- Introduction: A Winter Trip To Tokyo & Niseko
- Review: British Airways Lounge San Francisco Airport (SFO)
- Review: Japan Airlines First Class Boeing 777 (SFO-HND)
- Review: The Tokyo EDITION Toranomon, Japan (Great Views, But…)
- Review: The Tokyo EDITION Ginza, Japan (Exceptional Service)
- Review: Japan Airlines Domestic Class J Airbus A350 (HND-CTS)
- Review: Park Hyatt Niseko Hanazono, Japan (Stellar Ski Resort!)
- Review: Ritz-Carlton Reserve Niseko Higashiyama, Japan (Underwhelming)
During our winter trip to Tokyo & Niseko, our primary destination was the Park Hyatt Niseko Hanazono, where we spent five lovely nights. Since we were in the area anyway, we decided to finish off our trip by spending two nights at the Ritz-Carlton Reserve Higashiyama Niseko, to see how it compared. The 50-room property also opened in 2020, so the two resorts are competitors.
I’ve gotta be honest, this hotel really underwhelmed me. I don’t want to suggest that this is some horrible hotel, but the way I view it, there are two primary issues.
The first issue is that this is completely misbranded as a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, as it’s simply not to the caliber of what the brand is supposed to be, and it sets the wrong expectation. Call it a Marriott Autograph Collection, or maybe even a Marriott Luxury Collection, and I’d say that would help with managing expectations. But Ritz-Carlton Reserve? No way. I’m convinced this hotel wasn’t built with the intent of being a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, but instead, that they just rebranded it at the last minute, to try and command higher rates.
The second issue is simply that there are too many little shortcomings with this property. It’s not any one individual issue, but when you add up the lackluster gym, the basic spa, the inconsistent service, and the general lack of amenities, one really wonders what the developers were thinking.
I don’t want to say this hotel should be avoided at all costs, but I’d definitely manage my expectations if staying here. All else being equal, I’d choose the Park Hyatt Niseko every single time, as it’s so much more impressive of a resort.
In this post:
Booking the Ritz-Carlton Reserve Niseko
As you’d expect, rates at the Ritz-Carlton Reserve Niseko vary massively throughout the year. For entry level rooms, rates range from $250 or so in spring or fall, to over $2,000 per night in the peak of winter. While Niseko has a long ski season, rates are by far the most expensive in January and February, when the ski conditions are the best.
We stayed in early March, when rates basically fall off a cliff (compared to peak season), which is pretty awesome. We paid a rate of around $650 per night through the Marriott STARS program. As a standard, Marriott STARS offers perks like complimentary breakfast, a room upgrade subject to availability, a $100 property credit, and more. I find that booking through Marriott STARS is especially useful for Ritz-Carton Reserve properties, where Marriott Bonvoy elite status doesn’t offer complimentary breakfast.
It got even better than that, as we booked a Marriott STARS promotional rate, which also included afternoon tea and a nightly four-course dinner at the hotel’s restaurant. So I can’t really argue with the price we paid, though I would’ve been less happy paying over $2,000 per night at this resort.
When redeeming Marriott Bonvoy points for this property, rates generally seem to start at 176,000 points per night. Perhaps that’s not a terrible deal in peak season (especially with a fifth night free), but when we were staying, it wouldn’t have been a good deal at all. For what it’s worth, I value Bonvoy points at 0.7 cents each.
Ritz-Carlton Reserve Niseko location & transportation
The Ritz-Carlton Reserve Niseko is located on the island of Hokkaido. If you’re flying to the region, you’re best off arriving at New Chitose Airport (CTS) near Sapporo, which has quite a bit of air connectivity.
Seasonally (in winter), Niseko Direct Shuttle offers service between the airport and the hotel, with stops at a few other hotels as well. If your flight timing doesn’t coincide with when the shuttle service runs, you can expect that a private transfer between the airport and hotel will cost somewhere around 50,000 JPY (~350 USD).
The Ritz-Carlton Reserve is located in the Higashiyama area of Niseko, and it’s pretty secluded, so there aren’t many places you can walk. Fortunately during ski season, a free shuttle is operated every 30 minutes over select hours to Hirafu (among other places), and there you’ll find lots of shopping, bars, restaurants, and more. Otherwise you can of course arrange private transfers — I’ve seen a lot of reports online about very limited taxi availability, but we had good luck with Japan’s “GO” taxi app.
