Xplore by Active Life
Location: 1101-155 Tarumoto, Iiyama, jp
Star Rating: 3 Stars
Property Type: Hotels
About this Property
Prime Location near Madarao Kogen Ski Resort
Discover the perfect retreat at Madarao, Xplore by Active Life, just a short 3-minute walk from the renowned Madarao Kogen Ski Resort. Enjoy the convenience of ski-to-door access and unwind in the soothing public baths.
Modern Accommodations with Essential Amenities
Indulge in comfort at our 2018-renovated property offering a mix of Japanese-style and Western-style rooms. Stay relaxed in air-conditioned rooms equipped with a safety deposit box and Smart TV. Freshen up with complimentary toiletries in the en suite bathrooms.
Convenient Facilities for a Hassle-free Stay
Take advantage of the on-site drink vending machines for a quick refreshment. With JR Iiyama Train Station just a 30-minute drive away, seamless travel arrangements await you.
Book now for an unforgettable stay at Madarao, Xplore by Active Life.
Important Information
Please inform of your expected arrival time in advance. You can use the Special Requests box when booking, or contact the property directly using the contact details in your confirmation.
Guests with tattoos may not be permitted to use the property’s public bathing areas or other facilities where the tattoos might be visible to other guests.
Guests are required to show a photo ID and credit card upon check-in. Please note that all Special Requests are subject to availability and additional charges may apply.
Policies
Check-in: 03:00 PM - 06:00 PM
Check-out: 10:00 AM
Amenities & Facilities
- Non-smoking rooms
- Restaurant
- Family rooms
- Luggage storage
- Ski storage
- Non-smoking throughout
- Shared lounge/TV area
- Public Bath
- Physical distancing rules followed
- Cashless payment available
- Fire extinguishers
- Contactless check-in/check-out
- Smoke alarms
- Key access
- Ski storage
- Free wired internet
- Ski equipment rentals on site
- Ski lessons on site
- Internet access
- Games
- Snow sports gear
Rooms Available
-
Compact Queen
1 Queen Bed
129-sq-foot room with mountain views
Internet - Free WiFi
Entertainment - Smart television with Netflix
Food & Drink - Electric kettle
Sleep - Bed sheets
Bathroom - Private bathroom, shower, free toiletries, and towels
Practical - Desk and wardrobe or closet
Comfort - Heating
Need to Know - Housekeeping on request, toothbrush and toothpaste not available
Non-Smoking
Max Occupancy: 2 (2 Adults)
- Shower
- Desk
- Private bathroom
- Heating
- Electric kettle
- Wardrobe or closet
- Free WiFi
- Bedsheets provided
- Smart TV
- Toothbrush and toothpaste available
- Toothbrush and toothpaste not available
-
Family Connecting Room
2 Queen Beds and 2 Twin Beds
538-sq-foot room with mountain views
Internet - Free WiFi
Entertainment - Smart television with Netflix
Food & Drink - Electric kettle
Sleep - Bed sheets
Bathroom - Private bathroom, free toiletries, towels, and a hair dryer (on request)
Practical - Wardrobe or closet
Comfort - Heating
Need to Know - Housekeeping on request, toothbrush and toothpaste not available
Non-Smoking
Max Occupancy: 8 (8 Adults)
- Private bathroom
- Heating
- Electric kettle
- Wardrobe or closet
- Free WiFi
- Bedsheets provided
- Smart TV
- Toothbrush and toothpaste available
- Toothbrush and toothpaste not available
-
Twin Room with Bathroom
Featuring free toiletries and bathrobes, this twin room includes a private bathroom with a bath, a bidet and a hairdryer. The twin room features a wardrobe, an electric kettle, heating, a flat-screen TV, as well as mountain views. The unit has 2 beds.
Max Occupancy: 2 (2 Adults)
- Shower
- TV
- Hair dryer
- Bathrobe
- Toilet
- Private bathroom
- Heating
- Electric kettle
- Wardrobe or closet
- Bidet
- Linen
- Toilet paper
- Trash cans
- Shampoo
- Conditioner
- Body soap
- Shower cap
- Socket near the bed
- Smoke alarm
- Key access
-
Standard Queen Room
Providing free toiletries and bathrobes, this double room includes a private bathroom with a bath, a bidet and a hairdryer. The double room provides a flat-screen TV, a wardrobe, an electric kettle, heating as well as mountain views. The unit offers 1 bed.
