Hoshino Resorts Tomamu the Tower

The ski in, ski out location at the towers was perfect, and we enjoyed the restaurants and facilities. The rooms are dated and dusty, but very roomy, and probably helped make the price better than at newer resorts. We had a wonderful time on our first family ski trip and will definitely be back. Service was wonderful too. We arrived at 5pm, and the ski rental office stayed late to size us up. They were helpful with a ski locker issue and always courteous and a pleasure to deal with.

We were disappointed with Hoshino. I thought it was a luxury brand, but the premium price didn't feel justified. The resort is spread out, and choices are limited. For breakfast, you either take a shuttle to the restaurants or wait downstairs for 30 minutes to eat in the same building as your room. Our beds were disastrous, and we woke up aching every day. We hadn't even skied on the first day, so that wasn't the cause. They also missed cleaning our room for the first two days in a row. When we raised it, staff asked what sticker we'd put on the door. We said none, meaning the room needed cleaning, as the photos show. They eventually came at 6pm. We paid USD 800 per night to stay at the Tower, which isn't even the less expensive option, and the rooms were rather worn out. Staff were nice and helpful to a point. They were very nice when we spoke Japanese, but rude when we spoke English. Activity instructions could be clearer too. We went all the way to the ice village after one staff member said it would open at 5pm. After waiting past 5, we asked someone else, who said it wouldn't open that day because of rain. Not sure why we were told it would open and made to wait 20 minutes. I assume communication between staff was poor.

We stayed in Tower 1. It's a bit old, but the rooms were large, clean, and had comfortable beds. We also liked having access to more than 20 restaurants and ski runs for different levels. Our reasons for choosing the resort were its ski in, ski out location and all the activities: the indoor wave pool, ice village, ice skating, restaurants, and the free bubbles lounge for guests, which was a special touch. It was my first time in -10' weather, so I was freezing 🥶. Highly recommend it for the range of food, runs and activities for the whole family, and the lifts had no lines.

We had a fun, memorable winter stay as a family, and we'll definitely return. The resort has plenty of facilities. Our ski lessons were well organized, and free entry to Mina Mina Beach plus a free gondola ride to Unkai Terrace made the visit even better. Bottled water wasn't provided because the tap water is drinkable. That made sense once we understood why.