Conrad Tokyo {JPN}
Jun 14, 2019, 1:07 am
#361
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 1,481
Value for money/points is always a problem at high priced properties.
I understand your thoughts about views, rooms and location. Could be better or newer, but for me they are good. Actually I’ve got turn down service every day or a written note, that my ‘do not disturb’ sign was on. In that case I just call the housekeeping and got the turn down later. I find the service at the breakfast really good and I think, that I’ve seen sushi there (far right). The upgrades were good for me so far. I understand that it’s hard to get an upgrade when booking a suite and the upgrades on standard reward bookings were always very good.
My reason to stay at the Conrad Tokyo is that it’s the highest level of service perfection, I’ve ever experienced at a Hilton property and the second highest of all hotels, I’ve staid at in my life. I see so many differences to other hotels and I enjoy every single of them. They also inspire me for my business, which has nothing to do with hotels, but a lot with service perfection. Maybe I’m a service nerd.
I understand your thoughts about views, rooms and location. Could be better or newer, but for me they are good. Actually I’ve got turn down service every day or a written note, that my ‘do not disturb’ sign was on. In that case I just call the housekeeping and got the turn down later. I find the service at the breakfast really good and I think, that I’ve seen sushi there (far right). The upgrades were good for me so far. I understand that it’s hard to get an upgrade when booking a suite and the upgrades on standard reward bookings were always very good.
My reason to stay at the Conrad Tokyo is that it’s the highest level of service perfection, I’ve ever experienced at a Hilton property and the second highest of all hotels, I’ve staid at in my life. I see so many differences to other hotels and I enjoy every single of them. They also inspire me for my business, which has nothing to do with hotels, but a lot with service perfection. Maybe I’m a service nerd.
Jun 14, 2019, 6:31 am
#362
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 1,485
I think almost all of the price could be put down to the general hotel quality on a background of rooms that are more than 2x the average and 3x the tiny boxes. Room rates reflect this, even if you feel the rest of the hotel isn't up to scratch.
Jun 14, 2019, 5:42 pm
#363
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: ORF
Programs: UA 1K MM, Hilton Lifetime Diamond, Accor Silver, Marriott Gold, CAM Card
Posts: 392
My reason to stay at the Conrad Tokyo is that it’s the highest level of service perfection, I’ve ever experienced at a Hilton property and the second highest of all hotels, I’ve staid at in my life. I see so many differences to other hotels and I enjoy every single of them. They also inspire me for my business, which has nothing to do with hotels, but a lot with service perfection. Maybe I’m a service nerd.
The rooms are well appointed. As others have mentioned, some of the furnishings are older. I remember most of the decor from my first visit in 2008. But, everything is in excellent condition.
My only complaint on this stay is that new construction on the far side of the Hamarikyu garden is beginning to obstruct views of the Rainbow Bridge and parts of Daiba Island. On my next stay, I'll no longer have a view of the Grand Nikko or Hilton Odaiba. That's probably somewhat out of the Conrad's responsibility!
Last edited by jefftiger; Jun 14, 2019 at 5:55 pm
Jun 15, 2019, 11:13 pm
#364
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: ORF
Programs: UA 1K MM, Hilton Lifetime Diamond, Accor Silver, Marriott Gold, CAM Card
Posts: 392
More on the Conrad’s customer service...
I spent the day at teamLab Borderless on Odaiba, an amazing immersive digital art exhibition (highly recommended). I was exhausted, so I decided to have dinner at Cerise. Much to my surprise, the agent who greeted me at check-in the other day comes to my table with a menu and again greets me by name. We had a pleasant conversation. The impressive thing about this is that she doesn’t work at the restaurant. She said that she saw me walk in and wanted to say hello. Just amazing! It makes you feel very special.
I spent the day at teamLab Borderless on Odaiba, an amazing immersive digital art exhibition (highly recommended). I was exhausted, so I decided to have dinner at Cerise. Much to my surprise, the agent who greeted me at check-in the other day comes to my table with a menu and again greets me by name. We had a pleasant conversation. The impressive thing about this is that she doesn’t work at the restaurant. She said that she saw me walk in and wanted to say hello. Just amazing! It makes you feel very special.
