mario33

Do the Deluxe rooms at the Westin Tokyo come with Heavenly Beds ?

I dont suppose Gold members are treated well there. Are there upgrade options by using points like the Westin Miyako Kyoto ?

Thanks.

Andrius

I wouldn't worry too much about "smoking rooms" at Kyoto Westin. As Robert Schimmel says, the room itself isn't going to be smoking

My impression was that not a whiff of smoke was in the air although I was in a smoking room. Ventilation is first rate (you can also judge it by how quickly condensation is removed from the bathroom).

If you have a chance, don't overlook an lovely little okonomyaki place accross the road from Westin Kyoto. It's keenly priced and totally authentic. Basically, you exit the hotel, cross the road at the traffic lights and walk down the hill, only about a hundred metres or so. ^

elliscm

Harajuku is non-stop fun and people watching. You might also be thinking of Yoyogi Park, where they used to block off areas to let kids dressed up like Elvis and in Poodle skirts dane and sing (at least in '94.) That got shut down - maybe they moved to Harajuku?

We stayed at the Westin Miyako Kyoto for our honeymoon. It is FABULOUS, quiet, away from all the tourist hustle/bustle but within walking distance of many great shrines. Don't miss the walking trail behind the hotel - the front desk will give you binoculars for bird watching. We had one of the older rooms but it must have been non-smoking because it was very nice & clean.

LLM

We just got back from award stays at Westin Tokyo, Kyoto, Disneyland and a paid ryokan in Kyoto. We didn't really care where we stayed in Tokyo as we were only there the first two nights and had no particular sightseeing plans. Hotel is beautiful - didn't get an upgrade but the regular room was wonderful. As someone else noted there is no "downtown" and the city is utterly enormous. We found the trains intimidating even though my son has had two years of Japanese. Hit a few sights and took the train to Kyoto. Internet was Y500 for 30 minutes in business center. Great concierge who eased my stress re the trains. No charge to call MCI.

Stayed two nights in the Yachiyo ryokan which just happens to be in eastern Kyoto just down the hill from the Westin. The famous Tawaraya and some of my other choices were already booked as I planned late but this location turned out to be ideal for enjoying the most scenic walking area of Kyoto, cherry blossoms in bloom and we had marvelous weather. Moreover, just around the corner is the Japan Intercommunity Center with free wireless and paid computers for just Y200/half hour. The meals included at the ryokan were incredible! We had room with "private bath" which was actually a pre-fab type unit you might find in a motor home. We nicknamed it the Porta-Potty. I used the traditional women's shared bath which was delightful but my guys did not want to get naked in the men's one and roughed it in the Porta-Potty. They also refused to wear the kimonos.

As noted, I booked late but was able to get just one award night at Westin with extra points for executive level which was a great use of points. Wonderful room with view of the teahouse and lounge with free internet, plenty of yummy food and a plasma TV with CNN in English. Normally I do not watch TV but we were able to watch the Pope's funeral live. Fabulous staff. It was so sweet to go to our room and find three of the many amenities and the sofabed already made up heavenly bed style for our son. Y280 for toll-free calls. Nice gym, complimentary. I would have loved another night there (especially as there was so much to do in Kyoto we never made it to Himeji) but they were sold out before and after our one night (Friday). I didn't want to deal with any more trains or Porta-Potty in Nara as originally planned, so we spent three rather than two nights at Disneyland.

Had upgraded with points, another good decision, as the lounge has free internet (I need to do a lot of work email) and we got breakfast coupons. Plus my son was on the 12th floor for the traditional Japanese earthquake. We are Disneymaniacs but this was a day too long as it rained and got cold the final day. They have an okay gym for a smallish charge. No charge for toll-free calls. Rooms were pretty basic compared to the Westin but nothing to complain about. This place is definitely out of the way. When we connected at Tokyo Station to the Keiyo line it felt like Journey to the Center of the Earth (a ride at the Disneyseas companion park, which is definitely a 10). We bagged our JR passes and instead took the airport bus back to Narita.

