Ritz-Carlton Reserve Niseko: Disappointing, Misbranded

Hello from Japan, as our winter ski trip to Niseko is coming to an end. We spent most of our time at the incredible Park Hyatt Niseko, where we had a lovely stay. To finish off our time in Hokkaido, we decided to spend a couple of nights at the 50-room Ritz-Carlton Reserve Niseko. While I’ll have a full review soon, I want to share some initial thoughts, and mainly just sound the alarm — for most people, this property should be avoided.

Honestly, if I had gone to Niseko and had just stayed at the Ritz-Carlton Reserve, I would’ve been so disappointed, and would’ve had a totally different impression than I did staying at the Park Hyatt Niseko. Let me acknowledge that several readers warned me about how underwhelming this property is, so I came in with low expectations. Still, I figure it’s my duty to report back, which is why we booked a short stay here.

I want to be balanced, and not be too extreme. For example, the most recent TripAdvisor review of this hotel calls it a Motel 6, and the guests were prepared to throw away the $14K they spent just to leave and stay elsewhere, but there was no availability at the Park Hyatt. The motel comparison might be a bit much, but I don’t disagree with the general sentiment of disappointment…

The Ritz-Carlton Reserve Niseko is a branding atrocity

Part of the issue with the Ritz-Carlton Reserve Niseko is its branding. Ritz-Carlton Reserve is the very, very top of Marriott’s hotel portfolio. It’s supposed to be even more premium than the Ritz-Carlton brand, described as “a collection of rare estates, set apart from the world, where heartfelt care and craftsmanship is felt at every turn.”

If this hotel were just a “standard” Marriott, or even a Luxury Collection property, I might not have been so disappointed. But this property has absolutely no place being a Ritz-Carlton Reserve. Arriving at the hotel really sets the tone. Does this look like a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, or a Courtyard by Marriott?

I would love to know the backstory of this property. I am convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that this property wasn’t initially intended to be as a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, and that well into the construction process, they decided they could charge higher rates by branding it in a more premium way.

Here’s the thing — the room furnishings are actually luxurious and tasteful.

But then there are so many little signs that costs were cut. For example, there’s no “do not disturb” button, but instead, you have to hang a sign outside your door. The sinks were cheap. The sliding doors between the bedroom and bathroom felt plastic-like. The in-room safe was old and small. These are all things you wouldn’t expect for a newly built luxury hotel.

The Ritz-Carlton Niseko has amazing views

Let me try to be positive for a moment. The Ritz-Carlton Niseko does have gorgeous views, even nicer than from the Park Hyatt. I could just sit there all day gazing out the window. We had a room with a view of Mount Yotei, so that’s tough to beat. While this is a ski-in, ski-out property, I like that it doesn’t directly overlook the ski slopes.

All of the hotel’s amenities are on the first floor, and are all positioned to maximize views. So yeah, the hotel gets 10/10 for views.

The Ritz-Carlton Reserve is so poorly thought out, boring

The Park Hyatt Niseko is a destination in and of itself. We were there for five nights, and could’ve stayed another five nights without getting bored. Meanwhile the Ritz-Carlton Reserve is quite the opposite. We were bored here after a day. Admittedly most people come here to ski, but the idea is that you still want amenities at the property before and after skiing.

The hotel’s lobby has a beautiful design, but that doesn’t exactly entertain you for very long.

So, what were the issues? For example, the gym was absolutely tiny, and at most one person can do weights at a time. That’s really unfortunate for a ski resort, especially since skiers tend to be pretty fit people who also like working out, so gyms often get busy at ski resorts.

Then the hotel has a spa, where the design feels like a total afterthought. You’d think that you’re walking down the hallway of an office building, rather than a spa at a top, five-star resort. There’s no relaxation area, and the extent of the spa seating is two chairs right by reception, which isn’t relaxing at all, especially since this is also the same area as the onsen (so there’s a good amount of traffic).

We actually got spa treatments, but it’s not possible for a couple to get the same treatment. They have one therapist who does dry massage and one therapist who does oil massage, with no flexibility on that. I just don’t get it. On the plus side, the treatments were very good.

Also to the hotel’s credit, the onsen is quite nice, with both an indoor and outdoor space, plus a sauna. Nudity is required.

The hotel also has zero vibe. There’s no live music, and there’s no lively bar area. Instead, the only thing to entertain us was the absurd guests who viewed the entire trip as a photo session.

One lady spent about an hour posing with her afternoon tea. She’d take brief gaps from yelling at her husband (the photographer) to stare out into the snow with a big smile holding a cup of tea, in order to be photographed and videoed. We asked one of the staff members if this was normal, and we were told this was nothing, and that in peak season, people “drape” themselves across the bar for photoshoots. Nice.

