Yes, you need to drive in either direction. it's easy though, and parking is plentiful at DV. We've stayed in DV, in downtown PC and farther away from PC. The nicer condos/houses tend to be just outside PC or at DV. DV has lots of condo units, although some are on the shuttle rather than walking distance. The on-hill ones are beyond expensive, although March may be a little less expensive. If you do DV just make sure you know where you are. The Snow Park base is closest to PC, with lots of condos, but many are just a little to far to walk. Silver Lake and Empire are right in the middle of DV but a longer drive to PC. If you stay in/near PC be aware that the developments near the Canyons are a bit farther so you probably want to try to be closer to PC itself.
Any location is fine, and driving in to PC for dinner, or groceries, or whatever isn't that big a deal. So I'd go with where you can find a condo you like. I am all about on-line, but I find that talking to agents is useful for PC because it's such a big area.