Kurobe Sun Valley Hotel

It's a quiet retreat with a nice onsen, tucked away from the nearest city. The staff are incredibly kind and courteous, almost like family, and there's free coffee and tea around the clock. Probably better suited to tourists who rent a car.

The rooms are small, with traditional Japanese floor mattresses. The onsen area is indoors only for now, basically a hot thermal pool. We only tried the Japanese-style breakfast and dinner once because we also wanted some European food options.

Getting to the Hakuba ski area took about 30 minutes, which wasn't bad. But I wouldn't stay here again. It looked nice from outside and was a dump inside, with a very old, dated feel. The whole place smelled musty and of cigarette smoke, and there were stains on the walls and ceilings that hadn't been cleaned. There was even a hole in the ceiling of my room, and no towel. The front desk guy apologized, but paying $130 US for basically seven hours felt like a huge ripoff. Apparently this kind of place is standard for most accommodations in this region of Japan, but this was definitely a dump.

The breakfast was another level, freshly made, tasty, and served beautifully. The service was stunning too. Everyone was kind, professional, helpful, and attentive, especially at reception. They worked long hours and still went the extra mile with anything we asked. What a place. I'd definitely come back. Thank you, Arigatoooo!