Apricot Pension

Comfortable, homy and had everything we needed

Nothing

Apricot is cosy and warm with a friendly atmosphere. Whilst a smaller property, the facilities are what you need to enjoy a ski trip, ski and boot room, dry room, luggage storage, communal lounge and bar with breakfast included and dinner available.

The shower could be tricky to set to the right temperature consistently!

A lovely appointed and cosy lodge with a quiet yet family-friendly environment. The communal space is very welcoming, particularly at the end of a ski day, with couches and big arm-chairs by an open fire and a small bar area. The accommodation is roomy by Japanese standards with space to lay out suitcases, etc. Breakfast is set but with variations each morning, but always with Western and Japanese mix. The eggs were always appreciated to start each day. They also have a dinner menu if you prefer to stay in at the end of the day rather than venture out. Unfortunately, we didn't have an opportunity to try the food. The staff were very helpful, extremely friendly and accommodating and went the extra mile to make our stay comfortable. We were able to invite a friend from another lodge to join us for breakfast each morning and share the communal facilities. They offered a free shuttle pick-up and drop-off to the bus and train terminals and helped make arrangements for other transport services. We utilised a paid shuttle service they organised, to drive us to Cortina, the furtherest ski mountain not on the main routes. Otherwise, Apricot Pension is a very short walk to the bus stop for the free-shuttle service to the ski mountains, and even better, the bus stop is the first stop on routes to four of the main ski mountains, so guaranteed a seat (the stop does not service one of the main mountains so an alternative bus stop further in town is required). An easy 10 minute walk to Echoland, one of the main restaurant areas. Also, very close to one of the few Onsens in the area. The drying room was very warm and our ski gear was nicely dried by the start of each day. The projector in our room was appreciated and welcomed by our daughter especially, for some evening screen downtime.

The breakfasts were very tasty, however, a buffet style would have been better for our purposes, as we prefer a big, high protein start to a ski day and would have opted for more eggs, bacon, etc and less carbs. We accept that bathrooms in Japan are small, but there was a lack of ventilation in the bathrooms.

Location that was close to Echoland and not to far from the ski resorts in the area.

Our room was quiet small and poor phone reception

We are a family of 5 with 3 children and from the moment we arrived at Apricot pension we were warmly welcomed and took excellent care of. Grace and her team went out of their way to make sure our stay was pleasant and solve any uncertainties we had with plans. The Pension itself has a very warm and homely feel, and the photos do not do it justice. It was a short 10 minute walk to Echoland were you will find cafe's and restaurants and the shuttle bus to the slopes is just around the corner. For any trips where there is no public transport trips you can book Apricot pensions taxi service and they will drive you there for a cost of 800 Yen per person within a 5km radius. There is also a high-quality restaurant in house if you do not feel like venturing out. I would highly recommend this place to anyone. Thanks again Grace and her team for a wonderful stay.

Nothing

The staff 10/10 the most amazing and hospitable people!!

Nothing, everything was perfect!