Last edited by jefftiger; Jun 15, 2019 at 11:21 pm
Jul 18, 2019, 12:02 am
#365
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: London / Los Angeles
Programs: Hilton Diamond, IHG Diamond Ambassador, Marriott Platinum, Hyatt Globalist, BA Silver
Posts: 1,631
Definitely a suite upgrade is not an entitlement for Diamond members but I have asked nicely on a number of stays: "By any chance, is a suite upgrade during my stay" and have had positive results on more than one occasion. I certainly don't think it is rude to ask and staff never seem to take it as rude. They will either respond with "unfortunately, no" or "let me see what I can do". But certainly not something you are entitled to, just a bonus if you get one.
Jul 19, 2019, 1:47 pm
#366
Join Date: Jan 2019
Posts: 158
I just came back from Japan a week and a half ago and have typed up a review on my reddit profile. I decided I'll also post a copy of it here.
I think the Hilton Odaiba is a better value than the Conrad Tokyo. I haven't been to the Hilton Tokyo yet though.
Review
I was very excited for this because I am a Hilton guy and Conrad Tokyo is one of the most talked about hotels in FT. I will be making a few comparisons between this hotel with the Andaz Tokyo by Hyatt because these are two of the most popular hotels in Tokyo.
I was staying here for two nights covered by FNAs. The day prior, I checked to see that I was upgraded from the base King Room City to the Executive King Suite Bay View which was several levels higher and cost $350+ more per night. Thank you, Aspire Diamond.
**Location: 3.5/5**
The station is at the Shiodome which is one stop away from Shimbashi. However, I don’t know if it’s me or not but it’s a pain in the ... to find the hotel and this was not even our first time coming here. I've also used their shuttle before whilst at another hotel. I think this is the most centralized part of Tokyo as in its moderately easy to get anywhere due to it being one of the train hubs, but it was still at least 30 minutes to Shibuya/Shinjuku. Shimbashi is a decent neighborhood but it’s still at least a 10 minute walk away.
**First Impressions**
Check in was pretty smooth however they had asked me for the be my guest vouchers. Somehow this didn't register in my head as the FNA email. It took me 20 minutes to find the dang email. They were nice enough to check us in and then asked us to come down when I found it. I'm not entirely sure why I had to provide the FNA email since I have to call to book the hotel.
The hotel is in a building which you have to take the elevator up to, and then a separate elevator to your room. This was the same for Andaz Tokyo, so while I'm not a fan of it, I've come to accept it.
When I first interacted with the hotel, I noticed that it wasn't as well maintained as some of the other 5* hotels. I was very excited for the Executive Suite but I was disappointed. The hotel was aged and in need of a refurbishment. You can tell that the furniture was a bit worn, the water system used very old styled knobs and even the toilet had a manual flush. In fact, the water in the shower gets hotter if you flush or switch on the faucet at the same time. No other hotel in Tokyo did this for us so we're sure this is one of the older buildings. There were several spots on the floor that had scrap marks. Lastly, the hotel was ultra dark. I thought the Ritz Kyoto was dark, but this hotel put the RCK's dimness to shame. At the very least it was clean.
Yes, the suite upgrade was still nice but it was not $800+ nice. The hard product of even the Executive Suite could not compare to the base City View Room of the Andaz Tokyo on anything except spaciousness. This was a let down.
**Room: 3/5**
Walk through of the suite: https://imgur.com/UZlOmip
Floors are worn out: https://imgur.com/om9XXfK
**Dining: 4/5**
The breakfast here is split up into the executive and the lobby lounge. The first day we tried the executive lounge. The space had a good view of the city skyline and was nice and quiet but the spread was pretty mediocre.
The second day, we had it in the lobby lounge. I’ve heard from blogs that the breakfast at the main restaurant is way better. It was not. The place is hectic and it was hard to even find plates. Many other guests also requested plates because there either weren’t enough or it was just hard to find. When we finally found it, there was a stack of like 4 plates. After sitting and eating for like 20 mins, I went back for another plate but found one plate with a piece of bread and a candy wrapper. Now I’m feeling paranoid if it was meant for garbage. I flagged a hostess for another plate. 20 minutes later, when we were leaving we found a stack of new plates right next to the plate of bread and candy wrapper. No one has bothered to clean it up even after replenishing the clean plates...
