Hotel Nidom

The worst part of our nine-day family trip around Hokkaido was staying here. We visited four hotels, and this was the only bad experience. During room cleaning, housekeeping lost my child’s security blanket, which they had treasured since birth, for six years. The loss itself was upsetting, but the way it was handled afterward was even harder: there was no accountability or sincere apology. I’m deeply disappointed.

The views are even better than the lovely, quaint rooms. Service was fantastic from the moment we arrived. Already looking forward to coming back.

It was a peaceful day at Hotel Nidom, with foxes and deer around. I tried to get close, but they weren’t interested! Everyone on staff was welcoming and pleasant. The lake beside our cottage was frozen, which was a shame, so I’d like to come back in summer.

The chalets are nice, and the local staff were attentive. We spent four nights at Hotel Nidom over Christmas 2024, but a dreadful dinner on our first evening ended up spoiling the stay. We’d booked the restaurant for 7:30PM on Christmas Eve and reserved a seven-course meal at 24,200 yen per person (150 USD). The food came out so fast that each new dish arrived before we’d finished the last. Two dishes were cold and had to be sent back. It felt as if everything had been prepared well before we got there. We were overwhelmed and didn’t feel welcome, and the meal was over in just 45 minutes. Since it was Christmas Eve, we left it for the night and spoke to a staff member the next day. He listened carefully, apologized, and said he’d check with his manager and get back to us. We heard nothing for two days. At checkout, the full dinner was on the bill, so we again explained how unhappy we’d been and asked to speak to the manager. For 24,200 yen, a premium-priced meal in Japan, the whole evening was very disappointing. They initially offered “a cake” as compensation, which felt outrageous compared with the cost of dinner. We suggested several other solutions, but they weren’t receptive. Then the “main manager” came over in a very unfriendly way. He didn’t speak English, so we used a phone interpreter. He seemed angry that we were giving feedback and said at one point that “personal opinions are not valued here.” So much for customer care. About 15 staff members came out and surrounded us. It felt hostile and intimidating, even though we’d been trying to speak in a friendly, constructive way. After nearly an hour, they offered a 10% discount on the meal, and it was clear they wouldn’t do anything else. The way customers were treated left us very disappointed.