Anyway, if first impressions count, the Ritz-Carlton Reserve gets a failing grade. When you pull up to the hotel, you wonder if you’ve arrived at a luxury resort, or a roadside limited service hotel. Honestly, has anyone seen an uglier exterior to a luxury destination resort?
Ritz-Carlton Reserve Niseko lobby & check-in
Unlike the exterior, the Ritz-Carlton Reserve Niseko’s lobby area is super pretty, with a design that’s in line with what you’d expect from a modern ski lodge. I loved the materials used, the furniture, and the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, affording great views. My only issue with the lobby is how small it is, as this is really the extent of the public areas where you can just lounge around. The space just doesn’t seem big enough.
Upon arrival, we were invited to take a seat, while one of the front desk agents handled check-in formalities. We were offered a hot welcome drink, consisting of mint, honey, and plum.
I’ll talk more about service in a bit, but the whole check-in experience was odd. We were informed that we had been upgraded one category, from the standard Niseko Reserve King to the Yotei Reserve King (with Mount Yotei being the famous mountain in the area). Our room wasn’t quite ready when we arrived, but it was prepared in time for the official check-in time.
Ritz-Carlton Reserve Niseko guest room
A front desk associate escorted me to our room. The elevators are located down the hall from the lobby and on the right. As mentioned above, I find the hotel design to be so strange, because there are aspects of the design that feel high-end, and then other aspects that don’t. For example, the elevator area, and even the elevators as such, didn’t feel luxurious at all.
We were assigned room 410, located on the property’s top (fourth) floor. Upon exiting the elevator and turning left, our room was not far down the hall, on the right.
Entry level rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Reserve are 52 square meters (560 square feet), so they’re generously sized, and almost the size of junior suites at many other properties. The room featured an entryway with a closet to the side.
The first thing I noticed is how the room didn’t have any automated “service” or “do not disturb” buttons, but instead had a manual sign that you hang on your door. That seems really low tech for a luxury hotel that just opened in recent years, no? It’s one of the many examples of why I feel there’s no way this hotel was designed as a Ritz-Carlton Reserve.
Past the entryway was the bedroom and living room area, which boasted a comfortable king size bed, a table with a chair, and a loveseat by the window. This part of the room has pretty elegant design, as I like the art behind the bed, and the wood paneling.
The main room also had a wall-mounted TV, and then two sliding doors (which were super flimsy) separating the bedroom from the bathroom.
Back near the couch was the minibar setup, all of which was complimentary, and refilled daily. This included a Nespresso coffee machine, LUPICIA tea, and a few drinks, including soda, water, beer, and even sake. It’s nice that the hotel offers a free minibar, as that’s quite rare.
There was also a welcome amenity consisting of some sweets from nearby Niseko Cacao Crown, with a mention that they’ll even pick you up if you want to visit the store and buy something. The sweets were tasty, though the whole thing felt a bit like a sales pitch.
While I thought the bedroom felt pretty luxurious, the bathroom wasn’t quite to the same level. While the bathroom was a good size, the sinks and finishes felt rather cheap. On the plus side, the bathroom had double sinks, and a good number of products from Sothys.
The toilet was in a room off the main part of the bathroom, and had a bidet feature.
Then there was a “compound” with a shower and bathtub (though this wasn’t an onsen, as it wasn’t spring water).
Toiletries were in reusable containers, from Sothys.
Now, I’ve gotta say, the absolute best part of this room (and the hotel, for that matter) are the views of Mount Yotei. The view is magical, and it’s nice how unobstructed the vantage point is from this hotel.
The view was even more special in the mornings and evenings…
So yeah, all-in-all I thought the room was quite nice and spacious, with incredible views. There were some very obvious areas of cost cutting that puzzled me, but the room is hardly my primary complaint about this property.
