Meitoya So

The onsen was poorly maintained. The outdoor bath had no nature surrounding. The room was designated for 2 people. Adding an extra bed for foreign tourists with suitcases is not suitable.

Breakfast buffet, onsen Decor, furniture old and tired, no dinner option made available, no lover for luggage in day of arrival or departure, terrible location on hill, no shuttle to lift

Overall, a good hotel with good food, good hot spa baths, and good access to ski lifts. In more detail... A staff member came to pick us up from the bus terminus after calling the hotel, which may be a little too far uphill from the bus terminus to take your luggage up by yourself, unless you are travelling light. We had help bringing our luggage into the hotel from the van. The hotel is in wooded mountainside surroundings. Check-in was easy. There is a lift. The view was great, but we had a room on the downhill side of the hotel. Rooms on the uphill side would not have such a good view. Yukata, towel, bath cloth, toothpaste and brush were all replaced daily. Futons were remade daily. The breakfast smorgasbord and evening meals were all varied, plentiful, and of a decent standard, including local produce, vegetable pickles, etc. The dinners included beef sukiyaki, shabu shabu, pork hotpot, seafood hotpot, chicken hotpot, all of which you cook at your table. There was also a tray with a variety of vegetable, fish, egg, and other small, varied, and tasty dishes, some unusual and very good (e.g., ibura gako). The location is not the closest to the nearest ropeway/gondolas/lifts, but only a 5 minute or so walk, which would be very awkward in ski boots. You need to walk up in your own shoes/boots (waterproof is better), then store them in a paid locker before changing into ski boots. There is a souvenir shop. There is a complimentary coffee/tea bar in the afternoon. The hot spring bath is good, with plentiful hot water and a good temperature. The outdoor bath is in pleasant wooded surroundings. You can choose from 3 different baths, each with different temperatures. The baskets for storing your yukata are on shelves, without locks, but you can see most of them from the indoor bath. After checkout, we got a lift back to the bus terminus. You can store luggage after checking out (for a fee). There is a ping-pong table (for a fee). Overall, the futons (on tatami) were quite uncomfortable and the hotel would not supply extra futons. The single blanket was too hot. There was a fair bit of noise outside our window from melting ice and snow dropping on the roof below. In more detail... We only had 3 people in a 4-guest room, but it was still a little tight given the need to keep 3 large suitcases in the room. The feather doonas were too hot, and there was only one option, the doona or just a sheet. The futons were also quite thin, flattened by use, and quite uncomfortable for our ageing body (early 60s). We asked at reception for additional futons, but were told "maximum of 2". So we used the 2 futons intended for the 4th person, as well as the tatami seat cushions, which all made sleeping just comfortable enough. The staff observed the usual greetings, but a little too much. It was overdone. It did feel a little uncomfortable having someone insist that they put your slippers on the slipper rack when stepping onto the tatami-floored dining room. We had to tell staff at reception which of the 3 time slots for the dinner that we wanted, which we didn't mind, but that made eating time a little inflexible: you have to commit beforehand. Booking.com says "Ski to door" on the webpage for this hotel, but there is only one way to ski to the door, along the road from the ski slope, but there are signs on the roadside saying that you are not permitted to ski on the road (down to the hotel). The music in the dining room in the morning consisted of a CD with arrangements of Ghibli songs, and in the evening, a different CD also of arrangements of Ghibli songs, both played on repeat, both played on a little portable CD player/radio on a table behind the coffee. The photo at the top of the Bookings.com page for this hotel is well done from a marketing point of view. It makes the hotel look like an old traditional ryokan, warm and appealing for its woody charm.

Good location, comfortable, friendly staff

How close the ski was, how friendly the staff was. The food was amazing. Nothing

Traditional Japanese ryokan Some of the staff (Japanese) are really impolite and arrogant, not willing to help, keep away from eye contact with customers. Not even respond when I greet them Good Morning.

Onsen The faucet in the bathroom, along with the smell of food in the hallway.

Great spacious room, comfortable beds, dinner & breakfast were fantastic. Friendly staff and love the hotel onsens and the town's public bathhouses! Super hot and sulfur-rich Nothing in particular - the hotel is located up the hill (but shuttle pickup is available at the Zao bus station and there's a walk path [shortcut] connecting the hotel to the 2 main streets of the small town)

Ralax place.The staff speaks fluent English, and is a good onsen. Dinner was delicious. Breakfast is a little optional, but it tastes good. I'm not sure if it's a hotel rule. I lived here for two nights there wasn't any cleaning.

Bath Food quality cheaper of Dinner

The bed pillows were a bit too hard for us, and the hotel tried to find softer and lower ones but didn't have any Would like a beer or wine on arrival

Lobby/ front desk staff were not helpful. Other staff and the food were great though.

This was our third time staying at Meitoya So, which means we like this place. The location is good as it is a short walk to Uwanodai and Chuo ski areas, and close to the shops and eatery. We took the dinner and breakfast plan which was good value for money. The staff at the dining room were very very friendly and helpful, especially Melannie, Gokarana and a Japanese lady and young Japanese man whose names we didn't manage to get. The Japanese lady even helped to arrange our yukata nicely before helping us take a group photo. The outdoor onsen of Meitoya was nice but the chance to enjoy other onsens in hotels of the Takamiya group was an added bonus. We had 5 dinners at the hotel, each day a different main dish but the last 2 dinners were quite similar. We wish we could choose the main dish and would have opted to have the bbq again. On the last day, we had to lug our luggage to the bus terminal at about 6pm because we were told there was no one to drive us there. The bus terminal was only less than a 5-min drive and there were 9 of us! We stayed 5 nights and this was our third time staying here. Was a little disappointed about this. The staff were all very nice and helpful but this time around, I found the big, tall guy at the reception quite unfriendly.

Pleasant

The food was good but the SAME music played during ALL meals got on our nerves. The Onsen was very nice. One lady at the front desk was trying to be nice and helpful (she was the only one). We did not feel welcomed. The staff was not helpful (except one lady at the front desk). No flexibility, no help, no recommendation. We stayed 7 nights and our bed sheets were changed only once during the stay even though they were supposed to be changed every 3 days. Mattresses were very hard.

Superb

We appreciated breakfast and dinners. The food was very good. Good discounts for ski lifts. Tea and biscuits in the room, which is spacious. I did not use the onsen but heard it was nice. Floors , carpets and futons are not clean No flexibility for meal hours and no advices on sightseeing or ski rentals. Location is a bit far from the ski slopes. Rooms are a bit old and futons really not comfortable. No space to store clothes and rooms for 4 are not spacious enough

Great location and had a shuttle from and to the bus station. Staff very friendly and the food was excellent. Even provided a coupon for sake tasting just down the hill. Loved the onsen

we had a very comfortable 6 nights at this hotel.Enjoyed the breakfasts and dinners as well as the Onsen. The staff were most pleasant and helpful. the walk to the ski lifts was a bit tedious for us . there was no option of lifts to the ski lifts.

Both dinner and breakfast were delicious. Location is good. Frustrating check-in. Arriving at the hotel around 4pm, we checked in 2 triple-rooms (for 6 people). But the front desk staff informed that the dinner was only available for 5 people because we checked in late. After some time of disputation, the staff informed that they had managed the dinner for all of us. However, the rooms were not ready and they would make the room while we having the dinner. But when we returned from the dinner, we found that the rooms were not ready and we had to make our own beds.