Yutorelo Tateshina Hotel With Dogs

The food and spacious, clean accommodation made for a really good stay. For two people, two meals, and this large room, we paid just 36,076 yen, which felt like great value. As a Rilo Hotels Resort member, I also get free dog admission when I book on the official website. Registration is free, and that helps a lot when you have two dogs. We'd stayed at Yururi Oku-Nikko and Yururi Nishi-Izu before, and this was the largest property of the three. Like the Yururi places, there was no dog smell at all, and the cleaning was consistently thorough. I chose Tateshina over the cheaper Yutoriro Karuizawa because reviews said its food was better. They were right about the dinner herb buffet, which beat the ones at Yururi Oku-Nikko and Yururi Nishi-Izu. The restaurant tables were nicely spaced, with three leash hooks at each one, so our dog could settle in. The meat main was fantastic. I took a photo after I'd already started eating because I couldn't wait (^_^;). The fish main's sauce was a little bland, though. There are two dog runs by the entrance, one for small dogs and one for all breeds, plus two more in the woods beside the parking lot, probably for all breeds. The outdoor run had poop boxes, which was very handy. The road up the mountain isn't too steep, so even a larger car can get up safely. A leash hook on the wall by the entrance would help when unloading bags. I also wished there were cute photo spots like the ones at Yururi Oku-Nikko, Atami, and Hakone. The welcome snack area felt a little modest compared with Yururi. Still, the meals were delicious, and the place was clean and roomy.

My Chihuahua had a sleepover here and it turned out to be a great choice. They had snacks in the lobby, carts, and a dog run. Dinner was buffet-style, with salad, marinades, pickles, and simmered dishes, plus steak as the main. The simmered beef tendon was especially good.

We picked this place after staying at two other resorts in the same group, and because reviews praised the food. We've usually stayed in guesthouses around Lake Shirakaba when visiting Tateshina. This also suited us because we wanted somewhere we could dine with our dog. Aside from the two main dishes, dinner was buffet-style, and the buffet was kept tidy throughout. The room uses a PIN code for entry, so there was no key to carry around. We could handle bookings, check-in, payment, and our dog's name and vaccination records online, which meant no paperwork to open and show on arrival. At the restaurant, though, drinks and other items are ordered on a phone, and the Wi-Fi was unreliable. Only one of the three of us could connect, so ordering was a hassle. Payment and checkout also use a phone and QR code, which could be awkward for anyone who isn't comfortable with smartphones.

We were a family of four with two dogs, and booked a plan that was supposed to include Sendai beef. Instead, they served domestic beef without telling us first. It had little flavor and wasn't tasty. I was surprised they'd switched the main dish without asking, and think they should have explained by email or at check-in. I've never had a main course changed like that before. The price stayed the same, so I felt cheated. The dog meals weren't handled well either. Their dinner had been prepared ahead of time, so it was cold and the meat tough. At other hotels, the food was brought out slightly warm after we sat down. We also ordered food for breakfast, but it was left cold in a corner of the buffet, wrapped in plastic with our room number and name on it. Nobody explained anything. The service felt sloppy. I expected dogs to be a priority here, but that didn't really seem to be the case.