For visiting Zao Onsen, this is a good choice. The Japanese style rooms were very spacious — especially compared to other places I have stayed. It is an old hotel, and shows wear and tear. For example, the carpets are worn out in parts of the hallway, the sinks are old, the tatami mats are plastic. It seems like smoking is still allowed in rooms, but fortunately our room did not have any strong unpleasant smell like some hotels. The onsen is quite small and dim, but does have windows to look at the snow. No shower in our room (as is often the case) so expect you may have to use the showers at the onsen. We did half-board, so only ate breakfast. The breakfast was rather basic (standards Japanese style, rice, miso, tofu, eggs, bread, veggies, some local dishes) for the price but not bad. Still, I would recommend it if you are looking for simple and comfortable accommodations in the area. Nice views of the snowy trees. If you have multiple people, and particularly if you are planning to snowboard/ski or hike, it could be a very good deal and we enjoyed our stay. We did not have any gear with us, but there seems to be good options for storing gear as well. The walk from the bus terminal to the hotel is uphill, but not bad if you are in healthy shape and takes about 10 minutes. I would also say that we were pleasantly surprised to be able to check in early. We arrived a couple hours earlier than expected and assumed we would have to wait, but it was no problem. Staff was friendly.