Originally Posted by
flyntalk
Our criteria right now:
- Attentive/personal > reserved service
- Japanese breakfast/dining > international cuisine (we love food)
- Local > international flair/style
- Modern > classic hardware (but not bland, wood is nice)
- Gym > other facilities (indifferent, don't need club access unless the food is better)
- Adapted to Japan, but not too formal/strict
We skipped over the Japanese-brand hotels at first, which might've been a mistake. Would it be worth spending less on the Okura (3k heritage king)? What about the Palace (5k deluxe balcony)?
If I were you I'd go with the Palace. Stayed there last year and it was a great location, right ontop of a metro and only 10 mins walk from Tokyo Station. With the Club room you get checked in in the lounge and get complimentary snacks and drinks. Fantastic service too.
Palace (Club Deluxe with Balcony king):- Large room for Tokyo. Great view of the Imperial Place Gardens. Some construction work noise nearby.
- Toto toilet but manual lid and seat.
- Great location as near subway station (about 10-12 minutes from room to metro platform) and Tokyo station (8 minutes walk). In terms of local area, there's a small 7-11 underneath the hotel plus a bakery and some small restaurants full of businessmen. It's even possible to walk all the way to Tokyo station underground.
- Check-in was smooth. I was asked my name at reception and was escorted up to the Club Lounge for the check-in process. Offered a welcome drink, welcome snack and hot towel. Was escorted to my room.
- My luggage arrived the next day having used Yamato at Haneda, but I did have to phone the front desk and ask for it to be brought up.
- Free water provided in bottles with normal caps.
- I highly recommend a Club room, the the Club Lounge has breakfast included, plus a tea service and evening drinks. The Japanese breakfast was especially delicious. One can also go down to the main breakfast buffet included, but I didn't find that worth it as I'm not a big breakfast person, and the hot options in the lounge were sufficient. Those options change every day. I also recommend eating out on the terrace. I found myself using the Club Lounge more often than I thought I could pop in, get a snack and a drink, rather then go to a combi.
- Turndown service offered and slippers placed by the bed.
- Room has USB plugs.
- Beautiful proper tea set in room.
- Automatic curtains and blinds.
- Fastest internet I've ever had at 300mbps.