Max Occupancy: 2 (2 Adults)
- TV
- Hair dryer
- Bathrobe
- Toilet
- Private bathroom
- Heating
- Electric kettle
- Wardrobe or closet
- Bidet
- Linen
- Toilet paper
- Trash cans
- Shampoo
- Conditioner
- Body soap
- Shower cap
- Socket near the bed
- Smoke alarm
- Key access
-
Standard Twin Room
Offering free toiletries and bathrobes, this twin room includes a private bathroom with a bath, a bidet and a hairdryer. The twin room offers a flat-screen TV, a wardrobe, an electric kettle, heating as well as mountain views. The unit has 2 beds.
Max Occupancy: 2 (2 Adults)
- TV
- Hair dryer
- Bathrobe
- Toilet
- Private bathroom
- Heating
- Electric kettle
- Wardrobe or closet
- Bidet
- Linen
- Toilet paper
- Trash cans
- Shampoo
- Conditioner
- Body soap
- Shower cap
- Socket near the bed
- Smoke alarm
- Key access
-
Small Double Room
Providing free toiletries and bathrobes, this double room includes a private bathroom with a shower and a hairdryer. The double room provides a flat-screen TV, a seating area, an electric kettle, heating as well as mountain views. The unit offers 1 bed.
Max Occupancy: 2 (2 Adults)
- Shower
- TV
- Hair dryer
- Bathrobe
- Seating Area
- Private bathroom
- Heating
- Electric kettle
- Linen
- Toilet paper
- Trash cans
- Shampoo
- Conditioner
- Body soap
- Shower cap
- Socket near the bed
- Smoke alarm
- Key access
-
Family Room
The spacious family room features tatami, a seating area, as well as a private bathroom boasting a bath and a hairdryer. The unit has 4 beds.
Max Occupancy: 8 (8 Adults)
- Shower
- TV
- Hair dryer
- Bathrobe
- Seating Area
- Toilet
- Private bathroom
- Heating
- Sofa
- Electric kettle
- Wardrobe or closet
- Bidet
- Linen
- Toilet paper
- Sofa bed
- Trash cans
- Shampoo
- Conditioner
- Body soap
- Shower cap
- Socket near the bed
- Smoke alarm
- Key access
- Tatami (traditional Japanese flooring)
-
Western-Style Room with Private Bathroom
Features a Western-style bed and a tatami (woven-straw) seating area, the air conditioned rooms feature an private bathroom, fridge and Smart TV. Free toiletries can also be found in rooms.
Max Occupancy: 2 (2 Adults)
- Shower
- TV
- Hair dryer
- Bathrobe
- Toilet
- Private bathroom
- Heating
- Electric kettle
- Wardrobe or closet
- Bidet
- Linen
- Toilet paper
- Trash cans
- Shampoo
- Conditioner
- Body soap
- Shower cap
- Socket near the bed
- Smoke alarm
- Key access
-
Japanese-Style Room with Private Bathroom
This quadruple room features a Western-style bed and a tatami (woven-straw) seating area, the air conditioned rooms feature an private bathroom, fridge and Smart TV. Free toiletries can also be found in rooms. 2 sofa beds are fitted in this room for the 3rd and 4th guest to use.
Max Occupancy: 4 (4 Adults)
- Shower
- TV
- Hair dryer
- Bathrobe
- Seating Area
- Toilet
- Private bathroom
- Heating
- Sofa
- Electric kettle
- Wardrobe or closet
- Bidet
- Linen
- Toilet paper
- Sofa bed
- Trash cans
- Shampoo
- Conditioner
- Body soap
- Shower cap
- Socket near the bed
- Smoke alarm
- Key access
- Tatami (traditional Japanese flooring)
-
Deluxe Room
Featuring free toiletries and bathrobes, this double room includes a private bathroom with a bath and a hairdryer. The double room has tatami floors, a seating area with a flat-screen TV, a wardrobe, an electric kettle as well as mountain views. The unit has 1 bed.
Max Occupancy: 4 (4 Adults)
- TV
- Hair dryer
- Bathrobe
- Seating Area
- Toilet
- Private bathroom
- Heating
- Sofa
- Electric kettle
- Wardrobe or closet
- Linen
- Toilet paper
- Sofa bed
- Trash cans
- Shampoo
- Conditioner
- Body soap
- Shower cap
- Socket near the bed
- Smoke alarm
- Key access
- Tatami (traditional Japanese flooring)
-
Japanese-Style Queen Room With Shared Bathroom
Offering free toiletries, this double room includes a shared bathroom with a hairdryer. The double room offers tatami, a wardrobe, an electric kettle, a carpeted floor and a flat-screen TV. The unit has 1 bed.
