Gustav’s Hideaway: Making Luxury Fun and Family Memories in Style

While there are a lot of luxury properties in Niseko now, there aren’t any quite like Gustav’s Hideaway.

It’s a different kind of luxury – a fun luxury unlike you will see in any other new property in the area. After visiting Niseko for several years and holidaying in a range of different rental properties, the Hong Kong-based US expat owners knew exactly what they wanted and needed in their dream ski home. It was designed to be a fun family getaway with a dedicated space for kids downstairs, well away from the living space for the adults upstairs.

But for some reason, as a family ski getaway, it’s masterful. The owner says they wanted to try something different and new. “We don’t have to look at bright colours and funky tree bathrooms every day of our lives – we’re going to be here for anywhere between three and four weeks of the ski season every year so we thought we’d make it a bit of fun to make it interesting.”

She says perhaps the most shocking colour is the kitchen cabinets. “My husband asked me if I was really sure I wanted it to be that blue! I wasn’t sure but now I think it works really well with the red marble. It’s a nice feature piece when you walk into the room.”

One thing visitors always talk about is the bathroom with the forest wallpaper. It doesn’t have any windows and was originally supposed to be just a washroom, but they decided it would be handy to put a shower in there. They were looking for a way to offset the lack of windows and while flicking through wallpaper books, they came across the forest theme. “The kids love it – they think it’s the best room in the house!”

One of the owners is half Swedish, hence the chalet’s name and the blue and yellow bathrooms. The tiles for these were shipped from the US, along with most of the furniture and woodwork in the house in order to give it more of a feeling of home.