Oh. And the spread was a little better but was still mediocre at the main restaurant.
During the evening cocktail hour, they had some salami/ham and breaded shrimp. At least this was better than the four types of nuts offered at the Andaz.
**Facilities: 3.5/5**
There is a pool with two lanes and it wasn’t very impressive. It reminded me of a school pool.
The gym however was much better than anything else so far. There was a leg press, chest press, and a barbell! There was no squat rack though which was the complete opposite of the RC kyoto which had a squat rack but no barbell.
One thing that was missing was a pull-up bar though but with a barbell and leg/chest press, I’m satisfied.
**Overall: 3.5/5**
A big disappointment.
In the beginning, I said that the Conrad Tokyo was a bit disappointing at first impressions. My view has not changed. The hotel is hard to find, it’s an old hotel in need of refurbishment, standard breakfast spread with not many Japanese items, and had mediocre facilities. Yes the executive room was big, and the gym is as good as it gets for hotels in Tokyo but no one probably cares about that. Hell, I don’t really even care.
The room rates are at least $400 and goes up to $800 for a BASE room. This "Executive suite" was over $1k USD. I’d be pretty humiliated if I paid that for a night here and I’ve paid over $1000 per night before. If staying for points, the Hilton Odaiba at 45k-50k points is a much better option than the Conrad at 95k points. I’ve stayed at Hilton Odaiba but not the Hilton in Shinjuku. The Hilton at Shinjuku is usually around 70k-80k and is usually talked about as being almost equal to the Conrad. If that’s true, then I’d gladly stay there instead for a saving of 15-25k points. Given the choice, I wouldn’t go back to the Conrad here unless they did some sort of refurbishment.
Don't get me wrong, it wasn't an un-enjoyable stay and I was very happy to have stay here especially with an upgrade, but it definitely lacked the standard of quality that I expect from a Conrad hotel charging $500+ a night for a base room and it definitely wasn't worth $1k a night for the executive suite.
I think the Hilton Odaiba is a better value than the Conrad Tokyo. I haven't been to the Hilton Tokyo yet though.
Review
I was very excited for this because I am a Hilton guy and Conrad Tokyo is one of the most talked about hotels in FT. I will be making a few comparisons between this hotel with the Andaz Tokyo by Hyatt because these are two of the most popular hotels in Tokyo.
I was staying here for two nights covered by FNAs. The day prior, I checked to see that I was upgraded from the base King Room City to the Executive King Suite Bay View which was several levels higher and cost $350+ more per night. Thank you, Aspire Diamond.
**Location: 3.5/5**
The station is at the Shiodome which is one stop away from Shimbashi. However, I don’t know if it’s me or not but it’s a pain in the ... to find the hotel and this was not even our first time coming here. I've also used their shuttle before whilst at another hotel. I think this is the most centralized part of Tokyo as in its moderately easy to get anywhere due to it being one of the train hubs, but it was still at least 30 minutes to Shibuya/Shinjuku. Shimbashi is a decent neighborhood but it’s still at least a 10 minute walk away.
**First Impressions**
Check in was pretty smooth however they had asked me for the be my guest vouchers. Somehow this didn't register in my head as the FNA email. It took me 20 minutes to find the dang email. They were nice enough to check us in and then asked us to come down when I found it. I'm not entirely sure why I had to provide the FNA email since I have to call to book the hotel.
The hotel is in a building which you have to take the elevator up to, and then a separate elevator to your room. This was the same for Andaz Tokyo, so while I'm not a fan of it, I've come to accept it.
When I first interacted with the hotel, I noticed that it wasn't as well maintained as some of the other 5* hotels. I was very excited for the Executive Suite but I was disappointed. The hotel was aged and in need of a refurbishment. You can tell that the furniture was a bit worn, the water system used very old styled knobs and even the toilet had a manual flush. In fact, the water in the shower gets hotter if you flush or switch on the faucet at the same time. No other hotel in Tokyo did this for us so we're sure this is one of the older buildings. There were several spots on the floor that had scrap marks. Lastly, the hotel was ultra dark. I thought the Ritz Kyoto was dark, but this hotel put the RCK's dimness to shame. At the very least it was clean.
