Naeba Prince Hotel

This is my second visit to this resort. Stayed 7 nights this year and I must say the place has improved. Restaurants and the food court are open longer, the breakfast has a better range and the place seems to be getting a bit of maintenance and the staff are happy and helpful. Apparently a poor season snow wise but still better than a good season in Australia. Great value for money.

Bed was hard and very small I’m a pretty big guy. Was further from train station than I thought was 10,000 yen cab fare.

Full services ski resort. Ski in ski out is great. Has ski rental, ski school, lift pass, onsen and many restaurants. You don't have to leave the resort at all. They also have a ski locker on the first floor that you can lock up your gear. The location make it quite convenient to take a break during skiing and get back out later.

A lot like a cruise ship on the snow. Ski in is good, but you’ll spend most of your time getting to decent snow at Kagura. The slope in front if the hotel was icy. Rooms were fine. A big catch was in leaving when we were told all the ‘free’ shuttle buses were full and we’d have to pay about US$100 for a taxi. We saw people not allowed on the bus at the station as they were also full. With 2,000 rooms you’d imagine they would know how many people were leaving! They finally relented and put on another bus. But the ‘discussion’ leading up to that left a bad taste at the end of the stay. Staff were as helpful as they could be - management need to have a look at their systems.

I came here alone for two nights in the middle of our Japan trip while my husband had to do some work. I specifically chose this location because I wanted to ski in Japan but have something convenient and in hind sight, I probably should have chosen a different hotel/ski location that wouldn't have been much harder to get to but probably would have been a much better experience. My hubs' co-worker went to Hokkaido and let's just say I'm very jealous :). -The hotel was fine. A bit dated but the room was really big, comfy and clean with all the usual amenities. -Tons of options food wise but the quality wasn't that great for the price (admittedly, I was used to amazing Japanese food of all sorts by this trip and I also didn't choose the nicer restaurants). I was hoping to find some hot spots at night were I could grab a beer and a conversation but nothing was ever busy or open. The Whistler Cafe on the hill had great beer and wings but unfortunately they were closed early on my second day - things closing earlier than expected was a bit of a trend. - The Onsen I was looking forward to trying there closed earlier than advertised so I missed out on that and you have to pay in advance for the ticket and don't get a refund if you don't use by check out so that was less than ideal (only 300 yen but still...) - Rental service was efficient and the equipment was all great! Bring your own gloves, hats and goggles or risk buying pricey stuff from the stores. I rented pants and a jacket too which were great. Be warned if you're a bit bigger though - I'm a size US12/14 and almost didn't get pants that fit - I think I ended up in a Mens 5XL (it actually wasn't embarrassing though, they were nice!). - Ski lockers were great! - Hill - So the snow conditions weren't great when I went which obviously can't be helped but...it would have been helpful if the staff had been more open about what was closed. The gondola to the higher lifts at Naeba was closed most of the second day I was there and neither it nor the gondola to the neighbouring hill opened by noon on my last day which really cut down on the amount of runs you have access too (I didn't even bother going out my last day because I opted not to pay because I was already getting bored on Day 2 - and I'm not great by any means!). What bugs me is when I asked around, the staff told me things would be open and the TVs said temporarily closed....it's not like the weather changed drastically when I was there so it would be have been helpful (and less expensive for me) if I could have had accurate info to plan my days. Unfortunately, I had already paid for rentals for that day and wasn't able to return them early for a refund (which I get). Anywho - Probably a great hill for the kidlets or newbies but if you're looking to get a bit of variety, be wary. If there's not much snow, you may not have a lot of runs (I realize this sounds obvious but it was really just bunny hills and one slightly longer run). - Staff were lovely - I stupidly locked my ski locker with the wrong code and they came and bailed me out really fast! - Free shuttle from the Enzo JR station worked great both to and from.

The hotel was very very convenient for skiing. We were in building 4 and our lockers opened right onto the slopes. Our room was a recent size for a family and the beds comfortable. The only downside would be the price of food in the hotel. There was a good choice of options but they were expensive. And more importantly to note, most shut at 8pm so be aware if this and eat early. There were also very busy times at check-in and out so expect a long wait over popular times. And the lifts in Building 4 were always very busy with us having to wait 15minutes at times to get in one on level 6. But for us, the convenience for the skiing out-weighed any negative.

This place is really nice to play snow especially when you with young children. There are donut boat, snow train, bananaboat snow, etc. There are very restricted check out at 10 AM, we request for another 1 hour but is not allowed and the bus schedule will be around 3PM. so you need to wait around 5 hours outside the room. The room really spacious we take 6th building.

At check-in we received tickets for the Dragonola. A big hotel with many dining options. Shuttle from/to Echigo-Yuzawa Station—must have reservations.

Conveniently located next to the slopes, ski lockers were a plus. However, the food and amenities located within the resort are a tad expensive, so be prepared to pay a premium for everything.

Good location. Noisy till late in the night, due to families with small children. Old and unmaintained room.