NickW

Yes, this is in evidence here too. Having ordered the $40 burger at New York Bar this evening, was told it was only available well-done. One of my friends asked for avocado on his burger, told they don't have it. I point out that I'm pretty sure they do and if he can just ask the chef I'm sure it won't be a problem. Followed by some comedy with pointing at the menu and finally "ああＯＫです".

Yes! We have no ... avocados ... ?

Apparently they do and the chef understood the intent.

MikeFromTokyo

In my experience the reflexology treatments were quite good, I used to combine reflexology with a deep tissue body massage for an extended treatment time.

The Vichy Shower massage treatments are also very good.

MikeFromTokyo

It always amazes me that even high-end hotels under foreign management seem to have difficulty training waitstaff to be more flexible and adaptive to guests' needs. It is ridiculous that a simple request for an avocado topping on a hamburger should be such an ordeal. Avocado is a relatively common hamburger topping in Japan.

RichardInSF

You called it, Mike. I got into a "discussion" with a hostess at the NY Bar over available seating on my last trip. Fortunately, it was resolved in a few minutes but it was mildly annoying just to have it happen.

sensei

Overall, the NY Bar/Grill is probably one of the areas where the hotel should invest a little more TLC. We have found service in the bar to be particularly slow and impersonal. This is just my personal observation, but I feel that Japanese customers tend to be looked after better.

As I noted in an earlier post, we did complain recently and since then every visit has been flawless both last weekend when we raised the issue with management and again this weekend. But clearly, we were given special treatment as they always recognized me and addressed me by name. Looking around us we noticed other customers waiting for extended periods of time etc. A Diamond friend was recently told he would have to wait 2 hours to have a drink. I find that unacceptable for a hotel bar, even one with a lot of outside traffic.

I would agree and have had a surprising number of simple requests refused (some of which I attribute to a language barrier issue, as saying "no" obviously is not culturally acceptable in Japan). However, we stayed in a high end ryokan last week and that stay made me remember how differently Japanese luxury lodging establishments operate from their Western counterparts. We had to commit to a dinner time at check-in, specify what beverages we wanted, and then do the same for breakfast. The earliest breakfast option was 7:30 and it was absolutely impossible to even get coffee or tea served before that time. Everything was rule governed and there was definitely no focus on fulfilling guests' whims and wishes as one would expect at, say, a Park Hyatt. And that seemed just fine for Japanese guests. As it seems that the PH Tokyo is perhaps catering more to Japanese guests these days, it at least seems understandable why some of the staff might exhibit the inflexibility observed by some on this thread. However, clearly it is not acceptable at an international luxury property.

We just returned from another very pleasant stay at the property today and I would still highly recommend it. By the way, it seems that the Japanese breakfast no longer needs to be pre-ordered the night before.

The_Wrath_of_Khan

Having lived 9 years in Japan I can say that you haven't even touched the tip of the iceberg of the national stubbornness.

nycnyc

I'm leaving tomorrow morning and it was a great stay overall. I've been dreaming about staying here for years so this was a dream come true. There were some negatives so it wasn't a perfect stay but it was definitely memorable.

The Park Suite is an incredible room. Sure, it could use a tech upgrade and some of the furnishings could be refreshed (if you really, really look) but it's still an incredibly comfortable and luxurious room in an understated way. I usually try to spend most of my time outside of the hotel when traveling but this time I didn't mind just hanging out in the room. When you're in a city as busy and loud as Tokyo, being able to have a drink and relax in utter silence while lounging in the plushest robe ever is priceless.

Most of the service was fantastic too--the staff was always incredibly polite and helpful. I'll echo the previous comments about New York Grill though. It shouldn't take more than 10 minutes for a simple drink to get to the table, especially when the bar itself isn't that large. The other thing that really turned me off to the place were the escorts who were working the room. On my first night, I was relaxing and listening to the band until this woman sat next to me ( there were lots of free seats) and started bothering me. On another night, I stopped by for a quick drink and watched this woman trying to work this couple--the guy was into all the touching and stuff but his girlfriend/wife just looked on nervously.

Overall though it was an amazing time and I hope I can return again soon!

The_Wrath_of_Khan

Now I'm mad. I've been there 5-6 times and have never ran into an escort there. Sounds unusual.

greg999

I recently stayed at the Park Hyatt Tokyo with two small children (2 years and a 3 month old baby) and had a great experience. I also saw another couple travelling with a baby and several with 8-10 year old children at the hotel.

I reserved the standard award room for two adults and called the hotel directly to add the other two children. They had the crib waiting in the room which is pretty standard for any hotel (we brought a small travelling sleeping bed for the baby so I'm not sure if the room could fit two cribs) However they did provide many extra services. The hotel had placed in the room a special trash can for diapers (sort of like a diaper genie for those who have kids) and had several toys in the room, a special bath toy, and several small kids size cups with decorations on them. They also delivered some strawberries with chocolate dipping (they said for our two year old) shortly after arrival.

Clearly with small kids you can't really use any of the public areas of the hotel but there are a number of restaurants in the basement of the building the hotel is in that are kid friendly. We mostly went to Japanese places but they do have a subway restaurant for those who kids don't want Japanese food. The hotel is right across the street from a park that has nice playground equipment in it.

The information sheet in the hotel said that children over 3 were allowed accompanied in the pool by an adult. I noticed when checking out a lot of hotels in Japan that typically the age limit was higher so this is a nice feature if travelling with slightly older children.

I was debating before booking whether to book a revenue room and use a suite upgrade versus a standard award room. When we travel not in a suite we're usually confined to the bathroom for 30 minutes in the evening while waiting for our toddler to fall asleep and in some hotels with a tiny bathroom this can be uncomfortable. The bathroom in the room was large enough so two of us could comfortably wait in the bathroom. There is also a TV in the bathroom (which we didn't use)

I hope this information is helpful for those with small kids considering the hotel.

RichardInSF

In the entry level suite at the PHT, there is no door between the bedroom and the living room, although if you sit on the couch, you are not visible to the bedroom or vice versa. There is a door between the bedroom and bathroom. The suite is easily double the size of the Park Deluxe room.

JetAway

Are you saying the PH Tokyo tolerates hookers in its "high-end" bar?

RichardInSF

Yes, that is clearly what is being said. I don't go up there very often despite being a frequent guest, but it's something I've never seen, and it's very hard for me to believe that management would allow it. Also it is difficult to believe that a hooker would work a man who was there with a date.

The_Wrath_of_Khan

I've also been up there 5 or 6 times and never seen this. I could spot a hooker at 1000 yards and you're not going to find working girls in the PHT unless something is really out of wack. On top of that a Japanese working girl will not come up to a couple. They're certainly not that aggressive.

MikeFromTokyo

In japan it is very unlikely in my opinion that hookers would "work" an hotel bar in the same way they do at Four Seasons New York or at the Plaza Athénée Paris, for example. Any hookers that might be at the New York Bar likely have come together with their "dates."

NickW

I am pretty sure there were two working girls in NY Bar when I was last there -- it was a Sunday evening; mid April. I was sitting at a couch that backs on to the curtain wall next to the bandstand and had a prime people-watching spot.

One of my colleagues (who is learned in such matters; I of course am an angel) concurred with my assessment.