I'm giving up on Hilton since I'm 90% certain I'm not driving and it is just impossible to squeeze Niseko into our itinerary with the paltry bus/train schedule.

But Kiroro is an option. Logistically, Kiroro Sheraton and Westin Rusutsu are the only skiing options for this trip. Kiroro looks like a good mountain, better than Rusutsu for beginners and intermediate. But I have no status or familiarity with SPG and so I'll have to keep my expectations very low at Sheraton and Westin. Nonetheless both are very expensive, 10,000yen more than Niseko Hilton for similar package. I've also looked into day trip to Kiroro from Otaru but, with their bus schedule, our time on the slopes will be <5hrs. Anyways, if anyone's skiied at Kiroro before, I'd like to hear about it. How's the facility (changing room, locker) for day skiers? Is it crowded on a weekday? Do you concur that Sheraton is better than Westin for blue/green skiers, that Sheraton has much better slope access than Westin?

I've also posted more hotel-specific question on the Sheraton Kiroro thread in SPG forum.