Best accommodation in Hakuba?

Hi guys,
Me and four friends will be in Japan at the end of January 2009, and we'll be spending a week in Hakuba for snowboarding! I've been looking at some accommodation options, but does anyone have opinions as to where the best place to stay is? In terms of proximity to shops/slopes/bars/restaurants/ease of travel, etc.
Any help would be much appreciated!
Thanks, Dave

I can't say where is the best place to stay in Hakuba because that depends on the individual and budget. What I can say is that I enjoyed the Sierra Resort Hakuba tremendously. We took the 2 bedroom suite that accomodated 4 of us very comfortably, so if you all like to stay together, this is it. However, it is not near any of the slopes or restaurants. The resort will pick you up from Hakuba Station. They will also drive you to where you want to go (e.g. ski slope) and pick you up when you finish. The staff there is wonderful. Communication is not a problem because they have 3 English speaking staff members (an American "Josh Kalish", an Austrian "Stefan" and a Japanese "Yoko"). Their restaurant serves wonderful French and japanese cuisine. Chef Kanazwa is an award winning chef for French cuisine. Look up their website and if it is within your combined budget, have a go.

There were 5 of us, not 4.

Thanks for your reply! To be honest, we're all university students, so our budget is limited. Sierra looks very luxurious though! 5 stars! Geoffrey did you spend much time in the Hakuba villages? Did you notice if Echoland or Happo or Wadano had more bars/restaurants/shops, etc? Does anyone else know?

If you want fairly cheap. then take a look at Hakuba Powder Lodge.
http://hakubapowderlodging.com

Hi Dave! Sorry didn't realised that you were a student coz the title of your post asked for "best accomodation" in Hakuba. My friend's family stayed at Yamano Lodge at Happo One in Hakuba and was happy with it. They had 9 people in their entourage so had to work within a budget. You may want to consider Happo One. There are a couple of very good soba restaurants (which we visited), a Lawsons convenience store, the Alpico bus terminates there, and more. Check out the Happo One area on websites such as SnowJapan.com. Be forewarned that accomodation rates tend to be steeper from January onwards. But if you love skiing the wonderfful snow in Hakuba makes up for it!