アルペンリッジ(Alpen Ridge)

This is our 6-7 Niseko trips in the last 8 years. This is definitely the best ski-in ski-out hotel in the Hirafu area! Hotel is just right beside the family lift! Imagine this, fill in the gear rental form the night before you ski day. After a nice breakfast in your room. Go down to the ground floor and pick up your gear from Ski Lockers or Hotel Gear Rental shop. Slip outside the door and you will be on the lift within a few mins. The lift is just less than a 100m away from the hotel! This is not it. After a long day, you feel fulfilled and tired. One last trip down hill, skis pass the family family lift and ski all the way to the hotel door front. Take off your gear, store in the locker and go up to your room. Have a hot shower. Leave the hotel and walk 5 mins to Hirafu main street to pick your favorite dinner. Drink all you can drink, no need to worry about driving or calling a cab. Go back to your hotel, lay down on the couch in front of the fire stove (OK, it’s not real fire, it’s an emu) and watch Netflix. Then call it a day. Is there a better ski-in ski-out experience than this in Hirafu? I doubt it. Everything is within a few mins of walking distance. Hotel room is really nice, well equipped with top of the line kitchenware, they even equipped Miele Oven! AND YOU HAVE YOUR OWN IN HOUSE DRY ROOM!!!! DRY YOUR HELMET AND GLOVES ETC! Tips from us: Niseko restaurants can get very busy during high season, a nice kitchen is a must have even not for long stays! Trust me, a nice kitchen is a must!!

The website advertises beautiful views, but the reality is that only some of the units have views at all; our unit looked out on an alley and another building. When I contacted the management to point out that we had booked far in advance and paid a lot of money for the unit based on the representation that all the units had views, they could not have been less accommodating: no partial refund, no acknowledgment that the website was deceptive (though I notice they have since altered the wording), not offer of a future discount. Literally nothing. It's a great location, but a terribly run and deceptive operation with no understanding of customer service. There are many better options in the area.