Xplore by Active Life

Staff was nice, really closed to Madarao ski area. It is basically a youth guest house but they charge like premium hotel. Not a great value for money. The breakfast was terrible and always incomplete. They dont give you much options which is ok, but for example they will bring eggs but need to wait 10min to get bread or vice versa. We had to to run to the buffet each time they brought coffee as it didnt last for 1 min (and it wasnt even good). They have an "onsen" but cannot use it as it is mixed gender and therefore require swimsuit. Which I can understand but then they don't tell you prior and they don't sell swimsuits.on the website it looks like they have a normal onsen. They change linen and they had weird stain on them. Well, basically I wont go back.

Breakfast was inconsistant, some days bettr than others, but acceptable additional bed (Pull out sofa) was not vey comfortable

Within walking distance to the lifts. Unfortunately after arriving we discovered there was no parking. The whole point of us renting a car was for the convenience. Bathroom far too small and there's no seats in the room.

Explore Active life is in a good location, it offers good dining & breakfast. Make sure if you book a room its the Japanese rooms, not the double rooms (they are so small & tight with absolutely no hanging space of space at all for that matter) I have stayed at different Active Life hotels in Madarao many times over the past decade, {The Original Active life opposite the Burger place, Hakken which they have sold, and Explore twice). Sorry to say but it seems to me that the owners are not interested in spending money which could make these places much more enjoyable with greater service & facilities. For instance 8 years ago the original Active Life has the main entry covered with a wall of snow so access is down & up the hill via a side entry. It was still covered this year, there could be a valid reason but keeping your main entry clear so guests don't have a treacherous walk up a hill would be a good thing. Active life Explore had some lifts that were broken when they acquired the property in 2024, the solution has been to cover them up with artwork so stairs are the only option. There is an access to the ski fields below the property, that used to provide direct ski out to the slopes, you now have a 200mtr uphill/downhill walk to & from the ski field, with a little effort it would not be hard to make this operational. They have a great bar/lounge area which i really enjoyed in 2024 where they played extreme ski/snowboard footage on a big screen, it was a great place to unwind, relax, & meet fellow guests. However this 2025 ski season the young bar operator seemed more intent on playing his own personal music preference at such a deafening volume that you could not hear yourself talk, hence every night the bar was empty. In all Active Life's with the exception of Hakken, the owner seems to have a preference for employing young travellers whose main focus is on their own holiday rather than providing professional customer service for guests (who pay hard earned dollars).

Very good

Nice lounge area dated. need refresh

Staff were excellent, nice, helpful, efficient Poor WiFi, place was a little run down and some parts need attention, Spa area in particular

Close to the slopes. Great staff. Communal onsen. Laundry facilities Run down and dated. Mould in the rooms from moisture near windows. Not much selection of food ? b the restaurant at night.

Duty manager was excellent all week going beyond the norm to provide exceptional service. Great location just a short walk to the ski slope, good breakfast. Didn't have wifi in room

Room was clean. Manager was super helpful with any requests.. No Toto in bathroom..

Well situated. Very friendly staff. The room and bathroom wasn’t clean

Very good

Warm, Oil heaters, nice linen. Great drying room. The breakfast was very basic and chaotic. Noisy, thin walls. We were placed in between rooms of children or arguing couples during the entire stay. For how much we paid per night the experience was not good.

Exceptional

Location great Partner breaking her leg first day NB no reflection on explore

Very good

Good location, good drying room It had no character - the staff were pleasant but not very helpful - they did not seem to know anything about anything - the food was very poor

Very good

Superb

The breakfast was pretty good. Lots of variety. Beds were comfy. Showers were hot. May was exceptionally accomodating and friendly. Some other staff were very non plussed and not very helpful. Initial impression wasn’t great but overall a pleasant stay and very handy to the ski slopes. Dinner in the restaurant was lovely and good value. Coffee could be hotter. A coffee/tea station available all day would be beneficial. Bigger bowls and smaller spoons. Arrangement of food and drinks didn’t flow. Having to double back to get milk or cereal, fruit etc. Noise from hallway carried easily into rooms. Not the lodges fault but a reminder to guests to be considerate of others sleeping when returning late at night would be helpful. Room booked had a mountain view but unfortunately was blocked by timber slats. No fridge in room as stated on booking details.