Yes, the suite upgrade was still nice but it was not $800+ nice. The hard product of even the Executive Suite could not compare to the base City View Room of the Andaz Tokyo on anything except spaciousness. This was a let down.
**Room: 3/5**
Walk through of the suite: https://imgur.com/UZlOmip
Floors are worn out: https://imgur.com/om9XXfK
**Dining: 4/5**
The breakfast here is split up into the executive and the lobby lounge. The first day we tried the executive lounge. The space had a good view of the city skyline and was nice and quiet but the spread was pretty mediocre.
The second day, we had it in the lobby lounge. I’ve heard from blogs that the breakfast at the main restaurant is way better. It was not. The place is hectic and it was hard to even find plates. Many other guests also requested plates because there either weren’t enough or it was just hard to find. When we finally found it, there was a stack of like 4 plates. After sitting and eating for like 20 mins, I went back for another plate but found one plate with a piece of bread and a candy wrapper. Now I’m feeling paranoid if it was meant for garbage. I flagged a hostess for another plate. 20 minutes later, when we were leaving we found a stack of new plates right next to the plate of bread and candy wrapper. No one has bothered to clean it up even after replenishing the clean plates...
Oh. And the spread was a little better but was still mediocre at the main restaurant.
During the evening cocktail hour, they had some salami/ham and breaded shrimp. At least this was better than the four types of nuts offered at the Andaz.
**Facilities: 3.5/5**
There is a pool with two lanes and it wasn’t very impressive. It reminded me of a school pool.
The gym however was much better than anything else so far. There was a leg press, chest press, and a barbell! There was no squat rack though which was the complete opposite of the RC kyoto which had a squat rack but no barbell.
One thing that was missing was a pull-up bar though but with a barbell and leg/chest press, I’m satisfied.
**Overall: 3.5/5**
A big disappointment.
In the beginning, I said that the Conrad Tokyo was a bit disappointing at first impressions. My view has not changed. The hotel is hard to find, it’s an old hotel in need of refurbishment, standard breakfast spread with not many Japanese items, and had mediocre facilities. Yes the executive room was big, and the gym is as good as it gets for hotels in Tokyo but no one probably cares about that. Hell, I don’t really even care.
The room rates are at least $400 and goes up to $800 for a BASE room. This "Executive suite" was over $1k USD. I’d be pretty humiliated if I paid that for a night here and I’ve paid over $1000 per night before. If staying for points, the Hilton Odaiba at 45k-50k points is a much better option than the Conrad at 95k points. I’ve stayed at Hilton Odaiba but not the Hilton in Shinjuku. The Hilton at Shinjuku is usually around 70k-80k and is usually talked about as being almost equal to the Conrad. If that’s true, then I’d gladly stay there instead for a saving of 15-25k points. Given the choice, I wouldn’t go back to the Conrad here unless they did some sort of refurbishment.
Don't get me wrong, it wasn't an un-enjoyable stay and I was very happy to have stay here especially with an upgrade, but it definitely lacked the standard of quality that I expect from a Conrad hotel charging $500+ a night for a base room and it definitely wasn't worth $1k a night for the executive suite.
Last edited by NightFury1; Jul 23, 2019 at 2:15 pm
Jul 19, 2019, 2:04 pm
#367
Join Date: Jun 2011
Programs: Hhonors Diamond, UA 1K, AA Gold, Bonvoy Gold
Posts: 75
@NightFury1 thanks for the report!
TBH i have been imaging that this will be the state of things for our upcoming stay in December - and we will be spending 7nights! i used points, but w a free night certificate & the free night for booking over 5nights, then i used 475k points....sadly im thinking of all the other locations i could have spent them on!
IDK why this property gets so much love & hype on travel sites if its dated & average - i guess i will have to wait until December to see if there are any redeeming qualities!
TBH i have been imaging that this will be the state of things for our upcoming stay in December - and we will be spending 7nights! i used points, but w a free night certificate & the free night for booking over 5nights, then i used 475k points....sadly im thinking of all the other locations i could have spent them on!
