Contains affiliate links! Our visit was not sponsored though 🙂

I’m here to share my honest Suigan review.

Suigan is a peaceful, luxury oasis outside of Sapporo with private, in-unit onsens and saunas.

Our unit was a loft with a private outdoor onsen and indoor sauna with green nature views, as well as a movie theater on the second floor.

The service was excellent. There’s a complimentary snack bar that includes beer, as well as outdoor baths, cafes and lounges that were included in our package.

Overall, I left feeling very grateful for our stay. We might have been the only one or two sets of guests in this 7-unit hotel. Plus, given that May is off-season, we got a very well-discounted deal.

The Setup

Our loft, 102, had two floors.

On the first floor, the living area has a large, long table with a TV screen on the right.

Windows surround this living area, which looks out onto the outdoor onsen and outdoor deck.

Behind the living area is the sleeping area, which was an elevated nook with four mattresses on the floor.

The long and spacious bathroom space is on the left side, which ends with the sauna. There’s a heated towel rack, a mirror that lights up, and even a mini fridge that’s preloaded with Pocari Sweat, perfect post-sauna (that you could use for skincare as well!).

Private Outdoor Onsen with Nature Views

The Onsen

The onsen is the centerpiece of the loft. It’s a beautiful sight, even when you’re not using it.

All day and through the evening, I went in between the outdoor onsen and the sauna.

Half of the onsen is a shallow, elevated platform. This means that only half of the onsen is deep water, which made it a little bit tight when all four of my family members used it together.

The elevated platform was handy to lie on and read a book without getting too hot during the warmer day time.

Given the elevated platform, I’d say that the size of the onsen is perfect for two people. But because we were going in and out of the living space and there were only one or two people in the onsen at a time, it ended up being pretty comfortable.

The water temperature was not super hot, which made it easy to lounge in for longer periods of time. We noticed that the water got hotter once the cooler evenings hit.

The View

It was great having a green view. There were many thin trees planted right in front of us, which created privacy but still allowed us to see through onto the denser nature scene.

There was a brick deck in front of the onsen. It’s possible to take steps down onto the dirt, but it was a pretty unruly area. Overall, the greenery was managed more naturally, less so curated like a manicured lawn or purposeful garden.

The one thing that was missing from this fantastic experience were lounge chairs. Instead, we had two hard wooden chairs.

Private Sauna with Nature Views

My favorite thing about the sauna is that one side is completely a window, with the same green views as from the onsen.

In addition, the seating area inside the sauna is double-decked, so that it’s possible to use the sauna without them sitting right next to you.

However, the platform itself is pretty wide, so that two people can sit side by side.

The sauna was hot but not painfully so. I enjoyed using it during the day and with the ambient night light.

Movie Theater on Loft Floor

Steep stairs take you to the loft floor, which is a chill out area with a projector connected to a smart TV system. There’s a mini L-shaped sofa and two comfy-ish chairs.

After many hours spent between the onsen and sauna, the movie theater area was the perfect pre-sleep respite.

The smart TV has all the typical features, like Netflix and YouTube apps, but the hotel doesn’t provide free access, so you’ll need to log in yourself.

I feel like this second floor has so much potential, but there’s a lot of empty space. I wish there was a proper, large sofa that could accommodate more people. Two people can fit on the mini L-shaped sofa, but only one person can kinda lie down.

Nonetheless, we definitely got hours of use out of this space!

The Service

Customer Service

The front desk staff was eager to help and was attentive when we stepped outside of our loft. Overall, though, their service is reactive and less proactive to leave you at peace.

Complimentary Snacks & Drinks

Wow. I loved Suigan’s very extensive complimentary snack bar next to the check in area.

We grabbed beers, popsicles and tons of little sweet and savory snacks, ranging from animal crackers to mini Loacker wafers and frozen jellies.

Complimentary Outdoor Bath, Cafe & Lounge Access

We were delighted to learn, while checking in, that Suigan comes with complimentary access to Daiichi affiliated facilities. This includes access to 6 bathhouses, as well as lounge access and free drinks and bites from 6 places. 

We ended up staying in our loft the whole time, because our stay was only one night. If I were staying here for two or three nights, though, I’d probably check out some of the bathhouses in particular! There’s shuttles twice per hour to these locations.

The Breakfast

Breakfast is included, and comes through a latched opening through the wall, next to the door.

My favorite part of the breakfast was the fresh loaf of bread that was still warm inside. We also had onion soup with sausage and thick bacon, which we warmed using the hot plate that’s embedded in the dining table.

The salad had fruit and a piece of tasty ham in it. It wasn’t a full salad as is typical in the US, but rather a small appetizer. From my experience growing up in Korea, salads are often a little disappointing and less filling in Asia, because they traditionally haven’t been a part of the cuisine (pan-fried and pickled veggies are more common).

It’s possible to order shabu shabu to cook yourself in the loft, but we missed the cutoff time for the shabu shabu (it’s by 12pm). We’d be interested in trying that next time!

Would I go back?

Yes. I had a great experience, and would definitely love to come back to Suigan!

My parents loved their stay and are actively planning to come back. It’s a long journey from the US for me, but it would be such a treat to come back here again. Having a private outdoor onsen and a beautiful, pretty large sauna was a blessing.

At less than an hour and a half drive from New Chitose Airport, Suigan would be such a wonderful place to spend a long weekend trip if you live in or close to Japan.

Thanks for taking a read of my earnest Suigan review!

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