Central90210

s0ssos

Have you gotten the little map telling people to go all the way around and not come in through the car entrance? How do you see any people that way? Which ground entrance are you referring to, the one you are not supposed to use if you follow instructions and do not blatantly ignore the staff?

"Ideal" world? I guess this hotel is not ideal then.

By your logic that if someone is able to do something you do not need to do it for them the only "service" needed is that of skilled labor. Most people can walk. No need for taxis then. Most people can get their own food, bus their dishes, refill their water.
So, is this a self-service hotel? Like McDonalds?

Aventine

Isn't the car entrance the one almost all of us use at first visit? I can't imagine any taxi dropping us off by the Pastry shop side.

s0ssos

Except those of us who walk from the train.

Red259

I have an upcoming stay in Tokyo. I have stayed at Andaz, PH and GHT. PH is out this time and that is fine. I'm staying on points. I remember liking the andaz a lot and not being hugely impressed with the basic room of the GHT. Both basic rooms cost the same amount but for 8k more a night I can get a club room at GHT. I only have the lowest level status with hyatt. Which would be best to go for? Is the club room all that or does the andaz still win out? After these two nights which will be during the week I will switch to the conrad tokyo for the weekend. Thoughts?

OsakaWino

That would be an easy choice for me. As an Explorist I could use a club access award at GH for comped club access, and still it would be a difficult decision to choose it over Andaz if the rates were the same. I would never consider paying an extra 8K points.

MattEvan

Easily Andaz, unless you are a Japanese politician or other local VIP. I'm not sure why you'd switch, but I'd just stay at Andaz all else equal. Better hotel, better location.

Red259

Thanks I went ahead and booked the Andaz. I'm not thrilled with the location, but the property itself I enjoy. Actually I noticed if I paid in cash the GH is currently $5 more than the Andaz for basic rooms which was surprising. It kinda blows my mind how much hotel rooms in Tokyo go for. Then again it makes my points collecting worthwhile.

MattEvan

Why aren't you thrilled with the location? Where, exactly, are you trying to go?

MikeFromTokyo

Red259

Its a bunch of government offices over there and I like using the subways. During the daytime with a bit of a walk I can get wherever I want to go. The problem is when the trains close in Tokyo in the evenings so if I want to go out there isn't a whole lot around the hotel and it forces me to rely on taxis, which depending on where you want to go can get quite expensive. One thing I will point out is that most of my first stay at the Andaz was over a weekend when pretty much everything around there was shutdown because the government offices weren't open, so the area felt quite empty. I guess that can be considered a positive thing if someone is frustrated with the crowds in Tokyo. I know roppongi isn't that far away, but last time I spent a night in roppongi I really hated it ,maybe it was just the places I went to (note: I am referring to the nightlife since there seemed to be some interesting day activities over there that are worthwhile) Felt like I was back in the US and that is certainly not something I want to experience when I travel to Japan, although I can see the appeal if a westerner is living in japan and just needs a reminder of home.

Aventine

You can walk to Ginza from Andaz if the weather is nice like nowadays.

Red259

Completed a two night stay at the Andaz Tokyo. Was upgraded to a room with a better view. The room felt smaller than the room I had last time but maybe it was just a different layout. I'll have to go back and look at my photos of my old room to compare. Still overall its one of my favorite hotels. Pretty much the best part is the view which is just spectacular but the room is very nice as well. I don't really like the layout of the hotel entrances in terms of having to walk around so much to enter the property and then it takes a bit of practice to remember where each bank of elevators is. Just seems needlessly confusing. Last time I stayed here I felt like there was nothing around. That being said I can see where if I walk a certain direction I can go into Shimbashi which would has a ton of places to eat etc. Its just not immediately apparent if you are just walking the blocks directly around the hotel but heading up and over several blocks would give a wide selection of choices. Ginza is a bit of a hike though. Metro is like a five minute walk. Overall when it comes to hyatts in tokyo its still my top choice.

YVRYEGYVR

Andaz is an amazing hotel. We always choose it for the bulk of our time in Tokyo, and usually have our last night at Park Hyatt.

Andaz is the best home base we find. Its location is quiet and clean, the walk to Toronamon or Shimbashi isn't bad at all, Mori tower feels like an Oasis in Tokyo.

The Andaz buffet breakfast is the best i've ever had.

With that said, Park Hyatt has a more comfortable bed and offers 4pm late checkout for us, which works as our flight is always later in the day. Aesop toiletries are amazing and we always try to grab an extra few to stuff my toiletry bag for other trips. Being close to Shinjuku is nice, but at PH we always use their shuttle to get to Shinjuku.

UAflyer93

In my opinion, this is the best hotel in the entire Hyatt portfolio -- better than PH Sydney even. There is no bad room as every room (setting aside the suites) is pretty much the same. For their size, they have the best layouts of any room I have ever stayed in: 1) beds facing the window so that you can wake up / fall asleep to amazing views, 2) a table by the window so that you can get dine/work while getting inspired by the breathtaking views, 3) bathrooms with real tubs and the toilet far away enough from the bedroom so that you can have privacy if sharing the room, 4) ample luggage storage, and 5) some of the most comfortable beds I've stayed in.

I have stayed in the PH Tokyo once and would never pick it over the Andaz. I'm seriously amazed that that place hasn't gone through a remodel. The decor is tacky, the green carpeting kind of gross, and many of the views diminished by safety glass wiring. Perhaps more amazing is how many people continue to book it simply because of the Lost in Translation marketing.