The Ritz-Carlton Reserve Niseko dining isn’t great

At the Park Hyatt Niseko, you have so many dining options that you couldn’t possibly visit them all. At the Ritz-Carlton Reserve Niseko, you just have a single dining “compound” on the ground floor. There’s a restaurant and bar area, plus a sushi counter that’s open certain nights. It’s a super nice space, there’s just not much to it.

I can’t say the food quality was very impressive. The presentation was good, but the quality left a lot to be desired. We ate at the sushi counter one night, which was quite good, but other than that, we we were disappointed. For example, Ford ordered a chicken dish for dinner. It was literally all bones and cartilage, to the point that he sent it back. He loves chicken and we’ve been together for a decade, and that’s the first time I’ve ever seen him send back a chicken dish.

One afternoon I wanted a break from Japanese food, and was looking for something healthy, so I ordered what was described as the “Reserve Salad.” This is the hotel’s signature salad, given the “Reserve” name. In reality, it was just bland, bland, bland. It had what tasted like some leftover smoked salmon rolls from the breakfast buffet, a little avocado, a couple of cherry tomatoes, and quinoa. That was about it. It was just so boring and unimaginative, which I think kind of sums up this hotel.

Worst of all, the pricing was so high. Just to give you an example, that totally bland salad cost more than I paid at the Park Hyatt for their lunch set, which includes access to a buffet with appetizers, plus several excellent main course options, all higher quality than this.

The Ritz-Carlton Reserve Niseko has friendly staff, mostly

Let me acknowledge that the restaurant staff were uniformly lovely, and couldn’t have been kinder. In particular, Vanessa and Sena did an amazing job looking after us, and really made us feel welcome. They’re both superstars, and I feel bad trashing the hotel, given how friendly and professional they were. They have bright futures in hospitality.

The front desk staff, meanwhile, were a mixed bag. The person who checked us in was totally chaotic. It’s hard to describe, but she was so frazzled and rushed that it set a really unfortunate tone for the stay.

Even beyond that, the attention to detail with service was just lacking. I don’t know if there is a manager, but if so, they didn’t make a single appearance during the stay, or introduce themselves once. That’s something you’d expect at a 50-room property. As a point of comparison, at the much bigger Park Hyatt Niseko, the general manager checked on us twice during our stay, to see how everything was.

Beyond that, the attention to detail was just 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
• At check-in, we were proactively asked if there’s anything we don’t eat, and I explained I don’t eat pork; a couple of hours later we had afternoon tea, and go figure, we were served sandwiches with pork (don’t ask for guest preferences at check-in if you’re not 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

Avoid the Ritz-Carlton Reserve Niseko*

I don’t want to be extreme, and say everyone should avoid this property at all costs. But my issues come down to two points:

• This property is not up to Ritz-Carlton Reserve standards in any way, shape, or form
• This property is actually priced higher for a standard room than the Park Hyatt Niseko in peak season, and that’s borderline criminal, if you ask me

So please don’t come here paying the inflated rates the hotel is asking for in peak season. Now, if you’re visiting in the off season and this hotel is way cheaper than the alternatives, or if the Park Hyatt is sold out, then maybe it’s not so bad, but just manage your expectations.

Similarly, the Park Hyatt Niseko often doesn’t have points availability, while this property does. What I find interesting is that unlike other Ritz-Carlton Reserve properties, this one is actually fairly reasonably priced on points. It makes me think that the hotel is basically trying to skim the US market by hoping to deceive people into thinking this is a $3K per night property, and is then filling the rest of the rooms through either package holidays or consolidators (which was the vibe I got from some of the other guests).

Bottom line

If you’re trying to decide between the Park Hyatt Niseko and the Ritz-Carlton Reserve Niseko, there’s simply no competition. The Park Hyatt is in a completely different league, despite typically being priced lower. Obviously this hotel hopes that the Ritz-Carlton Reserve name will help it command higher rates, but don’t be fooled.

There are some positives about the property, like friendly service in the restaurant, amazing views, and a nice onsen setup. But beyond that, this is a boring property, and I’m convinced this wasn’t intended to be a Ritz-Carlton Reserve initially.

Honestly, I don’t want to give the people working here a hard time, as they’re doing their best, with the disappointing product they have. Instead, the issues fall on the owner, and ultimately on Marriott, for its lack of standards with how it allows hotels to be branded.

What do you make of the Ritz-Carlton Reserve Niseko? Does anyone actually know the backstory of this hotel, and how it came to be a Ritz-Carlton Reserve? I simply refuse to believe that this is what it was intended to be when the design process started…