Villa Ichinose

First off, the staff are lovely. Even with a language barrier they were friendly, and the reception man was kind. I've stayed at Villa about 4 times now, but this was the first time in about 11 years. Sadly there is a lot that needs to be fixed. The pricing has increased heavily since I was last here. Whilst it is very close to the ski lifts of Ichinose Family, this is a budget accommodation. But I would still expect it to be cleaned more regularly. The rooms are fine, but the hallways, and common areas look very dated and have paint peeling, cracks showing, carpet is old, worn and dirty, and nothing would imply it is being maintained. We never had dinner here, but breakfast was a buffet style, and whether it's worth it to you or not is a personal thing. The convenience store downstairs is only open at night times, and not every day. I remember the restaurant at ground level facing the road served excellent gyoza, ramen and beer. Sadly it's been closed for a while and used as storage. I don't want Villa to become like the rest of the hotels in Ichinose, only for school groups or super expensive because of their proximity to the ski lifts, but it really needs to have some money invested in the property, replacing old and damaged decor, and carpets professionally cleaned yearly. But thank you to all the staff for being lovely and kind people.