Originally Posted by FlyerBeek

Enjoyed an excellent three night stay at the Park Hyatt Niseko Hanazono last weekend. Timed it right with absolutely perfect autumn weather and foliage. Booked a third-night free package (including breakfast and parking) at roughly $300/night - a fantastic rate. I was able to upgrade ahead of time into a King Suite using a suite upgrade award. Prior to arrival, was further upgraded to 1 Bedroom Residence with Onsen. Very low occupancy overall, the property seems to be currently using just the residence section and not the hotel side of the Park Hyatt.

Pros:
- property design - everything you could imagine from a Park Hyatt mountain resort in Japan. Beautiful facilities that appear brand new (even though the hotel opened early last year). The 1 Bedroom Residence with Onsen was fantastic with incredible views of Mt. Yotei. Very well designed suite clearly equipped for a longer stay. Really enjoyed the pool and public onsen facilities as well (both of which currently require a reservation ahead of time to limit capacity).
- proactive service - Robyn (Guest Experience Assistant Manager) and Shoko (Guest Relations Assistant Manager) were wonderful to work with in arranging reservations and providing some hiking suggestions ahead of time. Was even able to arrange lunch and tour at the Nikka Yoichi Distillery on my way out to the Park Hyatt.
- dining options - truly an amazing assortment of options here. There's really no need to leave the hotel for meals given the wide variety of venues here. Really enjoyed the ambiance of The Bar - with some fantastic Hokkaido-themed cocktails. Dinner at Molière Montagne was fantastic and the highlight of my stay - one of the best meals I've had in Japan this year. Also, enjoyed a casual dinner at Olivio (Italian) - thought the Olivio fungo pizza (with local mushrooms and venison) was fantastic.

Cons (self-admittedly, both relatively minor)
- disappointed with Sushi Mitsukawa. Ordered the nigiri set menu (listed on the menu as 15 pieces of nigiri plus a handroll) but only received 12 pieces of nigiri (and the roll) before I was told the dinner was finished. Rushed experience overall, and felt they were trying to just finish for the night. No issues with the quality or presentation of the sushi itself (all fantastic), but not quite the Michelin-star experience touted on the Sushi Mitsukawa website.
- breakfast service - the quality of all the breakfast items were excellent (I'm still thinking about those Pierre Hermé Ispahan croissants!), but service was a haphazard. The menu is structured as a buffet, but there's no physical buffet and all items are ordered from a menu to be delivered tableside. The downside being, unlike a buffet, you really don't know how large each plate will be until it arrives. Very well intentioned and friendly staff, but seems a little overwhelmed despite the generally low occupancy (all three mornings ordered items were never delivered or there was an excessive wait to receive beverages). Really enjoyed the extensive Japanese menu items - all were fantastic. Hopefully at some point they can just transition back to a normal buffet for breakfast with perhaps just the entrée items made to order, making it easier on the staff.

Already looking forward to coming back

-FlyerBeek