teemuflyer

Here's my take (and literally at the Hilton Tokyo typing this, going to the Conrad Tokyo tomorrow).

Nightlife, "action" etc. is near the Hilton. 10 minute walk to Shinjuku station and all that entails. The Conrad is much higher end, and as mentioned earlier, fish market access, plus high end shopping nearby. Your choice!

jphripjah

I prefer the location of the Hilton Tokyo. I find it to be a much more pleasurable area to walk around. The area around the Conrad is more of a concrete jungle with overpasses and underpasses and barriers and whatnot.

AlwaysAisle

I have stayed at both Conrad Tokyo and Hilton Tokyo more than few times. I think it boils down to personal preference. Yes, Conrad is more upper scale establishment than Hilton. Overall ambiance of Conrad is usually quieter than Hilton. Obviously, because of that often rates at Conrad is higher than Hilton. Conrad is located near bay area so there are rooms with bay view which is slightly priced higher than city view rooms. Where rooms at Hilton is all city view.

Distance form a hotel to restaurants and shopping are pretty much same for Conrad and Hilton. From Conrad to Shinbashi/Shiodome area is closest restaurant area, and distance is not much different than from Hilton to west side of Shinjuku station restaurant area. For Hilton there are restaurants at basement and the top floor on near by high rise, such as Sumitomo Building right next to Hilton. From Conrad to Ginza is the shopping area including high end shopping. From Hilton to east side of Shinjuku station is the shopping area which is similar in distance. East of Shinjuku station area do not have independent high end designers stores like Ginza but department stores at east of Shinjuku station have those high end designer’s items if that is your taste.

East side of Shinjuku station area will provide further restaurants options, especially step a block away from the major road, which is similar fom Conrad going to west side of Shinbashi station.

As some indicated right outside of Conrad Tokyo there has been road construction going on for more than few years now, when does it end? Because of that waking on the surface from Conrad to Shinbashi/Shiodome area can feel little more walk around than walking form Hilton to Shinjuku station area. However, both at Conrad and Hilton you can walk underground to Shinbashi/Shiodome area and Shinjuku station respectively.

Yes, if visiting fish market is that high on your to do list then cannot beat the location of Conrad. But for me hotel itself will be decision point. For me surrounding area restaurants/shopping access are both about same.

GJS - yow

I echo the comments about the location. I spent a week at the Conrad Tokyo at the end of May, and was treated very well. As a Diamond, I was upgraded to a bay view suite that was very nice. The lounge was quiet and refined, and never too busy for the week that I was there. It is in an area with many tall office towers, so you do have to walk a few minutes to find interesting sights. It is also very easy to take the metro if you want to travel a bit further. I explored Ginza, Shibuya, Roppongi, and other neighbourhoods all within a reasonable walking distance or a short metro ride.

pav

Hope this may be of interest to some.
Earlier this week I've taken advantage of some good rates for Conrad Tokyo on hotelscombined.com for summer this year.
Booked myself a fully refundable stay in King City View (I know, I know, Bay View is so much better...) directly with Hilton at JPY 94k for B&B per day and used the BRG to end up with a rate of JPY 42k per day.

MeLike2Travel

Love seeing all the info and thoughts. Appreciate it. Will take all into consideration....

windhund

Conrad Tokyo is a nice location for exploring Tokyo. Shimbashi station and Shimbashi station are both relatively close and give you easy access by train to many parts of Tokyo. You can walk to the Tsukiji Fish Market and also Ginza (mainly via overpasses and dedicated pedestrian walkways, so it doesn't feel like that long a walk). The caretta tower Shiodome next door also has several restaurants in it, including a Din Tai Fung. It's also pretty close to Tokyo Station, so if you want to take the train Narita or Shinkansen elsewhere, it's a quick train ride or a relatively inexpensive cab (JPY1000-1500, depending on traffic and which entrance you go to).

As for the hotel itself, I loved the rooms and the lounge. The breakfast is great, and you can have your choice of bay or city views. The service was pretty great overall.

hfly

As posted above, while access to the fish market is nice it is the kind of thing that you maybe go to once, and that is it in your lifetime, unless you have a fascination with lots of edible fish!

hailstorm

Well, considering it likely won't be around this time next year, it's likely now or never!

Cynicor

It's going to take forever to close and move. The latest from the Governor of the area is that it will move temporarily and return to a renovated Tsukiji as it's a great attraction.

They still haven't fixed the perceived contamination issues at the new site so it's not going anywhere in a hurry.

Personally, I'd take the Conrad (and have booked it for my next stay), but it's not because of Tsukiji.

illesus

I'm a Hilton Diamond and I've booked a 5 nights reservation (only King bed was available) for mid-July. I emailed the hotel that it will be four of us (2 kids under 10) and requested the possibility to put us in a double bed room. The response was 1. hotel will be full, no upgrade can be expected, 2. pay extra 7,500JPY exclude tax and service charge per night for a roll-away bed, 3. pay extra 3,500JPY exclude tax and service charge per night and person for the kids for lounge access....
Well, former posts do not indicate that there was extra charge for the kids.

Truffles

Steep charges maybe, but did you really rely only on FT rather than contact the hotel before booking?

illesus

No, I booked the room independently of FT as some hotels explicitly prohibit 2 adults and 2 kids. The booking can be cancelled. I just noted what answer I received - might be helpful for someone else. The last similar notes from 3 years ago on this thread.
Ohh, BTW, HiltonHonors through twitter direct message answered that everyone should be admitted to the lounge w/o further charge.

geclub1

My personal experience is that Conrad Tokyo will waive Lounge access fee for your party as a benefit of Diamond status. I do not know whether a fee for rollaway applies or not.

In your email to the hotel, did you mention that you are a Diamond member?
If you did, then the hotel response was not quite correct.
If you search this thread, you will find there was a reply from a Conrad Tokyo representative agreeing that there is no additional charge for lounge access.

Before you abandon your reservation, may I suggest you forward HHonors twitter message to hotel and asked them to research further. :-)

AlwaysAisle

I have stayed at Conrad Tokyo more than few times over several years. I have seen lounge access policy change at Conrad Tokyo over years. My case three guests in a room and once were charged for third guest access to the lounge, and anther time was not charge for third guest access for lounge. Also, I did not confirm this with the hotel, but I had a suspicious the room type may made the difference…? One time the stay was in standard room, and another time the stay was in suite (paid, not upgrade). It is best to confirm with the hotel regarding current policy regarding lounge access.

If I were you, I will put more emphasis on the response from Conrad Tokyo over the response from Hilton Honors Customer Service/Twitter team.