OK, now we're starting to get overwhelmed, we've never been to a city with such rate differences among 5 star hotels. I assume much of it has to do with location and "maybe" quality, but Four Seasons, Park Hyatt are 45-55,000 yen/night; Westin Tokyo is 40,000 yen/night; Meridien Pacific Tokyo 22,000yen/night; and Sheraton Miyako 25,000 yen/night. Why such big rate differences for the same nights in the same catergory of deluxe room? Is there REALLY such a big difference in quality? We booked 2 rooms at the Park Hyatt in October at the rate of 48,000 per room per night and are started to ask if it's worth the money when we look at rates at other 5 star hotels.

The other thing that confuses us is the distances, eg, Narita to Park Hyatt is 1 hour 40 minutes whereas Narita to the Westin Tokyo we were told is only 1hour.

another thing,Tokyo Airporter(which was mentioned in another post) will take us from Narita to Park Hyatt for 20,000 yen but the hotel says the rate is about 45,000 yen. Of course the hotel is going to be more expensive everywhere, but twice as much as a "normal" car service?

Oh yes!!!

Park Hyatt is looked on as the gold standard in Tokyo - it's remained practically unchallenged until only recently. The FSs, The Conrad and the Mandarin Oriental are some of only a handful of hotels that can make any claim to matching the PH's standards (and there's always room for argument)
Westin Tokyo, Meridien Pacific Tokyo, Sheraton Miyako are 4 stars (The Westin if it is a 5* only just scrapes in as one)
I didn't think much of my stay at the Meridien Pacific, I much preferred the rooms, views and comforts of the 4*Grand Takanawa Prince next door - which is usualy VERY reasonably priced through www.utell.com

It's up to you to decide what it is you really expect from your stay - if you're not that fussed and just want all the services and comforts of a solid 4* hotel (good, but nothing cutting edge or swanky, although the garden there truly is beautiful!) then get a room at the Grand Takanawa Prince as you can get them for about 17,000yen.

If you want something with more oomph, then perhaps you should post the budget you actually WANT to spend and let us come up with some suggestions for you. (If you do, let us know the dates as well as this will have a huge affect on prices)

Westin Tokyo is in Ebisu, I'm not sure where you got that time from, I'd estimate it taking perhaps 1 hour 15 minutes if you take a taxi from a local train station. (EDIT - estimate is a bit off - see post#7)

The Park Hyatt is to the West of Shinjuku - about as far from Narita as you can get in this city, with a lot of potential traffic between. It's one reason we rarely suggest this hotel for those spending just one night in Tokyo.

It's a HUGE city (more like several cities in one - with most of the main hubs being linked by the Yamanote train line)

Again yes - I got a quote from MK Taxis for an airport transfer last year - that was also double Tokyo Airporter's rate. And MK Taxi is a standard, reputable taxi firm - not a deluxe outfit. (I couldn't believe it either and contacted them again so that they'd confirm it)

You CAN get a taxi from the airport at a pre-set rate which will be only a little higher than TokyoAirporter's charge - but the vehicle won't be as nice, and the driver won't show up at arrivals to help with your luggage etc...

Just to overwhelm you some more - here are links to pictures showing the kinds of hotels that are available in the 20-25,000yen budget range:

-Strings, now Strings by Intercontinental / ANA
http://sheepcote.jp/rum/hotel/str2-p01.htm
http://sheepcote.jp/rum/hotel/str-p01.htm

-Cerulean Towers
http://sheepcote.jp/rum/hotel/cer3-p01.htm
http://sheepcote.jp/rum/hotel/cer2-p01.htm
http://sheepcote.jp/rum/hotel/cer-p01.htm

Royal Park Shiodome Tower:
http://sheepcote.jp/rum/hotel/rps-pk01.htm

Practically next door to Royal Park Shiodome and very similar is:
Park Hotel - http://www.parkhoteltokyo.com/

- Palace Hotel (opposite the Imperial Palace)
http://sheepcote.jp/rum/hotel/plc-p01.htm

-Park Tower Prince
http://sheepcote.jp/rum/hotel/tpp-p01.htm

- Mitsui Garden Hotel, Ginza
http://sheepcote.jp/rum/hotel/mghg-p01.htm

- Marunouchi Hotel
http://sheepcote.jp/rum/hotel/mnh-p01.htm

-Intercontinental Tokyo Bay
http://sheepcote.jp/rum/hotel/ict-p01.htm


You can either open up these pages using a translation tool such as google's - or just click on the links (usually page 2, 3, 4 etc) it's not too confusing once you get the hang of it. The lady who does these photos will give you a guided tour of the rooms at these hotels - giving a much better indication of what to expect than the Hotel's website.

