Ritz-Carlton Reserve Niseko: Disappointing, Misbranded

It's funny, this reminds me of a hotel I might stay at while skiing in Austria, but I'm paying EUR 200 a night, and in that case, the shortcomings become charming.

Are Americans the primary foreign guests in Niseko?

Good read, sorry the visit did not go well.

You've established that Ritz-Carlton Reserve sits at the very top of Marriott's brand hierarchy. From your experience reviewing luxury properties globally, which Marriott brand truly sits directly below it, and what distinguishes these tiers in terms of expected guest experience, service standards, and property investment? Does this Niseko property's failure suggest the gap between these tiers is narrowing?

Your review highlights what appears to be a systemic issue with brand consistency. Based on your global hotel stays, is this dilution of brand standards more prevalent within Marriott's portfolio compared to other major luxury hotel groups? Which ultra-premium hotel brand has maintained the strongest consistency across its properties, and what organizational practices or business models allow them to succeed where others struggle?

Hyatt blowing Marriott out of the water again. Color me shocked.

Yes. Outside Japanese guests, the American is substantial. But Niseko is attracting a growing global clientele, much like the Swiss alps

That's a dump.

@ Jerry -- I actually found Americans to be a small minority of foreign guests. It's a pretty mixed crowd, with a good number of people from Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, and from all over Europe, based on what I observed.

How do we know this is not an AI generated (fake) smear campaign against Hyatt Niseko?

These properties are made to gather foreigners who don't bother to learn the culture and are better off separated from places where locals can truly enjoy what Japan has to offer and be truly unbothered by often obnoxious people who think being able to say "konbanwa" at night deserves a prize.
Hokkaido is much better experienced by staying at a higher end local Ryokan than any big chains, although thankfully...those are kept to people who bother to learn the language.

you sound like jordan schlansky from that conan travel trip where he went to japan

Wow, this hotel sounds like a disaster. That’s why I ONLY fly Delta—actual luxury, no fake branding, and service that doesn’t disappoint. Delta One > overpriced letdowns every time. Stay winning. ✈️

While you are in broad strokes correct (brutally honestly), these properties should give foreigners a better value for their money.

No amount of learning the language - as a Caucasian - will integrate you into local Asian cultures.

Only flying Delta is like only retaining SASM&F.

Actual top tier? Yes. (V3, AmLaw 5)
Service that doesn't disappoint? Yes.
Gorgeous office at New York's most prestigious address? Yes.

One troll responding to another troll not realizing the other person is trolling.

This seems like a case of Marriott milking the Ritz brand. Very disappointing to see this in Asia, let alone Japan.

I think if this was re-branded as a mid-tier hotel like AC, you probably wouldn't be disappointed. It would also likely mean it would be charging far less.

Please crawl back under the rock you came from. SMH

Every Ritz Carlton is basically a Westin at this point. I don’t think there’s a more overrated hotel brand…

X10000 on the Swiss Alps. I've been going for years and there have always been a fair amount of americans, but now it seems like the rest of the planet has discovered the Alps.

The bottom line "Avoid" headline ends with a * , as if there were a footnote. But it's not a link and I don't see any note at the bottom of the page. What is the footnote?

You really missed out by not staying at a non chain hotel in Grand Hirafu. There was so much more selection of restaurants, nightlife, and things to do.

As I suspected, the hotel is owned by YTL which I am not surprised that the quality is as what you experienced. I have been to a few properties that they own (if I am not mistaken most of their hotels belong within the Marriott brands), and sadly, it is all quite fake...I wonder if anyone from the family behind the company ever stayed at this property....

I was lucky enough to visit niseko in 2003ish. Almost zero foreigners at that time. 150yen bowls of noodles mountainside. $100 for hotel rooms. Glad I got in before all the big chains arrived whether they were Hyatt or Marriott

I can appreciate that the Japanese are inherently "racist" in a sense towards "gaijins".
I am fairly lucky in the sense that I am Asian myself and have managed to do business there for many years, lived and worked there as well, there is a barrier even if you look Asian (because we ultimately don't look Japanese).
In terms of making it better value, I think it's the fact that "value" for foreigners are often perceived differently to "value" for the Japanese.
A lot of things that foreigners see as "value" are often quite tacky to locals.

