Solana Karuizawa Villa

We spent three nights here and managed to relax, even with on-and-off rain for a day. Our dog was happy to be able to go outside whenever he wanted. The dog run is artificial turf, despite the wood chips in many promo photos. It looks comfortable to walk on, and makes it easier to spot your dog's droppings. The kitchen has the basics, the fridge is roomy with separate freezer and refrigerator sections, and there's a dog waste bin. They'd left extra trash bags for our multi-night stay, so we were all set. It's on the expensive side, but I felt it was good value.

The room had two bunk beds, and we took a lower one. It creaked whenever the person above walked around. Also, large trucks often pass along Asama Sunline road in front of the resort at night, so noise-sensitive guests should keep that in mind. The cleaning was so thorough that most people probably wouldn't notice how much had been done. We couldn't use the BBQ area because of the rain, and the open-air bath seemed hard to use in that weather too. The changing basket was wet, and there was no roof on the way back to our room. I also found the instructions sparse. More guidance on the outlets, which slide sideways to keep dust out, and on the square lantern in the open-air bath would have helped. It seemed to be solar powered and automatic, but there was no switch, and we couldn't work out how to turn it on. Still, it was a very good trip, and I'd recommend it for a pet-friendly stay in Karuizawa. We'll definitely use Solana Resort again.

Our dog settled in comfortably, which was a relief since this was his first stay here. It was also our first time as a family of four, staying in the Shirakaba room. Everything was very clean and comfortable, and we'd like to try another facility next time.

I liked being able to let our dog run around on the wooden deck and in the dog run. The open-air bath was fantastic, with water at just the right temperature so I could get in straight away.