We are a group of 2 mothers and 2 daughters age~10. We planned to stay for 7 days, but extended to 9 nights as a result of the Earthquake. We checked in on the Thursday before the quake, and was advised to stay on in Niseko and avoid Tokyo.
Throughout the aftermath of the earthquake, the hotel staff never once showed any signs of gloom. Yes, the smiles were a little muted and the tone a little less cheery. But the service especially at the breakfast buffet remained top notch, almost stoic. The service staff made sure that the little ones are well taken at breakfast; by the 3rd day, they knew what the girls liked.
We stayed in a room facing the slopes. The mummies could lunch in while catching glimpse of their bunnies going down the slopes with their ski instructors. We slept on Tatami mats and loved the alternative experience from sleeping on beds. The ski school is 10 seconds away on skis, next to the family lift.
While the room came with an ensuite, we showered at the onsen everyday. After a hectic day on the slopes, the soak in the onsen was badly needed. The onsen was well stocked with premium toiletries that could be purchased from the souvenir shop to be brought home.
The location of the hotel is spot-on. It is a 5 minute walk from the bus station that connects to the airport, and it is surrounded by a delectable range of restaurants within 5-10min by foot. We did not dine in the hotel except for breakfast, yet we never went back to the same restaurant for dinner during the trip. The range is inexhaustible.
Amidst the fear mongering by the foreign media over the quake and subsequent Fukushima nuclear meltdown; and the countless worried calls from loved ones at home, Hirafutei provided us with a sanctuary of calm and peace. We had a blast and we cannot think of a better place to stay.

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.