Owners lease the brand name. Next year, the property might some other brand. And, Marriott will not enforce brand standards if it means the potential loss of room count.

You were warned, but it's good that you've now experienced it for yourself. It's a shame that Marriott doesn't take better care of its brands and allow this to be a Reserve. As I wrote before, this shouldn't even be a normal Ritz Carlton.

Ritz Reserve should mean something but this property always seemed like a stretch to be a Ritz Reserve. Nice view but that's about it.

It's atrocity alright. But not because
"It’s supposed to be even more premium than the Ritz-Carlton brand"
It's because someone believes that.

While I always feel it's more a 'destination' property rather than a more premium property. You just feel more personalized because they have fewer rooms.

That's a confusing brand image.

Now the fun part
"One lady spent about an hour posing with her afternoon tea. She’d take brief gaps from yelling at her husband"
What nationality or language were they using?

Other than the chaotic check in and the chicken (completely inexcusable, we're literally talking the cheapest type of meat out there), it doesn't sound that bad to me- more like Motel One than Motel 6. They have substantial fixed costs and a limited amount of time in the year to recoup them. They're doing things right if they can fill the place up without building comprehensive gyms or spas which are likely to be underutilised even when the hotel is full.

This is the reason that top-end hotels don't really appeal to me even in resort-type destinations (it's simpler in cities; I don't need a luxury hotel if I am only using it for sleeping and showering)- the more expensive it is, the higher my expectations and the greater the chance of disappointment.

Does saying cowabunga counts?

Edition maybe?

Exactly. I think there's also a cultural dimension to this, like with the Korean Air review.

The hotel manager isn't my mate, I don't particularly want them to bother me asking whether I am happy. If I have a concern, I can always raise it with the customer-facing staff; management should not get actively involved in service delivery unless and until something gets escalated to them [whether by customers or by staff].

I see that absolutely nothing has changed in the two years since I last stayed here. I was misled into the Reserve experience, and honestly, it was disappointing. I visited the Park Hyatt during my trip, and my heart sank when I saw the stark difference in quality and service. Definitely not what I expected.

Although one aspect is tacky to foreigners but apparently not to locals:
The Japanese are often an exemplar for astonishing beauty and purity of offering, whether food or other things, but will then add something plastic, which to a European who cares about quality and purity is bewildering.
One trivial example is the plastic "grass" in boxes of sushi (apparently it used to be bamboo)
Whole Foods Market uses salad leaves instead which seems so much more sensible to me.

False. Ritz Carlton Kyoto is amazing, and they even provide free breakfast to Platinums and above. But yes, I avoid most Ritz properties, especially in the U.S.

Yep. Ritz Carlton in particular has declined sharply and is incredibly inconsistent across the board. Park Hyatt is the standard to beat.

That building. Wow. I would love the backstory of how they actually moved this entire Courtyard Marriott from Peoria to Japan in one piece.

Posing as an employee of Skadden to make yourself seem important on a points and miles blog?

Curious? Yes
Funny? No
Potentially a problem for you? Yes

What is it about Asians taking 87 pictures of every possible angle holding things (teacup) including facial expressions in multitude of ways? I've never been able to figure a reason for this. Oh to go back to film in cameras where one had to pay to develop it!

After checking reviews, I can confirm that Japanese guests almost completely agreed with Ben and recommended Park Hyatt Niseko.
Those who stayed this hotel in summer seem to be more satisfied, as it costs only around 500USD per night and escape from swelling heat of Tokyo in summer is always a treat.

Fairfield Inn gym, Courtyard building, Sheraton service, Marriott restaurant/F&B, JW Marriott room.

Slightly off topic but related - at some point Marriott is bound to start feeling the pain for deteriorating standards across the board.

