Kiroro, on Hokkaido, is every bit as popular a ski destination as nearby Niseko, and I actually stayed at the Kiroro Tribute Portfolio Hotel there. This article is my first-hand stay report.
I hope it’s useful if you’re considering a ski trip to Hokkaido or trying to decide where to stay in Kiroro.
I also hit the slopes at Kiroro Snow World, the resort’s own ski area, so I’ll share my impressions of that too.
Why I Chose This Hotel
Near Kiroro Snow World there are three hotels to choose from: the Sheraton Hokkaido Kiroro Resort, the Kiroro Tribute Portfolio Hotel, and Yu Kiroro. I picked the Kiroro Tribute Portfolio Hotel for two reasons.
It’s a Marriott Property
The Kiroro Tribute Portfolio Hotel belongs to Marriott, the world’s largest hotel group, which means Marriott Bonvoy perks apply here.
My travel companion is a Marriott Bonvoy member, and that was one of the deciding factors in choosing this hotel.
As a Gold Elite member, you get priority late checkout at no extra charge until 2 PM!
That meant on our last day, we could leave our snowboard gear in the room instead of using a locker, hit the slopes, and change afterward back in the room — genuinely convenient.
Snowboard gear is bulky and heavy, and changing takes some space, so having a private room available instead of a locker room means getting ready to leave without worrying about anyone around you.
Full Hotel Facilities
The Kiroro Tribute Portfolio Hotel has a Kiroro hot spring, a pool, and a fitness gym.
There’s a guest-only large bath on the 8th floor, though it only has washing stations and the bath itself — no sauna.
The separate Kiroro Onsen facility has an outdoor bath, a sauna, a rock-bed sauna, and a unisex lounge area, so if you want more to do beyond skiing and snowboarding, it’s worth checking out.
Getting to Kiroro Tribute Portfolio Hotel
The Kiroro Tribute Portfolio Hotel is about 100 minutes from New Chitose Airport, 60 minutes from Sapporo, and 40 minutes from Otaru, set deep in a forest surrounded by nature.
The standard route is flying into New Chitose Airport, then taking a bus or rental car from there.
I used the Resort Liner bus run by Hokkaido Access Network, which cost ¥9,000 round trip.
You can check the details and book online through their website.
About Kiroro Tribute Portfolio Hotel
Including suites, the Kiroro Tribute Portfolio Hotel has 282 rooms in total — a sizeable property.
It has a large bath, an onsen, a pool, and a fitness gym, so there’s plenty to enjoy without leaving the hotel.
Check-In
Walking through the entrance of the Kiroro Tribute Portfolio Hotel, we were greeted by a staircase leading to the second floor, a Christmas tree, and a gorgeous chandelier.
Here’s the view from the 2nd floor. The lobby leans into warm yellow and orange tones, giving it an upscale feel. The front desk is visible on the right.
This is the check-in counter. Plenty of friendly Japanese and international staff on hand. Wi-Fi seemed to work without needing a password.
The Bedroom
This time we stayed in a Superior Triple room at 42 sqm. The room has a calm, beige-toned look. There’s a sofa by the window, with the heater built into the back of the sofa.
In-Room Bar
The in-room bar had three bottles (one per guest) of “Yuki no Mizu,” a natural Hokkaido water sourced from the Taisetsu mountains — complimentary.
Sencha, powdered black tea, and coffee were also provided, and the De’Longhi kettle made for a good cup.
The lower compartment has a fridge, empty when we arrived, with enough room for a 2-liter bottle.
Bathroom & Vanity
Here’s the bathroom. The vanity, toilet, and bath are all fully separated — the bathroom is through the door and to the right.
It’s not huge, but plenty spacious enough to relax in. Refillable shampoo, conditioner, and body wash are provided.
Having the vanity and toilet separated is always a nice touch.
To the left of the door is the vanity, which has a good amount of space.
Here’s the standalone vanity. As a COVID precaution, sanitizing wipes were provided.
All the usual amenities were there too — toothbrush set, comb, razor, hair dryer.
Restaurants
The hotel has seven restaurants in total. The neighboring Sheraton only has three, so having more options to choose from here is a real plus.
Alpine Brasserie, known for its Kiroro burger and beef curry, and PoP, which has the breakfast buffet, are both on the hotel’s 1st and 2nd floors.