Max Occupancy: 2 (2 Adults)
- TV
- Hair dryer
- Heating
- Shared toilet
- Electric kettle
- Wardrobe or closet
- Linen
- Toilet paper
- Trash cans
- Shampoo
- Conditioner
- Body soap
- Shower cap
- Socket near the bed
- Smoke alarm
- Key access
- Tatami (traditional Japanese flooring)
Guest Reviews
- Aileen (10/5): -
- Miles (5/5): - Location
- leigh (8/5): -
- Luc (7/5): Bien - Petit dejeuner ok
- Nathan (7/5): Good place to base for skiing. - Closeness to ski area. The staff were excellent, very polite and very good service and attitude Our original room was a bit hot even with the heater off. But the staff were awesome and arranged another room that proved perfect.
- Bridie (7/5): Convenient location, passable for a week at the snow! - Great location, short walk to the ski lifts, restaurants and bus stop. Included breakfast was decent - buffet eggs, bacon, bread, fruit, cereal, yoghurt, coffee etc. Staff were friendly and really helpful. Decent sized boot room, black cat board shipping to the airport, free washing machine and drier. Dinner in the lodge was passable... just. Tried it once, but wouldn't go back - better, cheaper options close by. Windows in the rooms don't work, so got a bit stuffy, no fridge in the room (as advertised), but could be helpful for future guests given the lack of convenience stores etc in the village. Would have been helpful to have a bigger mirror outside of the the bathroom too.
- Deborah (8/5): - Fantastic location - short walk to the ski field. It was very handy to have the equipment hire place on site. The staff were extremely helpful and responsive to requests. There were only two washing machines and dryers, and they were in high demand. It was hard to find one free to put a load on. They could have done with a few extra staff around breakfast time. The staff were so busy but breakfast supplies kept running out.
- Janet (10/5): pleasant. - Friendly helpful staff. Food was good. Reasonably close to the chair lifts. The light on the ceiling was ineffective. Only one additional lamp in the room. Perhaps a standard lamp next to the couch so guests can read or do craft. These amenities should be checked regularly to ensure they are in good order. Using the washing machine and dryers was pretty tricky. They were in demand. On our last day I put a load of washing through at 4pm. I was not able to access a spare dryer at all during the night. This highlights the need to provide access to more washer dryer units. A latest model washer dryer front load stack set up is very effective. A dryer can now completely dry a load of washing in 30 minutes.
- Laurent (4/5): Nice people but bad value. - Staff was nice, really closed to Madarao ski area. It is basically a youth guest house but they charge like premium hotel. Not a great value for money. The breakfast was terrible and always incomplete. They dont give you much options which is ok, but for example they will bring eggs but need to wait 10min to get bread or vice versa. We had to to run to the buffet each time they brought coffee as it didnt last for 1 min (and it wasnt even good). They have an "onsen" but cannot use it as it is mixed gender and therefore require swimsuit. Which I can understand but then they don't tell you prior and they don't sell swimsuits.on the website it looks like they have a normal onsen. They change linen and they had weird stain on them. Well, basically I wont go back.
- Rachael (8/5): Great place on the mountain, good breakfast included, drying room is very organised and very comfy bed! - Location Heating was noisy
- Ayuwat (5/5): -
- Nampheung (5/5): -
- Thomas (8/5): -
- James (9/5): -
- Travis (10/5): - Great Location and great facilities.
- Koby (10/5): -
- michael (10/5): Great value, excellent location, lovely staff. -
- Lindsay (6/5): - Location was good. Easy/short walk to the slopes. Daily brekkie was good. Rooms were quite small and smelt of smoke. Room didn’t have a fridge as advertised. Central bar/lounge area felt a little cold and lacked atmosphere.
- Simon (10/5): -
- kari (5/5): We absolutley loved the location - Breakfast was inconsistant, some days bettr than others, but acceptable additional bed (Pull out sofa) was not vey comfortable
- charlie (7/5): - Friendly staff No refrigerator in room
- Michael (7/5): -
- Shaun (9/5): Thanks to Erol and his team for a great week in Madarao. - Great location, the staff were very helpful and friendly, there was plenty of food at the breakfasts, and lots of space in the lounge and bar area.
- Shaun (9/5): -
- StevO (5/5): Expect absolute minimalist with no expectations although the price does not reflect it. - Within walking distance to the lifts. Unfortunately after arriving we discovered there was no parking. The whole point of us renting a car was for the convenience. Bathroom far too small and there's no seats in the room.