I totally understand who their real customers are, and maybe we aren’t there yet, but at some point people are really truly going to vote with their dollars en masse, probably starting on the luxury end. We all agree boutique properties tend to be a better experience (on average), yet the brands carry so much prestige it is working for now (plus loyalty programs of course). Question is how much further / how long until enough is truly enough?

We are stuck flying airlines whether they promote engagement or disengagement, but we are not stuck staying at one of the “big three” hotel chains nearly to the same extent.

To bring my little rant to an end, I think Marriott needs to be careful. Their true customers (hotel owners) can sign different licensing agreements - right now I assume they choose Marriott largely due to the brand recognition and reach, but if that occupancy rates start slipping compared to other comparable brands because Marriott has let its standards be abused and deteriorate too much, they have the most to lose.

Wow, that hotel exterior is something else. That is more befitting of a Fairfield Inn or Springhill Suites. Thanks for taking one for the team. I'll be sure to write that one off the list!

Sad to read that the service has gone down hill. From the outside, the hotel is a bit "random containers stacked up", but the interior is very nice, and the staff used to be outstanding. We never had to mention a room number, just that we would like our car, the restaurant and lobby bar would not ask for room number or name, just know who we were.
Admittedly yes, the dinning options are limited, but we generally want to try so many of the local great places that we rarely have dinner at our hotels in Niseko.

The Ritz-Carlton brand is such a joke at this point. I remember a time — not too many years ago — when I (mistakenly) perceived Ritz-Carlton as being roughly on par with brands like Four Seasons and Mandarin Oriental in terms of luxury. In the years since, I’ve had the “pleasure” of staying at properties like the Ritz-Carlton Philadelphia, which, if re-flagged as the Westin Philadelphia, would arguably not even be living up to typical *Westin* standards. It’s now clear to me — as it is to so many others — that Ritz-Carlton doesn’t operate in the same stratosphere as Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, Rosewood, etc.

To me, the Ritz-Carlton Reserve brand has been nothing more than a sad attempt to “revive” a brand that had been diluted beyond recognition. It does indeed seem that Marriott and hotel owners are simply trying to cash in on the Ritz-Carlton name and milk it for all it’s worth. The problem with that strategy is that once perceptions change (like mine has), it’s only going to become harder to get people to pony up the cash to stay at Ritz properties when they can likely find a hotel of comparable quality for a fraction of the price.

We all know the saying “champagne taste on a beer budget.” To me, Ritz-Carlton is beer taste on a champagne budget. Marriott better hope its customers don’t get a taste of champagne.

My anecdotal experience is that frequent travelers are the ones who notice things like this first. Ritz Carlton becoming a hollow brand resting on its name isn't something the general public will begin to notice or even begin discussing for another 5 years IMO.

That’s…not how Ben travels. Sounds like he ate his meals at the Ritz.

I'm really quite exhausted and fed up by all the pettiness and ridiculous nonesense when reading this depressing and increasingly tiresome site

Cheers Paul. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

Interestingly enough, on the Marriott webpage listing their brands, Ritz-Carlton Reserve is within "Distinctive Luxury", which is BELOW "Luxury" (where they put Ritz-Carlton)

Asians?
Russians definitely too, and I think much of the world.

I completely agree that film had its advantages for the rest of us.

I agree that this repeated "Is everything OK" which has spread from the USA to much of the world, is a nuisance.
The logic is presumably in line with my observation of:
"My door is always open"
"Do you see any problems?"
"What is the biggest problem?"
Reducing the barrier to getting feedback.

The thing is that if I am in the middle of a conversation I don't want to break off to point out some minor problem.

It's not really a Ritz Carlton. The hotel is owned by YTL and the staff at the nearby Hilton runs it. Ritz is not involved in this aside from just the name.

Add the Ritz Carlton Pentagon City (VA). It's at least as much of a dump as the mall it's attached to, and that's saying something.

