Lake Saroma Tsuruga Resort

I visited in early June and stayed for 2 nights. It turned from sunny to cloudy that day. Unfortunately, I didn't see the sunset. The lake view was beautiful. It was very hot in the room that day. I turned on the air conditioner but there was no wind at all, so I opened the window and just turned on the air conditioner. The wind was not blowing in from the direction of the window and we were sweating all the time. We had to call the front desk to ask if we could change rooms, but the answer was no, even though we had just arrived in the room. The front desk said they could provide electric fans, so we used them for 2 days, but it was really hot and it was very difficult to sleep at night because the quilt and bed were thick. I kept sweating while lying on them, and my face and body were sticky and itchy. Yes, people coming in summer should pay attention to air conditioning issues. It would be better to go there in autumn or winter.

The location of the hotel is very remote and we arrived around 7:00. There was no food around. The service attitude is generally good and the breakfast food quality is good. The environment is good and there is 🦐 sashimi. The hot spring ♨️ is not as good as expected.

I visited last year and found it quiet and peaceful, so I went back. The view of Lake Saroma from the room was wonderful, and the sunset on a clear day was especially memorable. The seafood was delicious, as expected, and the assorted platter served at the beginning was good. There was also a numbered card on the table, and when you presented it to the chef doing the kamado-yaki (pie wrap), he gave you a free serving of the finished product, which I think was an ingenious system. There were also binoculars in the desk drawer in the room, which showed consideration for bird watching.

The hotel itself is a facility that the Tsuruga Group specializes in renovating another hotel, but I was able to spend a comfortable time. Most of all, the staff at this hotel were very kind. I asked the front desk about facilities near the inn, but at first I couldn't get the information I was looking for, but when I went out and returned to the hotel, I was impressed that they bothered to look up the information. In addition, the people in charge of the baths, the hall staff in the restaurant, and all the staff I interacted with were wonderfully attentive. So I definitely wanted to stay at Tsuruga on Lake Saroma again.

I stayed here on January 4th, the day the Hokkaido Resident Discount was reinstated. After the discount, I got a resort twin room with dinner and breakfast buffet plan, and the price was 10,000 yen per person. Even though it's Tsuruga, it's not a high-class hotel, so the room was about what I expected. The sink was next to the bed, so it's fine if you're staying with your family, but if you're with friends, I think it's better to avoid this type of room. The raw oysters and large scallops at dinner were amazing. All the buffet dishes were delicious. However, I was disappointed that the salmon roe served at the breakfast buffet was too salty. I would like it to be more refined. Most of the staff were fine, but I was surprised at the poor customer service level of the female staff member who guided me to my room. I thought she was a veteran, but she had a green leaf mark on her face, so she seemed like a new employee, but it was disappointing that she didn't seem to be in the customer service business. I am truly grateful for the efforts of the staff during the COVID-19 pandemic, but I have one request. I would like to ask that you make this known to everyone, especially the elderly, who cannot take a silent bath in the large public bath. I'm afraid of people talking loudly in close contact. This is the case at any hot spring facility, but I think many elderly people cannot follow this rule. Thank you very much to the staff who greeted me outside during the bad weather and snowstorm on the day of my stay and cleared the snow from my car early in the morning. I look forward to working with you again.