- Adele (4/5): Good location. Management is slack. - The drying room was spacious and the heat was always on. The onsen had a beautiful view and it was convenient to have it in our own hotel. There are 2 washing machines and 2 dryers that are free to use, even the washing powder is free, which is unheard of in any hotel - this was a huge plus. The towels are thick and fluffy. The staff are very friendly and polite, they always seem wanting to help but it seems there is a problem with management. The location was good, but there are 2 other accommodation options that are closer that I would stay in next time. The rooms are tiny as expected in Japan, which is why it’s essential that it is kept clean. Our room was serviced once in 7 days, despite asking for clean sheets and towels several times and being promised a priority clean. The rubbish was not collected so we had to take it out ourselves. There was piles of rubbish bags full of rubbish in a store room near the drying room. The drying room doesn’t have anywhere to hang clothes and the racks are bare metal so your gear gets scratched. Breakfast is disgusting. The yoghurt tasted like off milk and the bacon was stuck together in a uniform pattern like it was thrown out of a packet into a frypan and into the buffet without separating, stirring/flipping, basically with no care. One morning both the scrambled eggs and the boiled eggs were ice cold like they’d been out in the snow. Drowning it in tomato sauce is your best option to make it palatable. There is no option for a barista coffee, it’s instant out of a dispenser. The onsen doesn’t open until 4pm so if you’re having a half day on the slopes or a day off, you have to wait. One day we waited all day looking forward to the onsen opening, only to get down there in our swimmers and it was cold because they forgot to turn it on. Very annoying. You have to take your bath towels to the onsen because they rarely stock up the onsen towel shelf so it’s usually bare. The water pressure/volume in the shower in the room was too low and it took ages just to wet my hair. The shower temperature kept fluctuating from boiling hot to ice cold and if you adjust it, it takes around 2 minutes before it changes temperature. The toilet seat wasn’t heated either which was disappointing for Japan. On New Year’s Eve, we went to the bar at 5:30pm hoping for a drink but the guy working there said he wasn’t opening until 6pm. The vibe is flat. You would think management could get some of these systems working better, it wouldn’t take much to turn this into a 10/10.
- Fintan (9/5): -
- ryuji (3/5): 失敗 - 特にない。 日本語が通じない。 部屋にカメムシが いる。 TVあるけど見れない。
- TOMOKAZU (8/5): - Great access to the slopes and relaxed vibe and international atmosphere. I wished they perhaps had the public bath in the basement not mixed gender and was segragated for each gender but I understand with the clientele being mainly from abroad, the approach taken was the best one.
- Lokesh (9/5): Excellent - - staff was really helpful. Location was close to lifts, restaurants. They have own snow gear rental place and breakfast and dinner which was very handy. Rooms and amenities were very clean and comfortable. Very good experience. Some difficulty with vegetarian dinner but staff tried their best to accommodate and help out. We were able to be fed in the end.
- Tim (4/5): Backpacker hostel being run by backpackers - Location Service
- Keightley (8/5): We had a great stay. Will return. - The bed was amazing, everything we needed in the room except a fridge. Great breakfast. Could have better signage if the front path is snowed in. Another customer had to guide us to how to find the check in counter. Thank goodness for the restaurant at night we struggled to find places to eat.Staff were great very very helpful the manager even took us to the bus.
- Rhett (5/5): Would choose not stay at any Active life again unless they commit to improvements for paying guests - Explore Active life is in a good location, it offers good dining & breakfast. Make sure if you book a room its the Japanese rooms, not the double rooms (they are so small & tight with absolutely no hanging space of space at all for that matter) I have stayed at different Active Life hotels in Madarao many times over the past decade, {The Original Active life opposite the Burger place, Hakken which they have sold, and Explore twice). Sorry to say but it seems to me that the owners are not interested in spending money which could make these places much more enjoyable with greater service & facilities. For instance 8 years ago the original Active Life has the main entry covered with a wall of snow so access is down & up the hill via a side entry. It was still covered this year, there could be a valid reason but keeping your main entry clear so guests don't have a treacherous walk up a hill would be a good thing. Active life Explore had some lifts that were broken when they acquired the property in 2024, the solution has been to cover them up with artwork so stairs are the only option. There is an access to the ski fields below the property, that used to provide direct ski out to the slopes, you now have a 200mtr uphill/downhill walk to & from the ski field, with a little effort it would not be hard to make this operational. They have a great bar/lounge area which i really enjoyed in 2024 where they played extreme ski/snowboard footage on a big screen, it was a great place to unwind, relax, & meet fellow guests. However this 2025 ski season the young bar operator seemed more intent on playing his own personal music preference at such a deafening volume that you could not hear yourself talk, hence every night the bar was empty. In all Active Life's with the exception of Hakken, the owner seems to have a preference for employing young travellers whose main focus is on their own holiday rather than providing professional customer service for guests (who pay hard earned dollars).
