A few years isn't archival quality. An HDD will last longer and is cheaper, and speed is much less of an issue for a drive that will be written to and then chucked in a safe.
Yes, HDD's should probably be considered medium-term storage. Tapes seem a little more robust, but it seems like M Disc, estimated around 1,000 years, take the crown. Unfortunately 100GB is the limit, so very large files will be difficult.