I booked 10 days for December 2025 on the basis of RC Reserve brand (the one here in Dorado is fine); started checking for something cheaper (vs 1mm points or $8k) and found the tripadvisor reviews and was close to cancelling, then found this post and switched to 3 nights at Park Hyatt. I'll prob rent a car and stay farther away for another 5-10 days.

Surprisingly for comparing this place to a Fairfield Inn -- the new Fairfield Inns marriott has been doing in Hokkaido are actually quite nice.

"They're doing things right if they can fill the place up without building comprehensive gyms or spas which are likely to be underutilised even when the hotel is full." - totally disagree there. Yes the point of a hotel is to be profitable. However, at the rates this place is charging, comparable hotels are able to offer excellent service, amazing amenities, and an extremely luxurious overall experience.

I would argue instead of offering minimally sufficient spas or gyms, expecting underutilization, they should figure out how to keep them well utilized and staff them sufficiently. Then you're driving more ancillary revenue (at least for the spa).

Instead they're creating an issue where they have to work extra hard to fill their rooms because the reputation is horrible or they get points redemptions. That does not seem in line with the goal of profitability.

It seems Marriott either doesn't have issues with their model, or is finding it sufficiently profitable, but after 15 year of loyalty (obviously starting with the superior Starwood program), I'm now switching to Hyatt when on work trips (where possible), and for vacations typically just book Four Seasons, Aman, Rosewood, etc. I've still had some nice St Regis stays in the past few years but even that brand feels like it's being diluted by Marriott.

I have lifetime platinum status, and yet the points are so worthless these days, it takes too long to accumulate any worthwhile amount and the 'perks' I experience (can't remember the last upgrade, breakfast benefits that are sliced and diced to a paltry value, etc.) are so negligible it makes me forget the point of choosing Marriott based on my status. That's all fine and their prerogative - I certainly enjoy the shift to FS and Rosewood - but seems an odd choice.

I don't know their occupancy rates but it doesn't seem like they are empty or selling rooms for next to nothing.

Reading some of the comments I think a lot of people are confusing RC and RC Reserve properties. Yes, standard RC properties don’t have the same level as polish as places like Park Hyatt, Raffles, Rosewood, Mandarin Oriental etc and it does feel like Marriott rely on the name a lot. However from my limited experience of RC Reserves (I recently stayed at Mandapar RC Reserve in Bali) I came away thoroughly impressed and would say it was actually one of the greatest stays I’ve come across - the hotel was beautiful, the service and amenities exceptional and food was excellent. It made the four seasons that we were travelling to next feel like a let down by comparison. So I therefore think it’s unfair to say that all RC or RC Reserves rely on the name only. This particular RC reserve in Japan clearly doesn’t deserve the title but i would think this is the outlier for RC Reserve and not the norm.

Real skiiers & snowboarders know what a joke Niseko is.
Too many rowdy Aussies, so many overpriced accommodations & a tiny little streep mountain with short runs.

Of all the things to criticize a hotel about, you focused on....a 'cheap' bathroom sink?! Get a grip, Ben.

I'm impressed that he has the technical expertise to determine the price of an item of bathroom furniture just by looking at it.

Another BLACK MARK to the executives at Marriott for further sullying the brand and busy collecting franchise fees to enhance their personal compensation bonuses.
I vote to aggressively campaign primary investors/shareholders to cull the executive ranks at Marriott. (Elon Musk could use his "skills" better at slashing employees at Marriott)
Hope the new Starwood will buy back the Asia Sheraton properties....

Brush, this hotel is about 300 dollars per night, it is courtyard price, and it has a view, what more do you want?

Seeing this scathing review 2 weeks before I'm going to be staying there...not great. I had a stars rate and it's about $600...it's certainly not cheap at all. Should I cancel?

Owned by YTL hotel. So not surprise here

Even the rooms literally looks like the Marriott Daegu I stayed in February (though that Marriott is def one of the best "Marriott Hotel"s ive been to)

Maybe they could at least through in a complementary breakfast for their Elite members, just to offset some disappointment.