drron

The deluxe queen room is basically the best room at Hilton Narita.As your status goes up so does the floor you are on.As well you are much more likely to get a late checkout.My experience is 1300 when silver,1500 as gold and 1700 asw diamond.There are not many suites.
Just enjoy it and dont forget to go into Narita town on the free shuttle-the last bus back is about 2300 so it is the best thing to do for your evening meal.
use search function as many other posts on narita.

drron

The deluxe queen room is basically the best room there is.Suites are not common.The higher your status the higher the floor you are on.Also more likely to get a late checkout with higher status.
Dont forget to take the free shuttle into Narita town.Last bus back is about 2300 so a good idea for dinner.Use the search function as many other posts on narita.

Superguy

Yeah, I'll poke around and see.

It looks like there's a shuttle stop at the metro station that goes into Tokyo. What I may do is do a stopover on Friday and stay at the Hilton again, and then just take the shuttle to the Metro and spend the day in Tokyo.

FTraveler

It's not a metro station, as in a subway. There are two train stations in Narita City - JR (Japan Rail) East and Keisei, both of which will take you into Tokyo and, depending on where you want to go in Tokyo and how fast, anywhere from $10 - $30 one-way.

Superguy

Thanks for the heads up. How "slow" is the $10 way into Tokyo?

JDiver

First: there's a JTB tourist information bureau in the airport with some maps and brochures - I recommend it, and visiting the ATM, as Japan is much more a cash economy than the US.

Everyone's right about the Hilton Narita NRT - I use it with some regularity for connections and the like. You'll likely not get much of an ugrade, and there's not much to an upgrade anyway. As for the "special" hotel restaurant on the second floor, it's absolute cr@p and extremely overpriced. If you get a breakfast incuded, though the coupon may say Continental, nobody checks and you normally get to access in the lobby restaurant to the whole megillah, as they say in Japan. This hotel is one of the best deals for an award, as it's only 10k HH points.

The free shuttles are nice, and Narita is not a bad place to walk around, as the Narita-san Shinsho-ji temple complex is quite colorful. Wait a while around the main temple, and when you hear the gong, you will see a procession climb the stairs and you will observe a very colorful and interesting ceremony of the burning of "goma" (you will be wolcome if you remove your shoes and are respectfully observant.) If Spring has sprung, the gardens are quite beautiful, and on weekends you may find a shakuhachi and koto concert happening near the picturesque lake. We had these pleasures with the beautiful Fall colors last year - a most relaxing and lovely day!

The way there and back through Narita-shi (city), Ometesando, has quite a wide selection for food - much cheaper than the hotel! You can always stop for a cool one at the Barge Inn (also on Ometesando,) which I think is owned and operated by some Virgin refugees. (You can get shuttle and airport buts timetables at the hotel, and sometimes a map of Narita - I'd get one at the airport.) Cheap eats and good coffee at Kohikan on the same street, as well as Japanese and Indian food. The town specialty is eel.

From Narita-shi, you can train it to Sakura for a walk around the historic castle grounds (no castle any more) and National Museum of Japanese History. Take the train to Sakura, there's a map outside of the train station, and a ten - fifteen minute walk. There's a reasonable restaurant in the museum. I can't recall what we paid for admission, but it was reasonable, and we got some English electronic guide headsets (handy, because there's not quite enough Romaji signage in the museum.)

Boso-no-Mura is nice too, recreations of ancient Japanese village life, interactive and free (closed Mondays, as are many museums in Japan.) Take the Narita Line train to Ajiki (two stops) and the Ryukakuji-dai Shako bus and ask to be let off at Boso-no-Mura. From there it's a five minute walk.

You can always got to Tokyo, of course - it takes a while, and the faster you get there the more it costs. NOt to mention Tokyo ain't cheap either, but it is nice - be sure to get a guidebook or maps and watch your time.

Superguy

Thanks for the tips. Are those things I could do in a day? My time in Tokyo is going to be fairly limited. The way out is just a rest between my xfer from Narita to Haneda. I'm actually going on to Misawa on business for the week. Fortunately, I have a friend that's living there and he's going to take me around up there. I'm hoping to do a stopover on the way back ... probably stay at the Narita again, although one I guy that's going is staying in downtown Tokyo. Found a room at the Prince Shinagaya (or something like that) for under $100 a night. I just don't want to miss my flight.

I'm not too worried about blowing HH points. My employer's paying, and I get a pretty generous meal per diem even in Misawa. So even if I have to pay for the stopover on the way back, I should have plenty of money.

