Setsu Niseko

The location made things easy, right by Lawsons and the food trucks, and having the Rhythm rental center in the hotel was handy for getting gear. The hotel could also arrange travel and call taxis when we needed them. We stayed for a week in Janurary to snowboard, and it was one of the best hotels I’ve visited. The rooms were clean and spacious, and the service and concierge were great. Breakfast changed daily and was incredibly tasty. The onsens were well equipped, with outdoor baths as well as private ones you could book. Fantastic stay, and I can’t wait to come back!

I came back to Setsu Niseko because my first stay had been amazing. The kindness, service, and attention to detail really impressed me then. This visit feels different, maybe because the area has become so crowded that there’s less room for that personal touch. We first had a strange mechanical clicking noise in the master bedroom around 3 am that kept waking us up. I mentioned it to the night manager on the third morning. Julian was thoughtful and empathetic, and a maintenance man explained that the boiler room was right below us. They arranged another room, so we packed everything, including ski gear for our family of four, and moved. The new master bedroom had a foul smell. We hoped airing it out would help, but couldn’t sleep there and ended up on the couch. The night front desk suggested telling the day crew. Housekeeping thought the odor might be from the vents, so they put in an air filtration system and gave us spray, but neither fixed it. I spent most of the day waiting to see if we could move again. We’d have to check the next room before hauling everything over once more. I think we’d been pretty patient, but the daytime front desk told us, “I'm just trying to help.” When someone has to say that, it makes the conversation feel confrontational and doesn’t help much. If nothing had gone wrong, I’m sure the stay would have been wonderful. When things do go wrong, though, the cracks in the system start to show, as other posts have suggested. Update: At checkout, the manager emailed an apology and made things right with compensatory gestures. I got one night of sleep before checkout. Thanks for helping us out that day.

We spent five days in Niseko as a family of four and would definitely return to Setsu. The two-bedroom flat with a kitchen was very comfortable and had a great view. The hotel has several restaurants with plenty of choice, plus a nice bar and wine selection. We travel a lot and can be demanding, but were very pleased with the accommodation, setup, and service. The concierge was super effective, and it was great to have the Rythm ski rental shop in the hotel. The equipment was very good, much better than in Europe.

It’s a bit pricey, but the quality and service made it worth it. The hotel was comfortable, clean, and well maintained, with good storage for luggage and somewhere to hang snow gear after a day on the slopes. Our room had a kitchen and fridge, and enough dishes and utensils for us to cook and eat together. After a day of exercise, the public bath and onsen were nice to visit. Breakfast was buffet style, and the coffee I ordered kept me going all day. The rental service and ski/snowboard locker were also worth mentioning. The gear was Burton and in almost brand new condition. Most of the multilingual staff were friendly and ready to help with questions. Compared with my experiences at other traditional Japanese ski resorts, where the long history can make service feel different, this was a good change. The locker area is near the hotel transfer bus stop, with plenty of room and benches for sitting or setting things down. There’s a water server to hydrate before the bus, and heated lockers where you can secure your board and hang your gear so it’s dry and ready for the next day.