Ritz-Carlton Reserve Niseko spa & onsen
The Ritz-Carlton Reserve Niseko has Spa Chasi La Sothys, with three treatment rooms, and an onsen. What’s strange is that the whole setup feels like an afterthought:
- There’s no relaxation room, but instead there are just two chairs by reception, where there’s quite a bit of foot traffic, with people walking to and from the onsen
- The spa doesn’t even have a receptionist, but instead, there are two therapists, so if they’re both busy, no one is up there
- The spa isn’t even able to perform a couples treatment where both people get the same service; when we inquired about massages, it was explained that one therapist can do dry massage, and another can do massage with oil
For those curious, you can find the spa treatment menu below.
The spa also has the onsen, which is open to all hotel guests on a complimentary basis, from 6AM until 10AM, and then again from 2PM until 12AM. As you’d expect, it’s gender segregated, and nudity is required.
The onsen setup is nice, with the option of an indoor and outdoor onsen, depending on your preference.
The area with the onsen also has a sauna, for those into that.
In addition to the gender segregated onsens, there’s also a private onsen that guests can rent, at the cost of 5,500 JPY per hour (~38 USD). This onsen is much smaller, and also doesn’t have an outside area.
I thought the onsen setup was quite nice (particularly the outside area), while the spa as such was underwhelming. Note that the property doesn’t have a pool.
Ritz-Carlton Reserve Niseko gym
The gym at the Ritz-Carlton Reserve Niseko is on the ground floor, and is accessible 24/7. Respectfully, this gym is a joke. People who ski also tend to be pretty active (and frequently work out). Taking that into account, this gym was tiny. It had some free weights, a single bench, a strength training machine, and a treadmill, bike, and elliptical.
So there’s basically room for one person to do a non-cardio workout, since there’s a single bench. I tried to go to the gym twice, but gave up, given that it was busy both times. A third time I arrived while it was empty. 10 minutes later another guest showed up, and he laughed when he saw the gym, and walked right out.
This was just plain disappointing, but unfortunately it matched my overall impression of the hotel — guest experience largely felt like an afterthought.
Ritz-Carlton Reserve Niseko restaurant & bar
The Ritz-Carlton Reserve Niseko has three food & beverage outlets, all located on the ground floor, next to the lobby. Really, they all sort of take up the same space:
- Yukibana is the international all-day dining restaurant, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner
- Ume Lounge is the lobby bar next to the restaurant, serving drinks, snacks, afternoon tea, etc.
- Sushi Nagi is the omakase-style sushi counter, serving dinner on select nights
Physically, the whole dining setup is beautiful, given the floor-to-ceiling windows, and the direct views of Mount Yotei. Absolutely lovely. But the space also lacks a vibe — there’s no live music, and there’s not some fun venue where you can après ski, or something.
Below is Ume Lounge, featuring high-top seating, as well as some other seating clusters.
Below is Yukibana. During the day, there was a more casual setup…
…while in the evenings, all tables had white tablecloths.
Below is Sushi Nagi, with just eight seats.
Our rate included afternoon tea, so we had that the first afternoon at Ume Lounge, shortly after checking in. You can find the afternoon tea selection below.
I’d describe the quality of afternoon tea as being okay, but nothing more. For example, the scones bordered on being stale, which is kind of disappointing.
Our rate included a set menu dinner, so we had the first night at Yukibaba.
To drink, I had the Ume no Yume Martini, with sake, fuji apple juice, and lime juice, while Ford had a mocktail.
The meal then began with a selection of bread, which wasn’t amazing.
The first course consisted of a vegetable terrine with pesto sauce. It was… okay?
The next course was described as cream of broccoli soup with Hokkaido scallop, and that was quite good, probably the best part of the meal.
For the main course, I selected the pan fried flounder fish with ratatouille and boiled parsley potatoes, while Ford had the baby chicken with herbs, roasted vegetables, and black pepper sauce.
My dish was fine, while Ford’s was inedible. We’ve been together for a decade, and he loves any and all kinds of chicken. However, the entire chicken was bones and cartilage, and he eating what he could (which was a few bites), and then sending it back. In fairness, the staff were really apologetic, and offered to get him something else.
Lastly, dessert consisted of chocolate opera cake with lychee raspberry mousse and fruit, plus an extra fruit plate (I think as an apology for the quality of one of the mains).
