Ok so we didn’t go to the snow to specifically see dogs, but staying at a dog -friendly hotel, that allows dogs on the beginners chairlift was pretty cool!
Hakuba alps hotel is a friendly, non westernised hotel (we were the only westerners there). We got such a great deal for accommodation, breakfast and dinner we booked 12 nights. Probably too long, but with the Hakuba valley pass there was always a new ski field to explore.
We booked the cheapest room, but after one night we asked for an upgrade. The walls are SO thin, we could hear pretty much everything from in the hall and next door. We got upgraded to a suite in the “royal plaza”, a much larger room and in an area that wasn’t a thoroughfare. Highly recommend booking these rooms if you can.
The hotel is truly ski in/out, and although the hotel itself seemed busy there were no crowds on the slopes. Most days we had the runs almost to ourselves, except on the weekend (when the Tokyo people arrive, with their dogs!!)
The snowdrop cafe on the mountain is your typical ramen place, however the peppermint cafe is a little gem serving the best shrimp pizza!
Update from the previous review: There is now wifi in the rooms, the PA announcements don’t occur anymore, and we didn’t notice any Smokey smell.
Buffet breakfast was great and the dinner buffet had plenty of variety, including fresh sashimi.
See our video here

We really enjoyed our stay at the Hakuba Alps Hotel. It was absolute peak holiday period when we visited, but it didn’t feel busy at the hotel and it was a welcome change from the crazy parts of Hakuba where there were westerners galore and everything cost a fortune.

If you’re looking for a westernised experience with a village to wander around, lots of restaurants to choose from, nightlife and lots of English speaking staff, you’ve got the wrong hotel. However we went with the expectation that this was a pretty typical old school Japanese ski resort hotel, and we were very happy. As is common with lots of Japanese hotels, it was rather dated but still very cheery.

ROOM
We stayed in a standard twin room and it was of a good size, especially by Japanese standards. The bathroom was spacious and the bath was even big enough to actually have a bath (somewhat rare in Japan). The single beds were OK comfort-wise (probably a 6/10) and our room looked up to the slopes. The climate control in the room was impressive and it was really easy to dry clothes etc. There was no wifi in the room, which is somewhat typical of old-school Japanese hotels.

ONSEN
The onsen was lovely. The indoor bath was very hot and it was a shame they didn’t have 1-way glass because the views would have been lovely. However the little outdoor onsen provided great peak-a-boo vistas across one of the ski slopes (don’t stand up!) and spectacular sunset views.

ENGLISH
It was fantastic that we could escape the very busy other zones of Hakuba and come to the hotel where there was only one other group of foreign guests. They had a couple of hosts at reception that were bilingual and they provided a very good orientation on check-in. All the staff were Japanese, which was rather refreshing.

FOOD
The food was very good and there was a good range of items on offer for breakfast and dinner. Nevertheless, buffet meals get boring after a while at most hotels and the Hakbua Alps Hotel was no different. They did change some of the offerings each night a little, but you wouldn’t want to stay there for a 10 night holiday without heading into Tsugaike for dinner or elsewhere in the village.

As is common with true Japanese ski resorts, there was no nightlife. The supposed bar was never open and we happily just raided the vending machines for a relaxing après ski drink. We were probably too shattered after skiing to really care about nightlife anyhow.

Other pros and cons.
Pros:
A highlight was the location with direct access to the Norikura slopes. This ski resort is a bit of a gem with fresh powder galore compared to the other Hakuba ski areas. Of course Norikura is also connected to Cortina.
Very friendly staff
Good value compared to some of the outrageous prices charged in the busy parts of Hakuba (even the drinks in the vending machines were significantly cheaper)

Potential Cons:
A couple of times they made announcements on the PA which was piped into our room and was a bit intrusive
Wifi only worked in the lobby and there was just a handful of tables and chairs to sit to use the wifi
They had a specific smoking area but the smell seemed to permeate to other parts of the hotel (a bit like most of Japan in the 2000s)
See our video here