- Andrea (8/5): Very good -
- Mercury (7/5): pleasant but can be better - Nice lounge area dated. need refresh
- Margaret (7/5): Good -
- Jenni (8/5): Warm, nice, and the staff made the accommodation perfect. - Staff were excellent, nice, helpful, efficient Poor WiFi, place was a little run down and some parts need attention, Spa area in particular
- Dean (8/5): Very good -
- Debi (9/5): Great team of people there that were really friendly and kind. Great to be so close to the slopes - Close to the slopes. Great staff. Communal onsen. Laundry facilities Run down and dated. Mould in the rooms from moisture near windows. Not much selection of food 🥘 b the restaurant at night.
- Paul (10/5): Exceptional - Duty manager was excellent all week going beyond the norm to provide exceptional service. Great location just a short walk to the ski slope, good breakfast. Didn't have wifi in room
- Andrew (8/5): Very good - Room was clean. Manager was super helpful with any requests.. No Toto in bathroom..
- Lorinda (7/5): Will consider using this facility again should we go there again - Well situated. Very friendly staff. The room and bathroom wasn’t clean
- Ava (3/5): Will not be staying here again. - Warm, Oil heaters, nice linen. Great drying room. The breakfast was very basic and chaotic. Noisy, thin walls. We were placed in between rooms of children or arguing couples during the entire stay. For how much we paid per night the experience was not good.
- Paul (8/5): Very good -
- Alex (10/5): Exceptional -
- Hiro (4/5): - Staff was very nice, but that does not make up for the horrible cost-performance of the hotel. Parts of the building are shut down, the onsen is half disassembled (joint male-female onsen), sauna shut down, rooms very basic, breakfast with bare minimum buffet, yet is priced at double any nearby lodge and at 1.5x the much better Madarao Kogen Hotel. Guess the investors have to get a high IRR on their investment to buy and minimally renovate the hotel.
- George (5/5): Passable - Location great Partner breaking her leg first day NB no reflection on explore
- Geoffrey (8/5): Very good -
- Andrew (3/5): We won’t be coming back - Good location, good drying room It had no character - the staff were pleasant but not very helpful - they did not seem to know anything about anything - the food was very poor
- Rick (8/5): Very good -
- Katrina (9/5): Superb -
- Stephen (6/5): - The property is very dated with no lift only stairs. Basic 3 star and in need of a re fit. Staff were good
- Vicki (7/5): Convenient location for skiing, overall pleasant stay - The breakfast was pretty good. Lots of variety. Beds were comfy. Showers were hot. May was exceptionally accomodating and friendly. Some other staff were very non plussed and not very helpful. Initial impression wasn’t great but overall a pleasant stay and very handy to the ski slopes. Dinner in the restaurant was lovely and good value. Coffee could be hotter. A coffee/tea station available all day would be beneficial. Bigger bowls and smaller spoons. Arrangement of food and drinks didn’t flow. Having to double back to get milk or cereal, fruit etc. Noise from hallway carried easily into rooms. Not the lodges fault but a reminder to guests to be considerate of others sleeping when returning late at night would be helpful. Room booked had a mountain view but unfortunately was blocked by timber slats. No fridge in room as stated on booking details.
- Mark (7/5): Good -
- Ryan (7/5): Good -
- Nathan (9/5): Superb - Beds were super comfortable, Short easy walk to purchase lift ticket, Gear hire in the accommodation, Good drying room, .
- Mick (10/5): Great location and good value for money - Friendly and helpful management, breakfast included, convenient location Would have liked the bar to be open a bit longer and have a pool table or other activities
- Paul (7/5): Good western hotel in an awesome Japanese ski resort! - Amazing staff and good facilities. The beds were super comfortable. Breakfast was a western style buffet, and was free! Good vegetarian choices for both breakfast and dinner at the hotel (and in general around the resort). Also amazing views whilst eating breakfast. Onsen hot bath is more like a spa, unisex and you wear swimmers. For tall people, watch your head on the doors. Bathroom was a bit small. A decent walk up a road to get skiing. No elevator, but there’s only a few levels.
- Monica (8/5): Friendly basic hotel close to lifts - Friendly staff, larger size of our room, onsen facility, close to restaurants & convenience stores and proximity to the lifts (not ski in/ ski out but short walk). (Tip: We rented ski gear from another hotel closer to the lifts, so we didn't have to walk skis up the road) Very dated facility. No fridge in the room. Would have been nice to have a separate onsen towel as towels were only changed once in 5 nights.