The server taking care of us was awesome (more on her in a bit, in the “service” section). She was really apologetic, and asked if we’d be interested in eating at Sushi Nagi the following evening. Ordinarily, the included dinner is only at Yukibana. However, she offered to make us a reservation there the following evening, and essentially lower the cost by one-third, from 30,000 (~208 USD) JPY to 20,000 JPY (~139 USD) per person, giving us a 10,000 JPY per person credit toward the dining experience. We took her up on that.
So we had dinner at Sushi Nagi during the first seating, and that was a lovely experience. We actually had the whole counter to ourselves. Below are just a few pictures from our omakase dining experience.
Ritz-Carlton Reserve Niseko breakfast
Breakfast at the Ritz-Carlton Reserve Niseko is served daily from 7AM until 10AM, in Yukibana. Breakfast includes a buffet, one item from a menu, and a selection of drinks. You can find the breakfast menu and drink list below.
The buffet was pretty high quality, but nothing over-the-top. Options included things like fresh bread and pastries, fruit, yogurt, cereal, salad, cold cuts, cheese, and more.
Breakfast drinks were quite good, ranging from flat whites, to iced lattes.
To eat, I had the Japanese breakfast box one morning, which I enjoyed, while I had the baked eggs with Hokkaido eggplant, pomegranate sauce, chickpea crumble, and spring onion, the other morning, which I enjoyed less (it looked nice, but just tasted bland).
Ford and I also split a pancake one morning, which was scrumptious.
Ritz-Carlton Reserve Niseko skiing
We didn’t ski during our time at the Ritz-Carlton Reserve Niseko, as we were really just here for a full day at the tail end of our trip. The property does offer ski-in ski-out facilities, with ski lockers and a ski concierge. The facility definitely feels a bit scaled back compared to the Park Hyatt.
Niseko offers amazing skiing opportunities, especially in January and February. But I don’t really have anything to add beyond that.
Ritz-Carlton Reserve Niseko service
If you ask me, service at the Ritz-Carlton Reserve Niseko is really where the experience falls apart. We found front office service to be pretty bad, while we found restaurant service to be quite good, so let’s go through those two points separately.
To start, the person who checked us in just had such a chaotic and frazzled vibe. It’s hard to describe, but it was anything but calming, and she just felt so rushed, would barely let us speak a sentence without cutting in, etc.
The attention to detail was lacking for a hotel that’s of this caliber (well, or supposed to be of a certain caliber):
- When our room was ready, I was escorted to the room, as Ford was at the gym; I was carrying my rolling bag plus two additional bags and my coat, yet the person escorting me to the room didn’t offer to help me with luggage, which I found really unusual
- Both by email before check-in, and at check-in, we were proactively asked if there’s anything we don’t eat, and I explained I don’t eat pork at both occasions; yet shortly after checking in, we had afternoon tea (which we had a reservation for), and we were offered sandwiches with pork (don’t repeatedly ask guests for their preferences and restrictions if you’re not actually going to do anything with that information!)
- I had asked to arrange an airport transfer, and after 24 hours I followed up, and they weren’t sure if it had been requested yet; I’d expect much faster service at a property like this
- Every time I had a question for the front desk, they just started fumbling through papers; I don’t know if this hotel doesn’t use computers, or what’s going on, but it was just consistent chaos
- On the morning of check-out, I tried to at least provide some feedback to the hotel, but was informed that there was no manager on duty until 9:30AM, which sure seems late
All that being said, the restaurant staff were great, and in particular, Vanessa and Sena. Vanessa served us at dinner the first night, and did a stellar job with service recovery, given the quality of Ford’s main course. She was clearly invested in every guest having a great experience. Sena served us the following evening at Sushi Nagi, and had a great vibe as well, and was very attentive.
I hope to see them again at another property, ideally one with a more consistent service level, in line with the caliber of service that they provided.
Like I said, my issue with the Ritz-Carlton Reserve Niseko is just how many little issues there were. Individually, none of these problems would bother me, but when you add them all up, staying here is anything but frictionless.
Bottom line
The Ritz-Carlton Reserve Niseko disappointed me. There are aspects of the hotel that are great, like the views, the design of some of the public facilities, some of the staff, and the onsen.
But then there are so many things about this hotel that make no sense to me. It feels like so many corners have been cut for those to be a luxury resort, in terms of both the hard and soft product. The gym is tiny, the spa feels like an afterthought, and the front office service level is more akin to what you’d expect at a Four Points (though that’s probably not fair to Four Points). Maybe other people have different experiences, and I just got unlucky.
