Marriott Karuizawa Stay: Marriott Platinum Challenge

Date: 2018-06-14

---

The Platinum Challenge

Marriott and SPG (Starwood Preferred Guest) ran a Platinum Challenge: complete 9 qualifying stays by July 31st to earn Platinum status across both programmes simultaneously. This is the 3rd qualifying stay. Departure from Westin Ebisu (Shibuya, Tokyo) — the 2-night bill there was close to ¥100,000. Not cheap, but commitment is required.

Getting to Karuizawa

From Ebisu, to Tokyo Station, then the Hokuriku Shinkansen for about an hour to Karuizawa. The hotel shuttle bus meets guests at the south exit; 20 minutes of forest road later, the hotel appears.

The Marriott Hotel Karuizawa opened in July 2016 — Marriott's fifth hotel in Japan. It is located in Naka-Karuizawa (the lighter, quieter part of the Karuizawa resort area), set within a forest.

The Room: North Wing

The North Wing is a separate low-rise building (building regulations in this area restrict height — similar to Kyoto). Two floors, 56 rooms. The theme is "living in the Karuizawa forest" — and the design delivers it.

The standout feature: every room has its own private indoor hot spring bath (onsen), with water flowing continuously. This is the Shiozawa hot spring, a mildly saline spring with excellent warming properties — the salt helps the body retain heat after bathing. The hotel allows guests to stop the flow if they find the sound intrusive; we kept it running.

Other features: tatami mat flooring in the living area (delightfully calming underfoot), a balcony with forest views, TOTO washlet toilet, THANN skincare amenities (the Thai natural brand), and the standard Marriott Gold benefits — welcome chocolates, complementary pressing of 2 garments.

The view from the window: green trees on all sides. At 13°C in the morning, the cool air through the balcony door was a pleasure.

Evening Cocktail Lounge

The main building's cocktail bar stocks Shinshu (Nagano Prefecture) red and white wines — fragrant and genuinely excellent, noticeably better than most wines we drink in the UK. Vietnamese staff in red uniforms provided attentive and warm service; all spoke fluent Japanese, which was impressive.

Light snacks accompanied the wine. The lounge was quiet — the challenge is offered in June partly because hotels are less busy at this time of year, making upgrades and benefits easier to enjoy.

Large Bath and Massage

After drinks, the main building's basement onsen: the Kose hot spring, sourced from around 1,150 metres on Mt. Asama — known as a "beautiful skin hot spring" (びじんの湯). Sodium-rich water that gently removes dead skin and leaves the surface smooth and clear.

40-minute massage: ¥6,000 (tax not included — the final bill was ¥7,100; worth noting that Japanese hotel prices typically show room rates and treatment fees before tax and service charge, adding 15–20% to the stated price).

Breakfast

Woke to an in-room hot spring bath — pure luxury at 7am. Then the breakfast buffet: Shinshu soba noodles with grated yam, nozawana (pickled greens), mountain vegetables, wasabi nori (seaweed) from Shinshu, grilled cod roe. Bread from Asanoya (a famous Karuizawa bakery). Eggs to order.

---

Total cost (one person, one night + 40-minute massage, all taxes): ¥30,000 approximately. The experience was worth every yen.

Next stop: Marriott Izu Shuzenji.

(This site is a participant in the Amazon.co.jp Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program.)