. Due to renovations the heating was Kerosine based which took me back to my childhood.:). This place has so much potential and should be great when the renos have finished.

my 3 teen daughters and I stayed at Powder Temple for the past 4 days and we had a really great time. The owner and hotel staff were Australians and went out of their way to make sure we had a really nice time, even dropping us to the ski lifts each morning. The hotel is 5 minutes in a taxi from the centre of Hakuba so we just took a taxi home each evening which was $15 with 4 people and 4 skis. there was a 7/11 5 minutes walk away and the hotel had a really cosy bar / lounge area where we chatted to other guests and the staff each evening. I’m so glad I stayed there with my girls we had such a relaxed and nice time! thank you again Jake and Callum. nothing - it was better then I expected for the price we paid.

Exceptional

The owner, Jake, couldn’t have been more friendly and accommodating. Picked up and dropped up several times in our short stay. The lodge is in need of a few jobs done at the time of writing, but this is reflected in the pricing. It was one of the most reasonably priced lodges over the new year 2023, so if you’re looking for a cheap, clean room to sleep, friendly staff, good breakfast and easy access to the shuttle bus, you’ll be fine here! Looking forward to another stay!