Rusutsu Pension Clydesdale

Clydesdale is a wonderful place to stay just out of Rusutsu Resort. The staff and owners are very welcoming and provide exceptional service including breakfast, pick up and transfer to and from the ski area, to and from restaurant bookings you may enjoy if you do not choose to dine in house. The meals are western blended Japanese and table served in a lovely atmosphere of the dining room. There is a choice of drinks, including wine to have with dinner. Pre book your dining nights. Breakfast is substantial. The facilities are spotlessly clean and the environment is “chilled”, uncrowded and friendly. The bird feeder outside the dining room window adds to the serenity. Beds are good, bathrooms shared but very accessible and private. There is access to a microwave, shared fridge, boiling water, tea and coffee available.

Many visitors are return customers and the experience is very special. The menu is great with 5 courses for dinner. We found the food delicious and varied but perhaps less creamy with more vegetables would enhance a wonderful experience.

Cosy and cute snow yurt with kitchenette/bathroom annex. 6 night stay, we had both the snow pods for our family. Very comfortable beds, warm, best pillows we’ve ever had in Japan (soft, mouldable and no beans!). Close to resort/ gondola but too far to walk comfortably with snow gear. The shuttle was easy to request and we never had to wait more than 5 minutes. Loved it. We stayed at The Vale last year and actually liked this better. You walk further at The Vale to get to the gondola /restaurants/7-11 etc. The snow pods also have a huge projector screen for movies at night. Recommend for a fun, quirky holiday. There’s a new restaurant a short walk away called Genbe -was good!

If you like to go home early from snow then maybe it wouldn’t be convenient due to shuttle times - nothing between 10 and 3.

The team at Clydesdale exemplified service.

Nothing

The snow dome was beautiful and super warm during our winter stay. The facilities made it super easy to maintain our clothing/snowboard gear and the staff were absolutely accommodating. This trip included multiple stays at multiple locations but this one was by far the best.

I find it difficult to come up with anything to complain about so the only thing I’ll say is that there is a very slightly sloped driveway when approaching the snow domes so you must be careful not to slip if it ever gets icy.

Room was good. Staff were very friendly. Shuttle to the lifts/hotel generally worked well, normally less than 5min wait, however one morning we had to wait around 30min for which the property were very apologetic so I think this was unusual.

The Clydesdale was charming and cosy, every staff member we interacted it was kind, patient, and welcoming, and we were very grateful to have this alternate option to the main resort accommodation, made convenient with their speedy and responsive shuttle service. We loved soaking in the baths each evening to ready us for the next day of riding in the mountains. The microwave/kettle area, and gear room to dry and warm our equipment was a great touch.

A simple/affordable offering for breakfast and dinner would be a nice improvement, with some vegetarian options.

Snow globe!!

Everything about this place is amazing!! You don’t want to stay anywhere else when visiting Rusutsu. Great staff! Great food! The layout of the facilities was exceptional. Gear room kept my equipment secure and warm all night. The shuttle service is excellent and the location allows for walking to the resort of you are fit and enjoy a warm up walk before hitting the slopes. Everyone that works here was very thoughtful and respectful. Facilities were plentiful, not all men using same toilet there were plenty of WC’s for a shared environment. Shower was great, also had a soaking tub which was very relaxing. Stayed at other places in Rusutsu at similar price points and the Pension Clydesdale is the best!!

With any shared lodging, you can at times hear people talking in the hallways or in their rooms if they are super loud but that barely happened.

Immaculate in every way. Very comfortable rooms/beds, great setup with shared bathrooms/onsen. Drying room was excellent with plenty of room for ski/snowboarding gear. Breakfast was a real feast and lovely food. Tea/coffee making facilities provided The free shuttle service (more like a private chauffeur) couldn’t be faulted. They took us to gondola station in morning and picked us up when ever we wanted. They also dropped us off and picked us up each evening to go to local restaurants. Generally had only 1-2 min wait for shuttle to arrive, even though they said 30 mins notice was needed. Staff were lovely, so friendly and polite

Can’t really fault it. It’s a little bit away from main area - 15 min walk, but the shuttle service makes up for that