Bigger picture, though, I think the Park Hyatt Niseko is in a completely different league than the Ritz-Carlton Reserve Niseko. The former is a fun ski resort that’s a destination in and of itself, with endless dining and a lively vibe, while the latter lacks the scale or vibe of what I look for in a ski resort.
What’s your take on the Ritz-Carlton Reserve Niseko?
Wish there were standards for top tier brands like RC Reserve. That’s the issue with Marriott these days. Can’t trust the brand standards.
The lobbies at new or newly renovated Courtyards are as nice or nicer.
Should we be surprised? These days, Marriott will put a brand on anything if an owner pays.
How does one book through the Marriott Stars program? I have never seen this option either via the web or the app.
The bathroom "compound" is a wet room. They're very common in Japan in all levels of homes/apartments. From detached family homes to high-end apartments (think $10k/month) in Tokyo's Rappongi district. What you had in your room is very common in the latter. Looks very similar to one I had - down to the plumbing hardware and the glass panel and plumbing hardware. They're unfamiliar to a lot of Westerners but make practical sense.
I think there’s a seed of a new brand here, “Ritz-Carlton Express.”
“Ritz-Carlton Express offers owners a cost-effective platform to command a higher ADR from their existing limited-service property with a significantly lower cost structure than a traditional luxury hotel.
The guest experience will be enhanced with signature service touch points like in-room snacks and a localized sponsored welcome gift. Marriott is targeting 1st and 2nd generation select service properties like Comfort Suites and TownePlace...
I think there’s a seed of a new brand here, “Ritz-Carlton Express.”
“Ritz-Carlton Express offers owners a cost-effective platform to command a higher ADR from their existing limited-service property with a significantly lower cost structure than a traditional luxury hotel.
The guest experience will be enhanced with signature service touch points like in-room snacks and a localized sponsored welcome gift. Marriott is targeting 1st and 2nd generation select service properties like Comfort Suites and TownePlace for the brand.”
I would have laughed at the gym too.
It's not like you can go running outside in the winter.
It feels like it's trying to capitalize on the view at the expense of everything else. View from the room and the public areas of Yotei is very good. Other than that, well...
Brand name is something leased by a property owner and is meaningless. Brand standards are often not enforced. One must assess each property on its own and rely on reviews from *trusted* sources.
Brands are not "leased."
As to the chaotic frazzled service, not that it should matter, but did you personally present yourself with the same demeanor? Did you walk up to the desk at a standard pace, or a hurried one? Did you speak slowly, or rapidly?
Mirror neurons are a phenomenon and the literature suggests the Japanese, moreso than people in other nations, habitually and non-consciously copy the demeanor of those in front of them. If you seemed rushed,...
As to the chaotic frazzled service, not that it should matter, but did you personally present yourself with the same demeanor? Did you walk up to the desk at a standard pace, or a hurried one? Did you speak slowly, or rapidly?
Mirror neurons are a phenomenon and the literature suggests the Japanese, moreso than people in other nations, habitually and non-consciously copy the demeanor of those in front of them. If you seemed rushed, they'll reciprocate. If you don't, they won't.
Meh I have a hard time believing Ben and Ford did not act normal. Ritz-Reserve is literally the most premier brand (on paper) of Bonvoy. The service should be almost perfect and if the customer is stressed, the receptionist should de-escalate.
So the good thing about that Egyptian video release of Ben walking through the airport is that we got to see how Ben acts when he (thinks) he's not being recorded for the world to see. He did seem 100% normal in that video.
More broadly, a lot of people who present themselves as stressed aren't self-aware of it. If you habitually walk fast and talk fast, that's also perceived as negative (frazzled, stressed, even arrogant) in many cultures.
I get that and if this was a small independent 3 star hotel somewhere random I would agree with you. As I said, this is literally Marriott's most premier brand. Unless a customer is hostile which I highly doubt, the front desk should do better. Most St Regis' for example don't even have desks, but sit you down in a nice table to check you in.
The most premier brand in a very touristy area should do better.
This is by far the nicest Courtyard I have ever seen.
@Sel D
ROFLMAO. Well done...