The Westin Rusutsu Resort

“Great place for families with small kids but a bit Kitsch.”

I attended a conference at Rusutsu resort last week with my wife and children 8 and 3 years old staying 8 nights in a triple room on the 3rd floor in the North wing. The hotel has a theme park feel with animated singing animal bands, a free 2-story merry-go-round a talking tree and Disney like rest… more

I attended a conference at Rusutsu resort last week with my wife and children 8 and 3 years old staying 8 nights in a triple room on the 3rd floor in the North wing. The hotel has a theme park feel with animated singing animal bands, a free 2-story merry-go-round a talking tree and Disney like restaurant main street between the north and south wings which is great for families with small children. There is a great range of food options for families and a lunch cafeteria with a broad range of cheap food options at the end of South wing on the 2nd floor with a free magic museum to keep the kids busy. The ski lifts and kids ski school is straight out the rear of the hotel and ski locker area. There is no regular group adult ski school though this is arranged for conference groups. The kids group ski classes are a bit pricy though we did get one as a private lesson as no other kids were registered which was overall good value. Be aware they strictly enforce the 4yo minimum age for kids group lessons though allow with private lessons (Japan does love rules). Private lessons through the resort are very expensive though I do here there are external instructors that will give lessons there through some booking sites though they do not get to use the priority lines however the lines at Rusutsu are often nonexistent so this may not be a problem. The free wave pool is safe and shallow (0.8m) so great for small kids and has a fulltime lifeguard. The waterslide to the pool is a highlight for the kids when not skiing. The North wing onsen is heaven. Do not bother with the smaller south wing onsen by the wave pool. There is a range of higher end adult restaurants which all seemed popular, we ate at Kakashi several times (sashimi platter is very good and has kids options) and felt it is good value and felt like we were in Japan. The Chinese in the convention center is very good for dinner and breakfast. The Japanese set breakfast in the convention wing is for those wanting a serious Japanese experience but was not for our kids. The laundry in the South wing is great and has cheap washing powder available. There is a seicomart and a 7eleven across the road from the resort with all the essentials- cheap bear and wine, heated prepared meals and noodles, ice-creams as well as any general items that you forgot. The negatives are that it is a bit dated and kitsch and may not appeal to those wanting a sophisticated adult hotel and the Vale or Westin would be better. It is a ski hotel so gets a lot of battering and there is the odd scuffmark here and there (some from my kids I am sure). The kids creche near the cafeteria is usually booked out days in advance (we could not get in when needed) so plan ahead. The TV has no English channels with no BBC/CNN or kids TV but the internet did allow us to stream video for the kids tablets. They should address this considering over half the ski guests seem to be English speakers. The room does not get a full service every day though they do a daily clear of the bins and provide new towels and a quick vacuum if needed. Beds seem to get made and the sheets every 3 days unless asked for. Overall, we loved this place and after 6 ski trips to Japan (3 to Niseko) this is our favorite with kids and we will return here for the next ski conference.

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“Good for families with kids who want ski in ski out convenience”

We stayed here with another family (both with 4 year old sons) to experience skiing in Japan and having a ski in ski out location to avoid having to carry equipment around and get two four year olds around quickly. Rusustu ticked that box. We had rooms in the west wing, ski lockers for the duration… more

We stayed here with another family (both with 4 year old sons) to experience skiing in Japan and having a ski in ski out location to avoid having to carry equipment around and get two four year olds around quickly. Rusustu ticked that box. We had rooms in the west wing, ski lockers for the duration of our stay in the middle of the resort and rented equipment from across the road at AMUSE Sports which were significantly cheaper than the on-site rental. There is a free bus you need to book from Sapporo Station which brings you here. You can also pay for a bus to take you to Sapporo or the airport when you leave. The resort catered for kids with the wave pool, carousel (used once only), Daniel and Dixie Diggers singing animal band near the food court, snow park with tube slides and other activities. Skiing wise it covered all levels which was good as we had complete beginners to advanced in our group. The ski school was easy to book private or kids ski school lessons but we had a mixed experience with them which i will review separately. SOme good, some disappointing. Belle Vue steak and seafood restaurant was delicious but very expensive. Daniel Street did basic take away food which was cheap enough and convenient and was our go to for quick and easy meals with 4 year olds. We ate breakfast at Oktoberfest as the kids were used to more western meals and the buffet did the job. It seems to get busy after 8am though. Access to the ski slopes was pretty easy from our accomodation. Neve Cafe did a good hot chocolate. The onsen was good and the massage was fantastic but booked out each day and did not start until 2pm. The kids enjoyed the wave pool as something different but its smaller than you'd expect and the waves turn on and off every so often. The rooms were very hot in February given it was cold outside. the temperature control in the room was limited and did nothing so we slept with the window slightly open to offset the heat. The rooms were fine. Two double beds were enough for us. They only provided 2 towels so we had to keep asking for more as we had 2 adults and 1 child. Ski passes were very reasonably priced. the slope were busier on weekends and out first weekend we were inundated with huge groups of students learning and taking over the beginner runs. It was much quieter during the week thankfully. There is a 7/11 and small grocery store across the road along with a restaurant that does take away (the braised pork belly and rice was good). That is also where we rented skis and snowboards from AMUSE sports who were very good and much cheaper. We would stay here again for the convenience with kids.

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