Karuizawa Prince Hotel West

“A great place for beginners and kids to learn how to ski!”

We stayed two nights in a twin room and two nights in a West Wing cottage type F. We had a very clean and pleasant room for the first two nights with comfy beds. The bathtub is deceptively deep and good for soaking after a long day of skiing. Even better for that are the Momiji Hot Spring onsen bat… more

We stayed two nights in a twin room and two nights in a West Wing cottage type F. We had a very clean and pleasant room for the first two nights with comfy beds. The bathtub is deceptively deep and good for soaking after a long day of skiing. Even better for that are the Momiji Hot Spring onsen baths. Hotel guests of Prince Hotel West have priority to the Momiji onsen over outside guests and even guests of Prince Hotel East. The cottage was cosy and a short walk from the lobby and main building. Sometimes, walking to the cottage is quicker than waiting for the shuttle, especially if you are not lugging bags or luggage. Equipment rental was good, but I'd recommend going early to beat the queues and taking a picture of your measurements for when you rent the next day to speed things up. I know many people have opinions on skiing in Japan, i.e. Niseko, etc, but the slopes were good for beginners, kids and a guy who hasn't skied in over 15 years. We had two dinners at the hotel, one buffet dinner at Primrose and the other a set dinner at Karamatsu. Both were exceptional. The outlet mall is huge and you could rock up to Karuizawa without any ski or snowboarding outfits and get anything you need, likely at a discount. The staff at the hotel were attentive and efficient. Would recommend and love to come back!

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“First being a good pair of walking shoes for walking around the hotel”

First thing about the hotel is that it js huge hence if you stay here , you really need to do lots of walking. I was given a room in the B wing and most of the amenities are in the other wings. The hotel is on a massive ground with East and West side also with standalone cottages. The West side fro… more

First thing about the hotel is that it js huge hence if you stay here , you really need to do lots of walking. I was given a room in the B wing and most of the amenities are in the other wings. The hotel is on a massive ground with East and West side also with standalone cottages. The West side from what I knew is the more economical one, but walking from the wings within the West side is already a real workout. The location of the hotel is within walking distance from the JR Karuizawa station but the hotel runs free shuttle service regularly stopping right at the lobby of West side. The room is simplistic and well maintained typical in most Japanese hotels. What I like is that the wash basin is outside the shower room. Nothing fanciful about the room but large enough to have a sofa even for the basic rooms. As mentioned walking from my side of the wing to the onsen is a good 10 mins walk and also to the self service laundry area. Breakfast is good but very expensive if you did not include it at almost 4000 yen per person. There is a Famjly Mart convenience store right in the hotel which solves most of the issues. Overall a very decent hotel in this area.

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“A luxury hotel with its own hot spring in an out of the world location”

Out of the world location with breathtaking views and stark fall colours all around. Sumptuous buffet breakfast though with limited choice for an Indian vegetarian. Luxurious rooms. Lavishly furnished hot spring bath area, complimentary during stay. Free bus shuttle every few minutes to the railway… more

Out of the world location with breathtaking views and stark fall colours all around. Sumptuous buffet breakfast though with limited choice for an Indian vegetarian. Luxurious rooms. Lavishly furnished hot spring bath area, complimentary during stay. Free bus shuttle every few minutes to the railway station and nearby important places. On the flip side, (a) lunch buffet in the hotel's restaurant was fully booked; (b) bell service involves long wait and we had to pull our heavy strollers half a km from the room to the foyer on an inclined path carpeted all along making the task very strenuous and tiring.

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“Cottages looked quaint but a little disappointed on first entering”

On first arriving at the Prince West, the complex it massive. A shuttle will take you on check-in and checkout but otherwise a resort shuttle runs round the grounds every 15 minutes. On first entering the cottage, the stale, musty odour of carpet that hasn't dried properly assailed my nostrils… more

On first arriving at the Prince West, the complex it massive. A shuttle will take you on check-in and checkout but otherwise a resort shuttle runs round the grounds every 15 minutes. On first entering the cottage, the stale, musty odour of carpet that hasn't dried properly assailed my nostrils. Anything but carpet in this style of accommodation where our cottage is used for winter skiers and possibly is not dried and aired as well as it should. It was okay for the time we had as a family of 6, but felt the cabins had so much more potential.

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