Yutorelo Karuizawa Hotel

The food was okay, nothing special, but the service at meals and around the hotel was probably the best part. We had three rooms between our group. Some had been updated, while others looked frozen in time. The rooms felt dark and dingy, and didn’t seem very clean. Some fixtures were in poor shape. The hotel as a whole seemed like it had been abandoned for a while and still needed work, especially the completely unkept garden and patio.

The service staff were very polite and helpful, and the included breakfast was delicious. It’s a quiet, quaint little resort hotel. The combination rooms, with Japanese and Western styles, are large by Japanese standards, and the bath has a nice forest view. The resort is low density, so you’ll most likely have the bath to yourself. The hotel is quite aged and could use updating, but I still had a nice experience.

The corridor lights switched off even though it was after 11pm, which felt a bit much. And if you’re skipping breakfast, tell the staff, or they’ll knock and wake you up. 😑

It’s lovely and peaceful here in winter, especially when it snows. The building is a little old, but the staff keep it clean and tidy. They’re friendly, and the food is good. There’s a sento bathhouse, not a hot spring, but it’s still very relaxing.