- Daniel (5/5): Passable - good breakfast, location was decent, about 200m walk to the lift. seemed a little like a youth hostel vibe, could be quite noisy/ rowdy at night, although we were there over Australia day and was mainly Australians so probably fair.
- Adam (8/5): Very good -
- Alison (6/5): Pleasant -
- Yasmin (10/5): Exceptional -
- Mitch (9/5): Superb -
- Ika (7/5): Good - Close to the slopes and places to eat as well as bus stop. Staff are friendly and accommodating. Really appreciate the drive up to the bus stop, albeit short, when you have kids and multiple bags, it helped tremendously. Could do with a refresh. Property is outdated. Wifi connection was glitchy in the room. Our TV couldn’t connect to Netflix at all. Room felt stuffy and dingy.
- Henry (7/5): Good -
- Di (3/5): Disappointed and frustrated - Nice view from window Drying room ok Had wifi on tv if you had own Netflix to log into Room small, no lift just stairs, no fridge, toilet broken, lights broken,could hardly fit in bathroom and had to step up and down to enter, hubby had to duck to enter room, towels changed after 4 day stay, breakfast always cold and no food heater used to keep eggs etc hot, lots of noise at all hours, no service or car to get your luggage and ski gear to bus stop in winter, staff all new and can’t really help you
- Jennifer.s23 (7/5): Good - The walking distance to ski resort No parking and very basic
- Milana (4/5): Disappointing -
- Kross (8/5): Very good -
- Sira (9/5): Superb - I chose this hotel last minute on a friend's advice. The location was great. The room was clean, and the bed was comfy. The staff were also friendly and helpful. The rooms are quite small, but it's okay. It's normal in Japan. I will book a larger room next time.
- Marl (9/5): Superb -
- Charlie (9/5): Wonderful stay - We had wonderful stay at Xplore by Active Life. This property locate in middle of the town which we can go to restaurant, shop or ski lift in few minutes walk. The staff were very kind and helpful. Our room was very comfortable, we felt so relax when we came back to our room. Bed and pillow were also soft and good. We recommend Xplore and will come back next season.
- Warrick (8/5): Very good - Close to ski resort Rooms were small
- Jackie (6/5): Cheap and cheerful staff - Staff were great, friendly and helpful. Location to slopes is great, just a short walk. The lodge facilities are a bit worse for wear. No working toilets downstairs by the onsen, lift broken, one onsen broken so only communal shared bath (need bathing suit). The rooms are small but sufficient. The place was suffering from a bit of mould and disrepair.
- Angie (8/5): Very helpful staff, great breakfast menu and closest accommodation to the great ski fields ! - Ideal location - very close to the rental and ski lifts
- Azmi (7/5): Good - preaw the manager was the best, she is thai and very helpful a bit far from ski lifts
- Leif (9/5): Superb -
- Stefan (10/5): Nice place to stay for ski/snowbaording - Cost and casual place to stay for a ski/snowboard trip. Very friendly staff and the location for the hotel is very good. I was on the slopes after a 5 min walk.
- Philip (9/5): Superb - Preaw and the entire staff were all really kind and attentive. Very much appreciated
- Coral (8/5): Location and staff make this the place to stay in Madarao. - Helpful, friendly staff. Few minute walk to ski. Breakfast with made to order eggs and buffet choices was a nice start to ski day.
- Mark (9/5): Superb - Excellent location near the lifts and easy access to all Madarao facilities . Great view of Mt Myoko. Lack of storage/ cupboard space in the rooms but this isn’t unusual in Japan
- Shelby (8/5): We had such a lovely stay!! The staff were friendly and helpful. Preaw was very kind & welcoming:) - -Breakfast & dinner was simple yet delicious! Cold and hot meal options. -Rooms & bathroom were very clean. Bed/ sheets/ doona / pillows were very comfortable- felt like sleeping in a cloud. -Room had a heater that can be adjusted. Was a nice temperature. -The onsen was amazing! (Mixed gender & bathers must be worn) -Fantastic location to the mountain- 1-2 min walk up the road. -Everything was great, however more dinner options would be better! Having stayed for 12 nights having around 5 main dinner meals became a bit boring. -The rooms didn’t have any tables ( besides 1 little bedside table) to put personal items on etc.
- Tien (8/5): Very good - Short walk to the lift and restaurants. Tea and coffee and washer/dryer free for use. Spacious room with Netflix and comfy bed. Attentive staff. Didnt know you can ask for pick up at bus stop, but did get a drop off. Old building. The spa is a mix/shared bath. Breakfast was ok.
