Aventine

Courtyard rooms can be really tiny. I'd choose Hilton Tokyo and even better if you can use the Lounge.

flyme2

In terms of quality and comfort, the Tokyo Hilton wins hands down. Consider the location of the Hilton to roughly equate NYC's Financial District and the Courtyard Tokyo Station to equate NYC's Penn Station. It all depends on QPR and if you hold status with either chain. I really like the Hilton Tokyo's Shinjuku location, as there are a myriad of dining, shopping and entertainment opportunities within walking distance, but in reality, the same can be said of the Courtyard. If money is not the deciding factor between the two, choose the Hilton, as the hard product is superior and the area is less congested than Tokyo Station. You can also take the direct underground connection from the Hilton to the Marunouchi Line subway to Tokyo Station in 20 minutes without any transfers. If you are a HH Diamond, the EL at the Hilton is amongst my favourites, with quality F & B offerings and the ability to enjoy the Japanese breakfast at the Junisoh restaurant without charge. Keynon and crew are exemplary. If you are Marriott Gold or Platinum, you will enjoy free adult beverages and hot meals at the CY. Rooms at the CY, however, are tiny.

Sam_AE

Thanks for the advice. I'm going to stay at the Hilton. I'm only Hilton Gold so unless they upgrade me to an Executive Club room, I was told I won't have access to the EL.

rustykettel

kiyotaka

Does a gold have access to Japanese breakfast at the Junisoh restaurant without charge?

rustykettel

deuce1

Just finished up a 5-night stay on points for my 50th birthday.

Very happy with the Hilton Tokyo. My room was on one of the curves of the hotel, so the entry part of the king room was much larger than the window area, but it worked well. Nice living area near the window was used a lot, and the bathroom was exceptional. Perhaps the best hotel shower I have ever had!

On my birthday, I came back to the room to a card, some fruit and candies. I still have no idea how they knew it was my birthday!

Really enjoyed the Executive Lounge as well. Breakfasts were done well (make sure to ask for your omelette well done if you don't like nearly-liquid inside your omelette!). The evening apps were plentiful, and provided an impromptu dinner one night -- the dumplings were incredible! the lounge also makes for a great mid-day break area for coffee and snacks!

Arrived at NRT and took the Limosine Bus in, and used the same system for the outbound to HND. Could not have been easier.

My transport plan was to use the closest metro station - Nishi-Shinjuku, and we did - was a cinch, and all underground from the entry in the Hilton lobby. The free observation tower in the Tokyo Gov't Center was an easy walk as well.

I will definitely be back!

dascc

so true! our first breakfast there the gentleman in front of me asked for well done. I didn't think anything of it until I cut open my and it was pure liquid! I couldn't eat it....

iahphx

I'm arriving in the evening at Haneda as a party of three (2 adults, 1 teenager). Taking the Limousine Bus to the Hilton seems easy and not too expensive. I do see that there's also a public transport option that starts with the monorail that might be slightly faster and cheaper -- and probably more confusing. Has anyone attempted the monorail?

When we leave, it's sadly out of Narita. Is there any plausible alternative to the Limousine Bus? When I found their website, it seems like the bus will cost almost $90 for the 3 of us. That's not great, but I know it's far. Are there any discounts or alternatives? And, on a Sunday afternoon, approximately how long would the trip be from the hotel? Thanks.

Aventine

Transportation in Japan is just expensive. Believe it or not the bus isn't that badly priced when you compare lugging your stuff to Shinjuku station for a NEX train to save 300 yen pp.
Budget 1.5 to 2 hours to get to NRT from Shinjuku.

Mycell

krazykanuck

It's not *that* bad.... I mean the Hilton has a shuttle to Shinjuku if you don't feel like walking. NEX tickets aren't cheap on a one way basis, and while this doesn't help you, they're a decent value if purchased on a r/t basis since they have a reduced foreigner rate at NRT. Just as an FYI.

I've actually not flown in or out of Haneda, will be doing that next week for the first time.

TDV

iahphx

Thanks, Mycell. That seems like excellent value. We'll have only rollerboards, so saving 2000 yen per person seems worthwhile.

When I go to google maps, it says I can take the Marunouchi line from nearby Nishi-Shinjuku Station to Tokyo station where I'd grab the Access Narita bus. Is that correct? This sounds easy; other than "not wanting to thinking about it" and just getting the expensive airport bus from the hotel, why wouldn't I do this? (I see the Limousine Bus does offer some ROUNDTRIP discounts if you originate at Narita, so for folks starting there after a long flight, the savings might not be great enough to make the switch at Tokyo Station).

The Access Narita bus seems to run quite frequently. Like every 10 to 20 minutes. I assume there's never a backlog?

Meanwhile, does anyone also have any similar "tricks" to get from Haneda to the hotel? I do see that the Limousine Bus offers a "Limousine and Subway Pass" deal from Haneda (there's also a deal from Narita). From Haneda, it's "3,200 yen for Two bus tickets and 48-hour Tokyo Subway Ticket," and "1,800 yen for One bus ticket and 24-hour Tokyo Subway Ticket."

Limousine and Subway pass | Information | Airport Limousine Bus

The deal for 2 sounds OK, as two regular one way bus tickets would cost 2460 yen total. But I also recall that not all intra-Tokyo transport is by "subway" -- there are other "rail lines," too. Right? And what does an individual subway ticket cost: is it something like 200 yen? What has been the experience of others staying at this hotel: how much have you used the subway, and does a subway pass make sense?

Thanks.

teemuflyer

I always look for the best value for transportation, but in the value proposition I also include convenience as a pretty heavy component. If I was a backpacking young adult, price would be the ultimate determining factor, but alas, only young at heart anymore ;-)

That said, I would recommend just using the Limo Bus Service, especially if this is your first time in Tokyo. The public transportation system is awesome, extensive, but can be somewhat overwhelming to newbies getting started. Competing train and metro systems where tickets don't work across systems are common issues one runs into until figuring it out. Also the stations are huge and some lines have multiple final destinations, so you need to get on the right train even though departing from the same platform and nominally the same line.

Perhaps on the inbound use the Limo Bus just to get to the hotel, and then work with someone at the hotel to design a more exciting, and perhaps cheaper alternative to get to NRT.