Park Hyatt Niseko
Stay: February 2025
Published March 2025
Located in the town of Niseko on Hokkaido island in northern Japan, the Park Hyatt Niseko Hanazano is a year-round mountain resort that attracts visitors from around the world for their luxury accommodations with ski in/ski out access and valet service. Niseko has become a popular winter destination over the past few years, and as one of the only luxury properties in the area, we had high expectations, which I’m happy to say were exceeded with incredible service, delicious food, and modern yet natural accommodations.
What stood out:
Beautiful resort property covered with pristine white snow. This area of japan is known for its powder soft snow and its world class skiing and snowboarding.
Large, spacious rooms with separate sitting areas even in standard rooms.
Ski in/ski out mountain access with a dedicated ski valet and storage lockers for all guests (which are heated to dry out wet gear!)
With peaceful and serene views of the mountains and falling snow, this resort offered everything you’d want for a luxurious winter wonderland vacation.
Booking and Arrival
We booked about 10 months in advance paying cash rate and applied a Hyatt suite upgrade award to the booking to secure a king suite room.
As a Hyatt globalist, transportation from Sapporo New Chitose Airport to the hotel was complementary. The hotel offers transportation to the hotel once daily at 3pm, which typically will require additional cost. The provided transportation is a large bus. The seats are spacious with generous leg room. Bottled water is provided. It takes about 2.5 hours to arrive at the hotel.
Upon arrival to the hotel, we were welcomed by staff and led to the check-in area. Within 10 minutes we were checked in and escorted to our room.
Room, King Suite
The spacious King Suite is 81 square meters and includes a siting area with a sleeper sofa and a separate dining area that can accomodate up to four people. Rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows and the view from our suite was of the resort and mountains. It was amazing to wake up every morning to the views outside.
The King Suite has two bathrooms; the master bathroom includes a double sink vanity, separate toilet room, a walk-in closet, rain shower, and soaking tub. The second bathroom has a separate shower and toilet but no tub. Toiletries are Le Labo branded.
As a Hyatt globalist, we received a welcome amenity of Pierre Herme macarons and a small chocolate orange cake. We also received a bowl of oranges. Water, tea, and coffee is complementary. Additional drinks and snacks are at an extra charge. An additional touch, Jenga and Uno cards were provided to enjoy in-room. My favorite thing to do in the room was sitting in the dining area, looking out to the falling snow while drinking a hot coffee.
Dining
The Lounge
Breakfast is offered at the Lounge (located in the main hotel) and also separately at the Residences. Both serve and offer the same breakfast buffet. Buffet stations include Japanese breakfast items (sashimi selection, rice, pickles, grilled fish), western style breakfast items (bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, hashbrowns). There is also an egg station featuring omelets, and a noodle station with made to order soup noodles. In general there is a good variety of options but not the largest selection for a typical Asian hotel breakfast buffet.
Robata
We had lunch here one day and tried the soup curry, which Hokkaido is known for. It was delicious and really the hit spot after a morning spent playing in the snow.
The Bar and Cigar Lounge
This is the hotel bar, which alongside drinks, also serves small bites throughout the day. We came here for some pre-dinner snacks and drinks. In the evening, the bar area lights up and most nights there is live music for guests to enjoy.
The Deli
The Deli includes a Pierre Herme counter with macarons and sweets. There is also a counter for fast takeaway for a quick lunch. Items include sandwiches, pizzas, and savory pies. We liked to come here in the afternoon for a coffee and pastries.
Molière Montagne
This restaurant is run by a 3 Michelin starred chef and serves french cuisine while showcasing seasonal Hokkaido ingredients. We booked a dinner reservation a few weeks ahead of time. Dinner is a set 9 course menu and there are two options; the basic menu is about 19,800 yen and the more expensive option is about 26,400 yen. The difference is that the more expensive option substitutes the crab seafood dish for abalone, and a beef strew for beef filet and an abalone dish. Service was excellent with attentive staff consistently refilling our drinks and clearing plates in a timely manner. Overall an incredible meal!
Amenities, Activities, and Experiences
The biggest draw of this hotel is the proximity to Hanazano mountain. The hotel is a few hundred meters from the lift and offers ski-in, ski-out for hotel guest. You can rent snowboards/skis as well as jacket/helmet. You can also purchase ski lift passes straight from the hotel. Hotel staff will help bring out your gear for you and also assist with storing your gear in your own ski locker at the end of the day. The ski lockers are heated to help dry out your gear. Complementary hot chocolate and water are also offered.
If you do not ski or snowboard, there are also lots of other options for outdoor adventure, including tubing. Tubes can be rented per hour and there is a “magic carpet” escalator lift that will bring you up the small hill.
There is also an onsen on property, separated by gender. We did not use the onsen during our stay, but did note that reservations were required beforehand. I did book a facial treatment at the spa, which was lovely. They use Sisley products and I was gifted some samples to try out afterwards.
The hotel has a heated indoor pool which also includes several separate hot tubs. It was nice to come here at the end of the day and relax in the warm water.
Lastly, the gym is open 24 hours a day and has a good variety of workout equipment. The best part is the view of the snow and lifts!
Last Thoughts
The Park Hyatt Niseko is a stunning property, with amazing views of Hanazano Mountain and amazing skiing/snowboarding facilities including ski-in, ski-out access. I have never experienced snow as white and as soft as the snowfall at Niseko, and I now understand why Niseko has become so popular amongst tourists and locals as the go-to winter destination in Japan. Just sitting by the windows, watching snowfall and enjoying a drink, is an activity in itself. We will be back!