We stayed at the Hirafutei from 14th-21st Feb 2011, so 7 nights. Staff seemed friendly enough, and would always try their best to help.

The location is perfect, you just nip out the back of the hotel, down a walk way to the locker rooms, which seem very new, and then out onto the family run, which takes you to a run that connects you the one of the main lifts.

We stayed in a traditional Japanese room, which was very pokey and small, and the beds are roll out matts, and they aren't very comfortable, especially if you're staying for 7 nights.
We booked a room with an onsen. It was nice to get into (it's a hot spring bath type set up), although it's quite small, so you would struggle to get 2 adults in there at one time. And it was so hot, that you couldn't stay in there for long anyway.

The hotel seems to attract groups of school kids, which makes the hotel quite busy at times.

The buffet breakfast was ok, although alot of it was Japanees style food, which is quite unusual to the western pallete.

We paid about $400-$500 per night there, i can't exactly remember. Which is alot, especially for a place where you sleep on the floor and your beds get rolled away to be able to use the living style area.

Were from Melbourne, Australia and would recommend any westerners to stay somewhere with actual beds and modern facilities. If i come back to Niseko i will definitely be staying at the Alpen Ridge, which are band new apartments, just down from the Prince, and they are in a perfect location too, ski in and ski out.

Also i would book direct with Ski Japan, they are fantastic and have a office in town to help with any enquiry.

I don't have any pics to put on, but all the ones that are already on here are a true indication of the hotel.

I hope my review has been help full.

This hotel was a very good ski in ski out facility in Niseko. We booked the room and meals package. The number of restaurants in the hotel was limited compared to Prince hotels in other Japanese ski resorts. The buffet they serve was good but we got bored by the end of the week. Besides, there were many nice restaurants within walking distance from the hotel. The hotspring had both indoor and outdoor pools which were nice.

We stayed here during the Chinese New Year holiday (11-20 February) because our first choice the Alpen (which is a bit further up the road and closer to the main lif) was fully booked. The Prince was also quite full but they managed to fit us in.

Rooms were larger than the Alpen and quite comfortable. Our room had an onsen which was good, although I preferred to use the hotel's 'public' one - a bit more spacious.

Breakfast was pretty good with a lot of choice. Toasted sandwiches were a favourite amongst our family. I would not eat dinner here though as I think the food whilst ok would get a bit boring after a while. There are plenty of pretty good restaurants in Niseko which you should try anyway.

Good access to the slopes - the main reason for being here anyway - although rather a long trek down a kind of metal walkway to get to the slopes. You then ski down a 100 metres or so to get to the Family Lift which will link you to the main slopes above.

Ski storage was a bit haphazard. Unlike the Alpen, the locks on the ski lockers have mostly broken and the lockers were also a lot smaller than the Alpen but it worked out alright in practice.

Staff were generally friendly and helpful although only one or two spoke English well-enough to deal with more complicated issues.

Generally a pretty decent hotel although probably not quite as good as the Alpen.

I had previously stayed in the Yunokawa Prince Hotel in Hakodate, so I was excited to learn of another location in Niseko. Rooms with private onsens are normally quite expensive, and this chain offers a decent bargain. The only downside to this onsen is that the only shower in the room is the Japanese public-bath-style one located next to the onsen and that room gets quite chilly in the winter!

Looks-wise the hotel is slightly old and worn, but the rooms are comfortable. The ski lockers and drying racks are numerous and convenient. The Kuroneko delivery service also staffs a table in the lobby of the hotel making it super easy to send your ski gear on which is wonderfully convenient if you are using public transportation. Staff is friendly and helpful and many of the staff speaks English. My only problem with the staff is that they don't volunteer information - so don't feel shy about asking questions!

The hotel is convenient for skiing/snowboarding. You can access the ski slope directly from the hotel through the bunny hill next to the hotel. It's a bit of a walk down to the bunny hill lift ticket office, but it's easier than walking up the hill to the main hill lift ticket offices. *We did both as we were unaware of the lift ticket office located down the hill on the first day. The hotel also offers discount coupons to use on the ski hill -so be sure to ask!

The buffet was your typical Japanese resort hotel fare. Although there was nothing special to recommend it, I was most impressed that the hot items actually were hot! I've eaten many tepid dishes at other resort hotel buffets, so this actually made the buffet quiet superb. Great selection too - for both breakfast and dinner. I highly recommend the restaurant Niseko Pizza down the street a bit, if you're looking for a break from Japanese food as well!

Overall, this hotel offers a nice, quiet relaxing stay. The public onsen are lovely as well and guests can get a discounted coupon for using the public onsen after they have checked out. Although it's a bit expensive, it's a great bargain if you book a room with a private onsen. Otherwise, you may find better deals or prefer to be closer to the ski hill at the Niseko Alpen or Niseko Kogen hotels up the hill.