IDK why this property gets so much love & hype on travel sites if its dated & average - i guess i will have to wait until December to see if there are any redeeming qualities!
Last edited by tinkerbell78; Jul 19, 2019 at 2:25 pm
Jul 19, 2019, 2:13 pm
#368
Join Date: Jan 2019
Posts: 158
@NightFury1 thanks for the report!
TBH i have been imaging that this will be the state of things for our upcoming stay in December - and we will be spending 7nights! Sadly i used points, but w a free night certificate & the free night for booking over 5nights, then i used 475k points....sadly im thinking of all the other locations i could have spent them on!
IDK why this property gets so much love & hype on travel sites if its dated & average - i guess i will have to wait until December to see if there are any redeeming qualities!
TBH i have been imaging that this will be the state of things for our upcoming stay in December - and we will be spending 7nights! Sadly i used points, but w a free night certificate & the free night for booking over 5nights, then i used 475k points....sadly im thinking of all the other locations i could have spent them on!
IDK why this property gets so much love & hype on travel sites if its dated & average - i guess i will have to wait until December to see if there are any redeeming qualities!
Surely if you are going in knowing that it's a little dated, you might still be pleasantly surprised.
Last edited by NightFury1; Jul 23, 2019 at 2:08 pm
Jul 19, 2019, 2:25 pm
#369
Join Date: Jun 2011
Programs: Hhonors Diamond, UA 1K, AA Gold, Bonvoy Gold
Posts: 75
Don't let my report get you down. I did still have an enjoyable stay. I only felt disappointed because I didn't have any prior expectations of what it was going to be like and expected 5 star perfection and $800 price tag standards.
Surely if you are going in knowing that it's a little dated, you might still be pleasantly surprised.
Surely if you are going in knowing that it's a little dated, you might still be pleasantly surprised.
hoping so!! its the $800+ price tag standard that sticks on me - as i also recently checked for the dates i booked...Oh well! thats why we have points - to use them!
Jul 22, 2019, 9:37 pm
#370
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: LAS ORD
Programs: AA Pro (mostly B6) OZ♦ (flying BR/UA), BA Silver Hyatt LT, Wynn Black, Cosmo Plat, Mlife Noir
Posts: 5,992
I really don't get the complaints here re: price. Not sure where you're going to find a luxury 800sqft suite in Tokyo at the price level of the Conrad's bay view suite, much less one that you can get upgraded to on an award stay.
EDIT TO ADD: Also, if actually paying for the suite, recommend checking FHR - often have 4th or even 3rd night free deals (although the property recently switched to make these not repeatable anymore), which can bring the price down to <$600/night all-in, plus the property credit of $100-125.
EDIT TO ADD: Also, if actually paying for the suite, recommend checking FHR - often have 4th or even 3rd night free deals (although the property recently switched to make these not repeatable anymore), which can bring the price down to <$600/night all-in, plus the property credit of $100-125.
Last edited by gengar; Jul 22, 2019 at 9:48 pm
Jul 23, 2019, 5:31 am
#371
Join Date: Jan 2019
Posts: 158
I’ve gotten upgraded on stays pretty much 80% of the time in Asia. I just happened to use a FNA for this particular hotel. During this trip, I was upgraded for all the other Hiltons and they were all out of pocket although they were much cheaper at $200 a night but many times I pay out of pocket for suites upwards of $1000. I would be upset if I paid $800 for this suite, let alone a basic room. Maybe I’d pay $600 for the suite.
I’ve also been to the Andaz and was upgraded whilst having no status. Another friend of mine headed over to the Andaz during low season and was upgraded to their sky suite and sent video proof.
So to answer your question, Andaz Tokyo is just as big and will upgrade you on award stays and it’s much newer. Idk if you’ve been to the Andaz, but their city room is quite new compared to the Conrad and very sleek. Their bath trumps our suite’s.
I’ve also been to the Andaz and was upgraded whilst having no status. Another friend of mine headed over to the Andaz during low season and was upgraded to their sky suite and sent video proof.