LAXNRT

I have stayed at the Okura, Imperial (Teikoku), Park and Grand Hyatt and Westin. The Westin is a lot better than the Okura and Teikoku with larger rooms and nicer interiors. As a *wood Plat you get access to the excutive club, meaning free breakfast buffet (western and Japanese), free healthclub access (one of the nicest gyms in Tokyo at the Ebisu Garden Place tower next door) and free local calls.
I have nearly always received upgrades to corner rooms (which they call corner suites).

Have run into the same issue of not getting the equipment to get high speed internet access but acording to management this has been addressed. All the executive club floors have built in high speed access for 900 yen (8.50 USD) a day, not a bad value considering I paid more than 14 USD a lot of times in the US.

The Park Hyatt is great but my corporat rate is double there compared to the Westin.

The Westin Tokyo has been the nicest Westin I have stayed in so far.

From NYC

While I haven’t been to the Westin Tokyo, I was just at the Grand Hyatt Roppongi for several nights and the Park Hyatt for my last night. Given a choice between the two, I’d stay at the Grand Hyatt again because the nieghborhood is more interesting. The one thing in favor of the Park Hyatt is its proximity to Yodobashi Camera. Park Hyatt is more formal style, but the views are truly amazing. Grand Hyatt has the Roppongi Hills center right there, but a wonderful older residential area a 5 minute walk away with some lovely and inexpensive restaurants.

Next trip though, I’ll give the Westin a try.

ZackVLion

Going with a group of 4 to tokyo....from what i can see on the spg website, both the westin and sheraton only sleep 3 people max (2 single beds or 1 queen, plus a possible roll-away)....Does anyone know if there are any suites or bigger rooms (perhaps 2 queen beds?) that would work for 4 people at either hotel? Or will that not be possible?

Starwood Lurker

The Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay has several two double-bedded room types that allow four occupants in the room. Whether or not they are available for your travel dates, I don't know.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

Steve M

Actually, the Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay also has some rooms with 4 beds: 2 doubles plus 2 singles. In places that are tourist destinations, it's not unusual for some properties in Japan to have 3 or even 4 single beds, often used by groups of adult female travelers who go on a trip together.

Tokyo Lurker

The property is in MAIHAMA (Tokyo Disneyland). It is 20 minutes by train to Tokyo Station. They cater to families and have great corner rooms with 2 double and 2 single beds. If you are a plat and lucky to to get a suite, the standard suite rooms has a hide a way bed. Good luck.

mre2b9

Anyone have more recent info on comparisons of the various japanese starwoods? What's the nicest?

BonViveur

This surely needs to be discussed by city. My prefs are below, using quality, service and location as criteria.

Tokyo: Westin, then Sheraton Miyako, then Tokyo Bay

Osaka: St Regis (expectation only) then Westin, then Sheraton. St Regis isn't open yet but has the best location of the 3 for tourists and St Regis has a good rep, although no lounge is a bummer.

Others are all one offs. Yokohama isn't bad for a business hotel. Great location and reasonable views for a port city. Kyoto can be wonderful, but rooms vary wildly in size, design and condition as the building has been added to over 100 years. All others are kind of off the tourist trail and you would use them only if you were in their respective cities.

If I had to pick one, at the moment, the Westin Tokyo is luxurious, has a great lounge, a good location if you don't mind a 6-7 min walk and offers the best service I've had in ages

chanp

Thanks for the feedback. Heading there at the end of the year for 9 nights. Ive been to Tokyo a few times, but want to explore the rest of Japan. Well. at least one other city.

ejg930

I'm planning a 10 night trip to Japan for next year. Tokyo, Kyoto/Osaka, etc.

For Kyoto/Osaka, should I plan to stay in Kyoto and make a day trip to Osaka, or stay in Osaka and make trip(s) to Kyoto? Osaka has more choice in properties, but Kyoto will likely be the more convenient option. I've heard that the Miyako Kyoto is pretty dated, so if it's a lot nicer we could put up with the inconvenience of being in Osaka. Do any of the 4 have good upgrade chances for Gold members off-peak?

lcpteck

Japan really goes by the book, even if there were upgrades, you'll most likely just get a better viewed or higher floored room as per your Gold status.

There's more things to see/explore in Kyoto than Osaka so you're right to say it's more convenient to stay in Kyoto. Sheraton Miyako Osaka is a great place to stay for the location (right on top of the subway station) and great redemption for points stay being a Category 2 property.