How much is breakfast at the hotel? It's not included in my rate ... and $154 contract rate vs the $188 bounceback rate with breakfast for the same room seemed a bit much just for breakfast.

JDiver

I can't recall the price of breakfast - as a Diamond, I always get it. My apologies. Probably, considerably less than $34 for the "Continental," and they offer a ton of breakfast items.

Yes, these are things you can do in a day. Boso-no-Mura or Sakura, no problem and Narita-san and -shi are a few hours. The big problem with Tokyo is there are days and days to do in and around Tokyo (like Nikko and Lake Chuzenji-ko.)

As I recall, there is a decent rail link from Haneda to Narita aas wlel as bus. Ah, here's a link to information.

Misawa - I spent a winter up there, brrrr! Aomori province can be cold, lots of snow. April you should have much better weather than that. Lots of lovely Spring weather in central Honshu!

Superguy

Thanks for the tips.

I'll probably just buy the hot breakfast. I'm not much on continental unless it's free.

I like the train idea. I knew there was a bus between the NRT and HND, but I heard that it could take between 2-4 hours depending on traffic. The trains look like they're pretty consistent, so I could budget my time better.

I know my friend's going to travel a good bit while he's over there, so hopefully he'll hit Tokyo and then guide me around. There's a lot I'd like to see ... just won't have the time. I had originally hoped to add more days on to the trip at my own expense, however I'm in grad school and the time we're going is around crunch time for projects and stuff. They couldn't wait until May to go. So maybe I'll get back there next year sometime, and hopefully my wife will want to go.

Super

jeanie

I am curious to find out if this is a good tourist hotel. It seems to be well outside of Tokyo, but as a level 1 hotel it's awfully cheap for a vacation trip reward redemption.

The other hotels in Tokyo really take a lot of HH points to get a room.

Does the airport hotel offer day tours to parts of Tokyo? Or is it too remote of a location to be worth the difference between level 1 and level 6?

Thanks!

Kiwi Flyer

Its good if you are transiting NRT or are arriving late evening or leaving early morning. Cat 1 is very good value for the rates charged.

However it is a long way from central Tokyo and the main tourist attractions. If you are spending any number of days in Tokyo then I wouldnt want to commute in/out each day. Not only costs $$ (rather yen!) but you lose so much time.

JDiver

It's a decent property - full huge breakfast for Diamonds (and Golds too, I think,) good location for Narita-san Shinsho-ji temple complex and the city (Narita-shi), Sakura (National Museum of Japanese History) and Boso No Mura (Edo historical village) near Ajiki. And a steal at 10k points.

But close to Tokyo it's not, and the faster the train the more it costs.

DoubleJ

Taking the one of the special express trains (Keisei Skyliner or Narita Express--N'Ex) will take you about an hour from Narita station or the airport to the first stop in Tokyo (Ueno for the Keisei Skyliner,and Tokyo for the N'Ex), and will cost at least 1,920 yen, roughly $20, (for the Keisei Skyliner; N'Ex is about 50% more) one way. A cheaper way to go is by the standard commuter trains. The fastest (such as the Keisei Limited Express) will take you about 75 minutes, but only cost 1,000 yen, roughly $10, one way. When taking the standard commuter trains, you may find yourself competing for a place to sit, especially during rush hours.

So, as others posters have pointed out, you will save travel time by staying in Tokyo, though it might cost you more to stay in Tokyo depending on your hotel choice, how you pay for it (Yen or miles), and how many times you find yourself commuting between Narita and Tokyo.

SEA_Tigger

It is a very good hotel for your arrival day (since most US flights arrive in the early evening). That is what I do, then transfer in the morning to a hotel in downtown Tokyo itself.

If you have an early morning departure (unlikely back to the US, but if travelling onward within Asia), it is also a good hotel since you're very close to the airport.

But as a place to transit to and from, it will be expensive (average express train and bus tickets are $30USD) and travel time is 60-120 minutes -depending on traffic(bus) and number of stops (train) - each way. So I do not recommend it as a base of operations to explore downtown Tokyo. You're better off with a downtown hotel.

j379pa

For a day or two, like my visit last fall, it's fine. It's interesting to me to watch people on the train--on the way back at night, business men taking off their shoes & even going to sleep! So, there is some educational/entertainment value in doing the ride in and back a few times.

The hotel felt a little tired/dated; I was only silver, so no free breakfast. More than a night or two, I would concur, stay in the city.

JP