As usual, photos are on
driven2travel
The Park Hyatt Tokyo is often feted as one of the best hotels in the Hyatt portfolio. It was the first hotel in Japan to be situated on top of a mixed-use building, with reception 40 floors up and all rooms above the 41st floor. As Hyatt lovers, we couldn't wait to try out the hotel made famous by Lost in Translation and were eager to check in to our suite.
One thing we will say here is that the complimentary minibus service from Shinjuku station to the hotel was impossible to find. We followed the map, asked another bus driver for directions and still could not find it. In the end, we did the easy thing and got a taxi, which was probably more comfortable anyway and cost around 750 yen. On arrival at the hotel, we were greeted by a number of members of staff and escorted to our suite for check-in.
We would also like to apologise for the quality of some of the photos. The management are extremely sensitive about the image of the Hotel and also (rightly) the privacy of guests. How much of this is down to Japanese culture is hard to say. As a result many photos were taken on an iPhone and are not as good quality as usual.
Park Suite King
We had booked our stay through American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts and then applied a suite upgrade certificate, thus were guaranteed to receive at least a Park Suite. Although I enquired in advance about a further upgrade as the AMEX benefit and was told it would depend on occupancy, we only received the booked room, despite the next category of suite being available. Although this was a little disappointing, the Park Suite is a wonderfully spacious room and a larger space would not really have enhanced our experience.
At 100 square metres, the Park Suite King is one of the largest entry level suites in the Hyatt portfolio. A long entry hall led to a spacious living and dining area, through which was the bedroom and oversized marble bathroom, with twin sinks, a high-tech loo in a separate stall, a bath and separate shower. The room was understated but modern, well equipped and of course felt very high end. After enquiring, our diamond amenity (white wine and cookies) was bought to the room.
Dining
The Park Hyatt Tokyo offers a range of restaurants and the famous New York Bar. A great benefit for diamond members is the provision of complimentary drinks in the early evening in the New York bar (1 white wine, 1 red, 1 sparkling or beer). This is a fantastic benefit for a Park Hyatt and really enhanced the stay. On the first night we ate at the New York Restaurant (using the $100 f+b benefit from booking through American Express). This was high quality Western food, although we found it a little salty. Although my husband enjoyed the meal, I was under-inspired, although perhaps I was expecting too much.
We ate room service breakfast on both days (included for diamond members). The fresh fruit, especially the melon, was fantastic and we enjoyed the food and juice provided. The hotel also offers a Japanese restaurant, French fine dining or the atrium, which serves afternoon tea. On our second evening, we ate out in Shinjuki, at a small traditional restaurant called Yakichi, which offers private izakaya dining at a reasonable price. Sashimi and green-tea stewed rice with wasabi were particular highlights.
The Park Hyatt Tokyo is a fantastic hotel with great service, no doubt about that. It goes above and beyond what is required by the Hyatt Gold Passport program for diamond members. However, although the service was polite, it did not feel warm and welcoming and we did not enjoy our stay as much as some other properties. On the other hand, we felt that the rate was reasonable for Tokyo and as a diamond member, it's a no brainer to stay here (and better value than the Regency on short stays). To summarise, a great hotel, but perhaps the Hollywood effect has hyped this a bit too much. It would be our first choice in Tokyo.