- Lucinda (10/5): Great hotel and location for the ski hill. Lovely staff. - Great location for the ski hill and nice hotel. The bar offered a lively social area and they onsen was fantastic. The breakfast had a great selection. Parking was on site. The room was very small but manageable.
- Glenn (7/5): An enjoyable week but did not meet our expectations based on Booking.com’s website - P, the manager, was great. Kat, the receptionist, was a great help with local restaurant recommendations and bookings. The breakfasts were good however the staff were disorganized at times and orders were often confused. The ski / drying room was fantastic. The Booking.com website overstates the facilities and amenities. It is not ski in / ski out!! There is no safe in the room. We stayed 7 nights and the towels and sheets were not changed (unless specifically requested). The hotel lift was not operating and our room was on the 3rd floor. There is not 3 restaurants and the one restaurant, where breakfast is served, is more like a cafeteria with very limited choice. There is no ski pass vendor and no ski equipment hire on site. There is no ski school. There is a community pool but it is not a traditional Japanese onsen.
- Fiona (10/5): Great hotel for a ski trip. - We really enjoyed our stay at Xplore by Active Life. The staff went out of their way to be helpful. The room was a good size and very comfortable and it was only a short walk (though uphill!) to the ski lifts. The lift was out of order while we were there but it didn't bother us too much.
- Alvin (3/5): Poor - The staffs at Xplore were very nice, helpful and friendly. Special thanks to Lisa & Eric & P & Nin. P walked us around the whole hotel, and Nin was especially patience and helpful. Above is the “software”, here’s the “hardware”… 1.) No Air-Condition unit in our room. Booking.com site stated that there is air-con. (I understand that it is winter, but we still need some kind of air flow). Very disappointed. 2.) Windows are locked with a “Do Not Opened Sign”. Since there is no vent or air-con in our room, there is no ventilation. Doesn’t make sense. 3.) The Radiator (piped by hot water) was working very well. We can adjust the level to our comfort anytime. Great work. 4.) Lift out-of-order… due to earthquake 10 days prior. 5.) Room has TV but has no channels at all, in which case, what’s the use of a TV! When asked about the channels, we were again told that it was due to the earthquake (we started to see a trend so we stopped asking about other infrastructure like the problematic Wi-Fi). With no channels, the only option is to watch Netflix which wasn’t logged in. In the end, I just decided to use my own account to log-in because at this point, we have already given up on reasonable expectations. 6.) Wi-Fi was extremely weak and it works intermittently. (Didn’t want to inquire anymore, as I could guess the answer… probably the earthquake). So frustrating to watch Netflix as loading takes forever, and the show would hang halfway and never comes back on. 7.) No Fridge in room. Again, website stated that there will be one! Do understand that Madarao is an extremely small town, and does not even have a mainstream convenient shop like Family Mart. So visitors knows to stock-up on drinks and snacks to bring to Madarao, thus a fridge is essential. Not a small “oversight”! 8.) The Safe in the room does not work, with a huge “Do not use safe” labelled. Again, website says there is one, which technically, there was, but one would assume it could be used. 9.) The Private Toilet is clean and looks new. Water pressure was good. But it did not have a bidet as advertised! Other than the 3 bathing/shampoo solutions provided, there are no free toiletries provided. 10.) Has electric kettle, but no tea/coffee maker as advertised. 11.) Not a ski-to-door as advertised. Good location, near ski-lifts and ticketing. 12.) And most importantly, the Onsen!!! There isn’t one. But to be fair, they did not use the term “Onsen” but called it public baths (meaning 2 or more… which means Male & Female). But there was only one, and it was a communal one shared by both men and women, to be used together. In which case, everyone was required to in their shorts or swimsuits when using the public baths, which includes the bathing area. How do people bath properly in a swimsuit! This is not the beach. However, on the website, they did used the Japanese Onsen logo beside the words “Public Bath”, so I assumed that it was a hotel with an Onsen. But in proper onsens in Japan, as we all know, foreign objects (like clothing and such) are not allowed into the water. The onsen area is also a place for visitors to take their proper shower. I can only assume that this is done to save cost, like the cost of cleaning and maintaining the onsens, and the washing of Yukatas (which isn’t provided at the hotel either). For the travellers who go to these secluded mountains (like Madarao or Nozawa) to ski, the onsen experience is a very big part of the trip. Very disappointing. Please do not hold the many short comings against the staffs, who were wonderful people, and they have our sincere thanks. But a word to the foreign investor (Chinese-Australian) of this hotel. I understand that in business, you want to keep cost low, but we feel seriously short-changed by our experience at your hotel. If your family has had a similar experience at someone else’s hotel, would you have been fine with it?
