Hinode Hills Niseko Village

As a Hilton Diamond member I am very disappointed by the level of customer service provided by a hotel that brands themselves as “Small Luxury Hotel”. The reception staff are mostly young and inexperienced, certainly not trained up to an acceptable level of Japanese and luxury hospitality. We booked with Hilton Honors points and, despite the Hilton Honors redemptions terms clearly stating that all taxes are included, they still charged some fees and taxes, which I am not disputing are not legitimate, but this was not shown when making the reservation. They refused to refund and said it’s Hilton’s/SLH fault. Reception staff also mentioned that in fact Hinode Hills isn’t part of the SLH chain which is baffling as they had a big plate showing the SLH logo in the lobby. Breakfast was very limited and quality wasn’t up the standards of a luxury hotel. The only good point is the cleanliness of the room, which was spotless. Next time I will be back, I will definitely choose a more reputable hotel such as the Hilton or the Ritz.

Stayed in a two-bed room suite with my wife and a son. The room is spacious and well furnished with a comfy sofa, dining area, full facility kitchen and a washer/dryer. Wifi is fast. We were on a relatively low floor (2nd) yet we enjoyed a grand view of Mt Yotei right in front.

The hotel boasts a ski-in, ski-out resort - well, actually you have to take a travelator to get to a proper slope, and in that sense I'm not so confident to say this is a ski-out resort while it's no doubt about a ski-in resort. However, important thing is how quick and easy it is from the moment you put on your boots till you start skiing, right? This hotel has an amazing ski valet where staff always takes care of your gear, and the valet has a back entrance that is located steps away from the travalator. With the ski valet, things were much more convenient for me than those of any other resorts. It was much easier than pulling out my boots from a locker and walk through an aisle of a large hotel.

A couple of downsides.

The restaurant is small and seems over capacity. In one evening we had to wait more than an hour to be served a main dish after salad and soup. Also the menu is very limited and the amount is small - a set menu of a tiny portion of salad and soup, main dish then dessert. This is it. And each portion is small. You have three choices for the main - chicken, pork or beef. No more options, the same every evening.
Foods are also very limited for breakfast too.

There is no shop in this hotel. No place to buy ski wax or water proof spray, or any other snow goods. There are a few vending machines that sell drinks and snacks, but again choices are limited.

I think this place is meant to be a resort condo for owners than a hotel for visitors.

Despite these downsides, staff are all very attentive, warm and kind, and this is the reason why I think I will come back again to this hotel.

Another wonderful experience. We ventured back to Niseko this year and Hinode Hills was our automatic choice. We loved our experience so much in 2022 that we invited another family along and they stayed in two 1-Bedroom apartments.

It was great to see Selena and Novita again this year, it was also meet new staff in Natasha, Olivia and many other friendly and helpful faces. They did everything in their power to assist.

Another exceptional experience at Hinode Hills!
My family’s first stay during its opening in 2019 left an unforgettable memory.
Once again, we’re impressed by the sincere service. Particularly Yi Ying who made our check-in a breeze though we were two hours early. She is also helpful and prompt with ski lesson and restaurant bookings. Her colleagues Natasha, Olivia, Novita and Will bring not just smiles but also friendly conversations at the lobby and ski valet.
My family most appreciates the ultra ease of this ski-in ski-out hotel with its own ski rental and valet service. We can easily retreat to the hotel for a hot cuppa or relaxing soak at the onsen.
Our two-bedroom apartment is spacious, well-kept, aesthetically furnished with a fully-fitted kitchen and has a gorgeous view of Mt. Yotei when skies are clear.
Free shuttle services for our night haunts at Hirafu are convenient and mostly timely. Just make sure there’s ample time for walking to your destinations amidst the Hirafu crowd. Returning to Hinode Hills’ serene and warm surroundings after a night out is always a delight.

Another wonderful experience. We ventured back to Niseko this year and Hinode Hills was our automatic choice. We loved our experience so much in 2022 that we invited another family along and they stayed in two 1-Bedroom apartments.

It was great to see Selena and Novita again this year, it was also meet new staff in Natasha, Olivia and many other friendly and helpful faces. They did everything in their power to assist.

All in all another 5-star experience.

Please choose one of the many other great places to spend your holiday in Niseko.

The service culture at a leadership level here leaves a lot to be desired and this ultimately trickles down to the polite but ultimately ineffectual staff.

Our main issue related to the terms of discount on rental equipment with our package, which was not clarified adequately to us over numerous emails exchanged with the ski centre and the hotel team. There were plenty of opportunities when this could have been made clear and we would have obviously booked with more reasonably priced and comparable quality rental providers.

Ultimately, this absorbed a lot of time in correspondence before and during our stay and cost us over $400 more than competitors with better service experiences in Niseko, like Rhythm.

Management was invisible at every step. We waited in the Lobby for over an hour on our last full day, but did not even get offered a phone conversation with a decision maker, let alone the courtesy of a face-to-face discussion.

Furthermore, the hotel restaurant is closed. The magic carpet that is offered instead to take you to the nearest hotel is also closed. Housekeeping services the room every other day, not daily. None of these details were communicated when our package was sold to us and our dates (late ski season) were confirmed just a few months ago.

Although the apartments are lovely and some staff have helped with restaurant bookings, we won’t return for future visits as we have tried to escalate and resolve this really expensive issue but have simply been left to foot the bill.

We (two couples) stayed in a 2-room apartment at Hinode Hills for 6 nights in early February, having booked it about 18 months earlier at the height of COVID. It was worth the wait - the service was excellent - both front of house and in the ski and boot room. The rooms and living area were huge and very well-appointed with some luxury touches, and we had fabulous views of Mt Yotei from the 5th floor (when she wasn't covered in cloud).
Breakfast was good (though not great) and the onsen was a welcome retreat after a day on the slopes.