So to answer your question, Andaz Tokyo is just as big and will upgrade you on award stays and it’s much newer. Idk if you’ve been to the Andaz, but their city room is quite new compared to the Conrad and very sleek. Their bath trumps our suite’s.
Last edited by NightFury1; Jul 23, 2019 at 2:08 pm
Jul 23, 2019, 1:10 pm
#372
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: LAS ORD
Programs: AA Pro (mostly B6) OZ♦ (flying BR/UA), BA Silver Hyatt LT, Wynn Black, Cosmo Plat, Mlife Noir
Posts: 5,992
When assessing value, the comparison has to be in a comparable context - similar properties in the same city over the same dates. Other luxury properties like the Palace or Aman might blow the Conrad out of the water, but they're also far more expensive (I often stay at the Palace and as I've noted elsewhere, a base room at the Palace is typically more expensive than even the king bayview suite at the Conrad).
As also noted in the Andaz Tokyo thread, you're much more likely to get an upgrade / be treated well if you're a social media influencer than you are as a Glob - all the more reason to avoid that property like the plague.
Jul 23, 2019, 2:02 pm
#373
Join Date: Jan 2019
Posts: 158
But you didn't pay $800 for that suite. That's just an arbitrary rate that you saw at an arbitrary time. You say here you'd pay $600, but as I already noted, the bay view suite can be booked for under $600/night all-in and I've frequently done that. In fact on FHR I'm seeing ~$550/night all-in for dates during a future trip I'm planning in September - without any promotion - which means the HH member rate should be lower and any advance purchase rates should be even lower than that.
When assessing value, the comparison has to be in a comparable context - similar properties in the same city over the same dates. Other luxury properties like the Palace or Aman might blow the Conrad out of the water, but they're also far more expensive (I often stay at the Palace and as I've noted elsewhere, a base room at the Palace is typically more expensive than even the king bayview suite at the Conrad).
I'll never stay at Andaz Tokyo again as the service is terrible. As I've posted in this thread, service at Conrad is exemplary in comparison. Even price no object I'd stay at the Conrad Tokyo in a king bay view suite over the Andaz Tokyo base suite, and the Andaz is asking an embarrassing 145,000¥/night for it over the same dates I mentioned above that the Conrad is asking $550.
As also noted in the Andaz Tokyo thread, you're much more likely to get an upgrade / be treated well if you're a social media influencer than you are as a Glob - all the more reason to avoid that property like the plague.
Last edited by NightFury1; Jul 23, 2019 at 2:23 pm
Jul 23, 2019, 2:14 pm
#374
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: WAS
Programs: Free Agent
Posts: 1,757
I'll never stay at Andaz Tokyo again as the service is terrible. As I've posted in this thread, service at Conrad is exemplary in comparison. Even price no object I'd stay at the Conrad Tokyo in a king bay view suite over the Andaz Tokyo base suite, and the Andaz is asking an embarrassing 145,000¥/night for it over the same dates I mentioned above that the Conrad is asking $550.
As also noted in the Andaz Tokyo thread, you're much more likely to get an upgrade / be treated well if you're a social media influencer than you are as a Glob - all the more reason to avoid that property like the plague.
As also noted in the Andaz Tokyo thread, you're much more likely to get an upgrade / be treated well if you're a social media influencer than you are as a Glob - all the more reason to avoid that property like the plague.
Jul 23, 2019, 2:35 pm
#375
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: LAS ORD
Programs: AA Pro (mostly B6) OZ♦ (flying BR/UA), BA Silver Hyatt LT, Wynn Black, Cosmo Plat, Mlife Noir
Posts: 5,992
As I noted in the respective post, the issue with service at the Andaz is that the GM didn't even care. That shows a systemic problem, not a "variable".
I'm firmly in this boat. The Andaz has a stunning-looking hard product and I had booked it for ~$480/night, but ended up cancelling in favor of a repeat stay at the Conrad. The service has been phenomenal every time I've stayed and Mr. McInnes and the staff have been nothing but accommodating to me. One of these days I'll branch out and try a different hotel, but the Conrad makes it very difficult.
Last edited by gengar; Jul 23, 2019 at 2:43 pm Reason: add response