All around fulfilling experience at J-First with the inclusive breakfast and dinner plan. The traditional Japanese tatami room for three is a good value. We never got bored with the dinners for the three nights of our stay as is usually the case with hotel food. The onsen is one of the best in the immediate area with views of Mount Yotei, although the dressing area is a tad small. Boutique hotel feel with fireplace and ambient bar. Short walk to lifts well worth the privilege of available amenities, compared to the immediate competition.

I made the mistake of going at Chinese New Year which meant getting anything in the HIrafu upper village was near impossible, plus all the Japanese schools had block booked everything. My first choice was the Alpen, but this wasn't possible, neither was the Kogen, or any of the apartments.

So I ended up paying >$320/night for a room which I would really say is worth about $75/night because the only room available was a 3 person room and you pay the meal part of the price whether or not the third person is staying there.

It was one of the larger rooms with two beds and an tatami mat that could easily sleep 2 other people.

The bathroom was tiny as usual and I hardly used it because most days I hit the Onsen instead. The TV was the smallest TV I have ever seen in a hotel room, it must have been 10 inches.

I didn't complain though as I found out that this is the last hotel in Niseko still owned by the Yakuza!

What made this hotel was the Onsen, it was small and private and hardly ever busy and the water was fantastic, it felt like your skin had been softened. Sitting in there with a beer (not really allowed) with the snow falling around you was pretty cool.

Location also very good, with a 2 minute walk to either the gondola or the hirafu chair lift. Can't beat the location

Food was alright, but if you don't like seafood be prepared, because there's loads of it and dinner is not a buffet so you get what you get (it was a set menu every night). The breakfast was the same every day the only thing that changed was that you got tater tots on one day and potatoes on the next. The monotony was doing me in at the end but the food was good, pancakes everyday!

I might go back but I wouldn't pay the same next time and would only do it if I went at a differenet time and paid 1/3 the price (which is possible I think).

As a hotel the Higashiyama Prince is much better and the food is also better but there is nothing to do there and the Onsen is not nearly as nice. Had a look around the Alpen hotel, just as convenient a location and looked newer.

As a stand alone this is probably for the price just 2 marks in relation to other options in Niseko I guess it is about average.

We stayed in this hotel for a week in January 2008. We had booked via an agent (Ski Japan) and not been offered a choice of room types. The room we were given when we checked in was very small - not enough room for a ski hotel. There was enough floor space for two single beds and a hanging rail but no drawers etc. Very little space for baggage / drying damp clothes.
So we asked for a bigger room and agreed to pay the extra. This room (200) was of a much better size and on a corner with lovely views of the area - the hotel is in the Hirafu area, near the ski lifts and uphill from the main village.
The next problem we had was very hard beds, but that was resolved by the helpful staff putting in two extra pads on top of each of the mattresses.

Good points:
Location is excellent - short walk (2-3 mins) from the lifts.
All the staff are super helpful and friendly, from the reception to the restaurant and the boot / luggage room.
The standard of the food is pretty good, and they made an effort with our (fiddly) dietary requirements (but see proviso re choice below)
There's a free WiFi internet connection in the hotel.
Heating and hot water worked all the time.
Whole hotel clean, although bits of bedroom a little dusty.
Breakfast buffet was a mix of Japanese and western food, but no fresh fruit.

Bad points:
Decor tired and drab.
Beds before pads added were far too hard.
Plumbing was noisy enough to keep us awake for part of one night (although the system had just been drained for maintenance).
Shower temperature could vary during peak hours, which could be scary. Bath was deep but very short.
We were on a half board deal which meant that we got the set meal. This was a multi dish epic which arrived each night without our knowing what it was. So there was no chance to try to modify it ahead of time, but the waiting staff learned what we liked and did not and tailored the offerings accordingly. If you are omnivorous and want to try Japanese food, this would be ideal for you.
TV was Japanese only (though we weren't there to watch TV)

Other
We didn't try the onsen, shop or the bar.