Location-wise, the hotel is a bit out of the way in terms of dining and nightlife, but there are plenty of free (and paid) bus services to Hirafu, Annapuri, etc. either from out the front or just up the road at Green Leaf. If you want to stay out late you'll need to get a taxi back however.

There is a covered "magic carpet" out the back of the resort, from the top of which you can access the mountain and lifts. There is a track beside that allows you to ski board/down to the back door of the ski and boot room. Rather annoyingly, the Higashiyama gondola was not operating during our stay, which limited the number of runs you could access immediately from the hotel.

Overall we loved our stay and would return in a flash.

Great

Excellent

Finally after 3 years, we stayed with the resort again .
Plus:Still the good, luxurious and clean resort.
View of mount Yotei awaited when we checked into our room.
Very comfortable beds and room amenities.
Polite services that we love
Minus: we found a sock when we checked in, probably left by housekeeper, small issue.
No information provided on schedule of mobile grocery truck and we missed it.
Gear rental is only available at green leaf resort now, probably due to lack of manpower, which we understand.

Overall , the family love the hotel and hope to be back next year!

We thoroughly enjoyed our 5-nights stay at our 2 bedroom suite. The service of the staff was nothing short of excellent as they went out of their way to meet our many requests. Special mentions to Novita, Tomo, Will and Dickson.

The room was also very well appointed and had everything we need. The kitchen equipment are very new and we prepared many of our meals ourselves. The washer/dryer is also very handy as we did laundry everyday after skiing.

Resort is also reasonably convenient for skiing. We have to get our ski gear from Greenleaf hotel which is a short 5 min walk away but there is a ski valet in Hinode to keep all our ski stuff. There is also a magic carpet and gentle slope for beginners right next to the resort.

The only downside is the resort is a bit out of the way from convenience stores and restaurants. There is only room service at the resort after breakfast and we needed to take shuffle buses to other places for meals or grocery runs. The timings of the shuffle for grocery runs are also very limited.

Hinode Hills’ friendly staff were amazing and attentive. In particular, Novita and Salina looked after us.

The rooms were well appointed with full
Kitchen and Laundry facilities.

Staying at HInode Hills allowed for free visits to Greenleaf onsen and the outdoor onsen is something to experience.

Our son learnt to ski on this trip and HInode Hills is literally 30m from a magic carpet that adjoins the nursery run.

Unfortunately booked our honeymoon here non refundable. There is a lot of false advertising as others noted- the lodge is not ski in ski out, the concierge will not assist with lift passes or ski guides, they email you websites where these are sold out. The hotel will not assist with restaurant reservations - they say they are too busy and there is a language barrier so if you don’t speak Japanese good luck getting in anywhere other than a casual cafe that’s not busy for a reason. the hotel and concierge also will not help with car transfers. We have now had to reach out to over 20 car transfer companies through Google searches and fill out forms to finally find one way available from the nearest airport three hours away. Overall the trip is a disaster, it’s like visiting a third world country with the most rude arrogant unwelcoming and unhelpful staff that make experiencing the slopes and the cuisine impossible. Not worth the trip, but maybe there are other nice resorts in town with helpful staff that would make the experience worth it.

Highly appreciated the amazing Yotei views (from a high floor) and the kind staff. Not ski-out but the view makes up for it. Quiet area, which is great if you had enough of the parties and loud people in Hirafu.

とてもキレイで広いお部屋にリーズナブルに泊まれました。あらかじめ予約し、ボードなども館内で借りることができました。
チェックアウトの時間を遅らせてくれたり、
タオルをフロントで貸してくださったり、
融通もきかせてくださいました。

スノボレンタルスペースの外国人スタッフ（ホテル内はほとんど外国人スタッフです）が
日本語が全くわからず、
リフト券売機の使い方を誤って？教えてくださったため、エラーになりヒルトンのリフト乗り場まで行く羽目になりましたが、
送ってくださいました。
悪気があったわけではないと思うので
何とも思っていませんが、エピソードの一つとして記載します。

Amazing place and staff

ヒルトン、パークハイアットニセコ、スカイニセコ、木ニセコなども泊まりましたが、スキーインアウトに関してはここが1番良かったです。スキーバレーで受け取ってすぐ外に出て、すぐベルトでゲレンデに上がれます。ゲレンデからもホテルまでスムーズに滑ってたどり着けました。また、子供や初心者向けのバンザイリフトのコースが近くて練習には最適です。また、スタジオの部屋に泊まりましたがスイートタイプの広い部屋でフルキッチン付き、洗濯機有り。本当に便利でした。温泉は６人位が入れる内風呂一つですがあって良かったです。チェックアウト後もスキーバレーと温泉が使えるのでさっぱりして帰れました。朝食は大した品数のないバイキングでしたが、夕食のプレミアムコースは美味しい料理が食べ切れないくらいで大満足でした。選べる料理はパスタは美味しかったけどお寿司はあんまりです。スタッフの方がとても親切です。ニセコのリフト紙チケットは自販機よりもヒルトン側のチケットセンターが500円安いです。幼児の無料チケットもセンターでもらえます。スキーをするならまたここに来たいと思います。

こじんまりした感じの温泉は、落ち着いて入浴できました。
部屋にキッチンがあるので、電子ジャーを借りると毎日朝食を作れて、飽きないです。

お部屋がとてもひろくて、キッチンダイニング付き！
お部屋で料理して家族でゆっくり過ごせます！
最高でした！！

We stayed in February 2020. Beautiful hotel, excellent service. The staff could not have been better. The rooms were very modern, clean & spacious. So easy to ski in and out. Highly recommended. We certainly hope to return.