- Paul (9/5): Superb - Good location, friendly and helpful staff and good breakfast . The twin room is a bit small
- Ka ho (4/5): Worst accommodation in japan ever - Room is very very small, when I made the booking I saw 2 double bed in the pictures and I have booked for 2 adults and 1 child. However once we checked in we found out there is only a queen size bed avail in the room. The worst thing is you have to share one male and one female toilet with 12 other rooms. That’s insane. Dry room is useless there is no heat at all during my stay, the heater has no oil at all . Breakfast is included but allow yourself a hour for breakfast , there is only 2 staff serving 50-100 guest per day and you have to wait for your breakfast at leat half a hour
- Patricia (8/5): Comfy room but no yukata - Pros: 1. Location is super good as it’s close to the ski lift. 2. Bed is very comfy and room is big. 3. Breakfast is good! 4. Staff are in generally nice. Cons: 1. The front desk lady talks too fast! 2. No Yukata (bath robe) provided in the room even thou they have onsen (hot spring), that makes it hard to go to onsen. And the opening hour of the onsen is very limited, only form 4-9pm. 3. Room is kind of too hot and no control to adjust the air con or heat. 4. No socket in the washroom so that u can’t use your hair dryer in the washroom but have to come out to use it. 5. No tall mirror for clothes matching purpose.
- Kiang Hon (10/5): Fantastic stay! - The stay was amazing! Lisa and her team at Xplore were always ready to help. They were a pleasure to interact with. The room was huge, clean, and comfortable. Wifi signal was strong in the room. There was a made-to-order breakfast free every morning, with a choice between a smoked salmon or mushroom plate with eggs (your choice of cooking style). There was also a free laundry machine in the basement (dryer costs 100 yen per use). Large drying room was available for the ski equipment 1 floor down. Unfortunately the snow was too high to ski out of the back door, but it was a short 5-10 min walk to the slope, so it wasn't too much of an inconvenience. Would definitely stay here again if we return to Madarao Kogen!
- Todd (8/5): - Great staff, fantastic location about as close to the run as you can get in private accommodation. Closer to a hostel in my definition but that is the Japanese way. Good food with lots of options close by. Shuttle bus to town and near by resorts made the whole trip very smooth. Definately recommended.
- GSteeds (10/5): - Great location, great facilities and free yoga! Good breakfast and helpful staff. Oh and nice traditional style rooms but with the comfiest beds in japan. Will be back!
- Verified traveler (10/5): - The employees are uber helpful. The rooms are slean, quiet, and spacious
- Scott (10/5): - Very close walking distance (and ski out) to the Madarao slope. Onsen bath is wonderful. Room is comfortable.
- Verified traveler (4/5): A poor hotel not worth the money - Unfortunately there are a few bad things to say about this place. On hotels.com, it advertises toiletries in the room but you don’t get any. There’s some shampoo and conditioner in the onsen but nothing like what Japanese hotels usually provide in rooms. There are no staff in the hotel at all after 7pm so if you need help after that time, you may struggle. The showers were 3 floors below our room (with the onsen) - we’d expect a shared bathroom to be on the same floor as the room, at the very least. Not sure why but the elevator and area around it smells like an engine room. There seems to be a cafe in the hotel but it’s not actually manned after breakfast so no coffee or other hot drinks are available after 10. Supposedly guests are meant to take snowboards etc. to the drying room in the basement and not walk through the lobby but people were constantly bringing wet equipment and snow covered boots through the lobby and staff didn’t seem to care. The hotel is advertised as ski in/ski out but it is not. You have to leave the hotel and walk 5-10 minutes up the road to the nearest ski lift. All in all, the hotel just feels like a slightly run down hostel for mostly young Australians - it’s certainly not an upmarket hotel. Breakfast wasn’t very good but it was complimentary so it’s hard to complain about it. The lobby area is the only place to relax in the hotel (outside of your room) and it can get quite cold. The wifi is
- Verified traveler (10/5): an unexpected gem - had a wonderful time here, place was clean and social, great breakfast, close to the slopes, and service by Lisa and Stuart and the rest of the staff was so friendly and attentive. i particularly appreciated that the hotel can arrange pickups to and from the train station. the onsen is also a bonus. Madarao is a true gem and these guys will make sure you have the best time.
- Verified traveler (10/5): - All staffs are nice and friendly. The room I stayed was clean so I enjoyed the stay.
- Verified traveler (8/5): Xplore review - Great location, great staff. Lisa, Manager was so helpful. Breakfast was good. Hotel could use a bit of work, missing some things - ski rack at entry, drying room desperately needs work, no mini fridge or safe in room.
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