A short walk from the hotel’s 2nd floor takes you to Kiroro Town, home to a wider mix of restaurants — Asian Kitchen for Thai and Chinese food, the sushi restaurant Fuga, the steakhouse Shunsai, and more.
If you want to save some money, skip the restaurants and buy from the hotel gift shop instead, or bring food in from a supermarket or airport convenience store.
Dinner: Asian Kitchen
For dinner on our first night we were in the mood for Thai food, so we went to Asian Kitchen in Kiroro Town. Sleek interior, great atmosphere!
The menu covers Thai dishes like pad thai and tom yum goong, alongside Chinese dishes like mapo tofu and XO sauce fried rice.
Budget for dinner here is at least ¥2,000, or ¥4,000–¥6,000 with alcohol — pretty steep, which makes sense given it’s both a Marriott property and a resort destination.
Menu prices are shown as something like “2,000++,” meaning a 13% service charge and consumption tax are added on top.
I ordered khao pad — khao means “rice” and pad means “fried” in Thai, so it’s Thai-style fried rice, and mine came with crab.
I picked it hoping for good value, and it didn’t disappoint — the fish sauce was well balanced and it was genuinely tasty! No cash needed either; you can pay by Suica or just charge it to the room.
Dinner: Alpine Brasserie
I’d heard the Kiroro burger here was great, so we went to Alpine Brasserie, right next to the hotel’s 1st-floor lobby. Some guests were chatting with the staff at the bar counter while they ate.
There’s a performance area in the center, so you can enjoy live music with someone special.
The menu centers on bistro dishes. We ordered the Kiroro beef burger — the whole reason we came!
After a wait of under 10 minutes, a thick burger and crisp fries arrived.
Verdict: incredible. The burger was juicy and packed with flavor — a real standout. The fries were generous too, and great on their own.
With the Marriott Bonvoy member discount, we got 20% off, bringing it to just under ¥2,000 — still Kiroro pricing, but we left satisfied!
Kiroro Onsen
Kiroro Onsen is accessible from the hotel’s 2nd floor. It has an outdoor bath, a sauna, a reclining bath, and a unisex lounge with free massage chairs.
Hours are 1:00 PM to 10:00 PM (last entry 9:30 PM), so note that it doesn’t stay open particularly late.
Getting there from your room means stepping outside briefly, so in winter, when nighttime temps drop to nearly -10°C, bring a coat or down jacket.
Day visitors are welcome too — admission is ¥1,200 for adults, discounted to ¥1,000 for hotel guests. Some hotels include bathing for free with your stay, but here the onsen carries its own fee regardless.
That said, there’s a cheaper way in.
Show a Times Club card at the front desk and your entire group’s admission is cut in half!
That brings the adult rate down from ¥1,200 to ¥600 — there’s no reason not to use it.
Bath towels and face towels are included in the price, so you can show up empty-handed.
| Category | Regular Price | Times Club Member Price |
| Adult | ¥1,200 | ¥600 |
| Elementary school age | ¥800 | ¥400 |
| Infant | ¥600 | ¥300 |
The Gift Shop
There’s no convenience store in the hotel, but there is a gift shop. It carries cup noodles, snacks, drinks, ice cream, souvenirs, and the like.
You can’t realistically cover all your meals from the gift shop alone.
And prices are steep, frankly! A Nissin Cup Noodle that’s normally ¥180 at a convenience store or ¥130 at a supermarket runs about ¥380 here — roughly triple the supermarket price.
My Impressions of the Stay
I don’t want to oversell it, but my overall rating for the stay is 3 out of 5. The main thing dragging it down is cost.
Being a Hokkaido ski resort, our room came to about ¥23,000 a night including service charge. We stayed over a three-day weekend, so that’s roughly ¥3,000 more than a weekday rate.
Pricey, but the room was over 40 sqm, which gave us plenty of room to spread out.
When you’re staying for skiing or snowboarding, gear tends to pile up, so for three people, a room around 40 sqm was just about right.
I’ve stayed at a hotel in Niseko before where the room was so cramped we couldn’t even fully unpack our gear, so setting cost aside, I came away genuinely satisfied here.
The neighboring Sheraton has the advantage of connecting directly to the ski slopes, but its rooms are reportedly smaller overall — if you want more space, I’d recommend this hotel instead.
Impressions of Kiroro Snow World
Kiroro Snow World is the ski area at Kiroro. Since I stayed at this hotel and snowboarded during the day, here’s my take, focused mainly on the runs.
