The rooms are quite small, but it's okay. It's normal in Japan. I will book a larger room next time.

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.

Stayed in March 2024

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.

Stayed in March 2024

Rooms were small

Close to ski resort

Stayed in January 2024

Ideal location - very close to the rental and ski lifts

Stayed in February 2024

a bit far from ski lifts

preaw the manager was the best, she is thai and very helpful

Stayed in February 2024

Preaw and the entire staff were all really kind and attentive. Very much appreciated

Stayed in February 2024

Lack of storage/ cupboard space in the rooms but this isn’t unusual in Japan

Excellent location near the lifts and easy access to all Madarao facilities . Great view of Mt Myoko.

Stayed in February 2024

Helpful, friendly staff. Few minute walk to ski. Breakfast with made to order eggs and buffet choices was a nice start to ski day.

Stayed in February 2024

-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.

-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.

Stayed in February 2024

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.

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.

Stayed in February 2024

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.

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.

Stayed in February 2024

The twin room is a bit small

Good location, friendly and helpful staff and good breakfast .

Stayed in February 2024

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.

Staff were great, friendly and helpful. Location to slopes is great, just a short walk.

Stayed in March 2024

The room was very small but manageable.

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.

Stayed in February 2024

The lift was out of order while we were there but it didn't bother us too much.

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.

Stayed in January 2024

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?

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.

Stayed in January 2024

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Stayed in February 2024

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Stayed in February 2024

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Stayed in February 2024

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Stayed in February 2024