The area is framed by two big mountains — Asari (1,180m) and Nagamine (1,090m). The Nagamine summit, to the front-left, is reached via two chairlifts; the Asari summit, to the front-right, is a single gondola ride away.
Beginners: Head to Asari (front-right)
A 15-minute gondola ride gets you to the Asari summit. I rode most of the runs, and the beginner run (marked in green) has such a gentle slope that snowboarders end up skating a lot, which gets tiring fast.
So once you’re at the top, follow the gondola line and take the course to the right — it has a decent enough pitch to actually ride comfortably. The course to the left (toward the back in the photo above) is for advanced riders, so beginners should steer clear!
A bit further down the right-hand course, there’s a beginner run through the trees on the left, but it’s also fairly flat, so you’ll be skating there too. If you’re not used to skating, just stick to the right-hand course.
Chasing Powder: Head to Nagamine (front-left)
You reach the Nagamine summit via two chairlifts. Maybe because there’s no gondola here, it draws fewer people, and we still found untouched powder even close to midday.
The run layout is simple, so there’s no risk of getting lost. There are some moguls in the middle section, so snowboarders should stay alert to avoid getting caught off guard.
The beginner run leading back to the gondola has a long, gentle wave feature on the right partway down, which was a lot of fun!
Just to be clear, it’s not big enough to actually get air off.
Getting from the Hotel to Kiroro Snow World
There are two ways to get from the Kiroro Tribute Portfolio Hotel to Kiroro Snow World.
Option 1: Take the free Kiroro Resort shuttle bus.
Option 2: Take the Gateway Express gondola.
The ski area is about 1km away, so walking there with your skis or snowboard isn’t realistic. If you forget something small, like your phone, it’s not an easy trip back to grab it, so double-check before you head out.
Option 1: The Free Kiroro Resort Shuttle Bus
The first option is the free shuttle bus.
Kiroro Resort runs a free shuttle that stops at each hotel as well as Kiroro Snow World.
The route runs Kiroro Tribute Portfolio Hotel → Sheraton Hotel → in front of the Mountain Center (the ski facility), so get off at the second stop to reach the slopes. The ride takes 5 minutes.
Buses run as often as every 30 minutes, dropping to as little as every 15 minutes during peak season and on busy days.
It stops right at boarding spot #2 in front of the hotel’s 1st-floor lobby, so there’s no walk involved from the hotel. That said, given the intervals, bad timing could mean waiting up to 30 minutes at the hotel.
Definitely check the shuttle schedule ahead of time, but if the timing works out, it’s convenient!
The buses around 4 PM on the way back tend to get crowded, so either wrap up a little early or take your time and catch a later one.
The area in front of the Mountain Center is outdoors, so be prepared if it’s snowing hard. We got lucky with calm weather on our visit.
Option 2: The Gateway Express Gondola
The second option is the Gateway Express.
The Gateway Express is a gondola connecting the Kiroro Tribute Portfolio Hotel and Kiroro Snow World directly. At only about 800m long, the ride takes just 5 minutes.
It operates from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM, so if you’re planning to ski into the night session, you’ll need to take the shuttle bus back instead. Keep that in mind.
From the hotel entrance, head right and up a short snowy path, and you’ll see a chapel ahead — continue up the slope from there.
A bit further up, the Gateway Express gondola station comes into view on your diagonal right. Yu Kiroro hotel is visible on the left.
Follow the walking path and you’ll reach the station. One thing to note: you need a lift ticket to ride the gondola.
If you haven’t bought one yet, it’s slightly cheaper online, so pick one up when you check in at the hotel.
Once you get off the gondola, you’re at the ski area. If the bus timing doesn’t work for you, this is the way to go.
Summary
So, what did you think?
Restaurant prices and getting to the ski area both have their downsides, but true to a Marriott property, the stay itself was genuinely comfortable!
We stayed here mainly for the skiing, and the staff were attentive throughout — arranging ski courier service, switching our checkout to a later time, and guiding us around the hotel.
Thanks so much for reading all the way through! Between the Marriott perks, the room size, and the easy access to Kiroro Snow World, this hotel really delivered for a ski trip. I hope this report helps with your own Hokkaido planning!
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About the author
Joe
I love hotels, hot springs, and saunas across the whole country!!
I’ve made it to 40 prefectures so far.
Around 100 hotel stays and 50+ saunas visited, and the count keeps climbing.
My hobbies are travel, golf, snowboarding, saunas, and the gym.
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