Century Hyatt is here:
http://sheepcote.jp/rum/hotel/cht2-p01.htm

Grand Hyatt:
http://sheepcote.jp/rum/hotel/ght-p01.htm

Westin:
http://sheepcote.jp/rum/hotel/wht-p01.htm


She's in the midst of releasing her photos of
Park Hyatt quick preview

And the Conrad


----------
The Sofitel closed in December 2006 - even the Accor website doesn't acknowledge this
http://sheepcote.jp/rum/hotel/sof-p01.htm - a shame, I always hoped to stay here, but the good rates never coincided with my visits.

I wonder what they'll do with the building now.

The 26 story Sofitel is being moved. Yes, moved. They are taking it apart and moving it to a location where they can expand the number of rooms. I think it's due to reopen in the fall or winter.

OMG!!! (there isn't really an emoticon for Mouth-hanging-open-in-astonishment)

Wow! Any idea whereabouts they're thinking of putting it? (It might actually do better somewhere other than Ueno)

The hotels that you listed are certainly NOT all in the same class.

What you pay for is what you get - with the caveat (IMHO) that there is a law of diminishing returns at the upper end of the hotel spectrum.
(The difference in comfort between a 10,000yen room and a 15,000yen room is greater than the difference in comfort between a 45,000yen room and a 60,000yen room).

NRT to Westin in 60 mins. No way!
(unless you are some kind of street racer after midnight).
Getting to the Westin (in Ebisu) will take about as long as getting to the PHT (Shinjuku). Maybe slightly longer to reach the Westin - depending on traffic.

Yes.
Maybe the PHT sends an empty car from the hotel to Narita to pick you up.

I was hesitant about the info I posted as I remembered someone saying it took less time than I imagined.

Anyway, I found the post (railroadtycoon & I quizzed the poster about this)

You may think there is a huge difference in price between the hotels but day by day and even hour by there can be a very big price in any one hotel - commonly jump up and down in price.

Often the final choice can be based on the status-level you carry with the hotels and what you get / what they can possibly offer in return. There's nothing quite like paying for the most dingy-est of rooms for 10,000 yen knowing you'll probably get the suite in a different building (Kyoto Miyako until I suppose you do actually get the dingy-est of rooms ).

Hotel Prices here , like everywhere, are fast on the increase but a couple
of the hotels the OP mentioned are not worthy of 5 (or 3) star status - and you'll probably be disappointed - price is not always the best guide either - so worth doing lots of research into room size/location and general ambiance.

For me the Westin is a very nice hotel in a very nice area - especially at 30K inclusive that it can often be picked up at and is by a long, long way the best Starwood offering in Tokyo.

BUT - I will say if you are into "hotels" then you can't go far wrong with the Park Hyatt at 48,000 especially if that includes tax and service charge. A fantastic hotel - there's something very special about it and I can't tell you what it is, there's just something.

I think some of you might want to read one person's opinion in post number 20:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...=680283&page=2

Now, i've considered all hotels mentioned there to be good properties, even the even with the old decor in the LeMeriden Pacific in the lower priced/classic rooms.
The mandarin oriental is practically a brand new hotel.

You can probably sneak into the new Ritz Carlton for a mere ¥52,000/night. Unless you need a suite.

The RC is posting rack rates on the order of double all the other luxury hotels in Tokyo and the initial reviews are strongly suggesting that it isn't worth it. There is a thread in the luxury hotel forum about this hotel.

There is no comparison between the Park Hyatt and the Sheraton Miyako. IMO, there is no comparison even between the PH and the Westin. The only appropriate comparison currently would be between the PH and the FS Maronouchi.

The MO is certainly taking its time to ramp up. I went for breakfast yesterday, and although the food was very good, the service was a bit tentative, and the staff's English was not quite strong (I was with someone who didn't speak Japanese, and we had to switch to Japanese to make ourselves understood).

Also, the price for breakfast was way over what it ought to be for what one gets. The HR Kyoto has a much finer selection and range, with better service, for half the price. Even the PHT charges a couple thousand yen less.

And 40,000 for the Westin isn't any deal. I don't think the Westin deserves more than 30,000 yen. The service is good, and it is a fine hotel, but it isn't even close to the PHT or the FSM.

Yeah, I agree. Rooms are good size but the service is, while quite good by western standards, is way, way below the level found at Asian luxury hotels. Also, I never found the management staff to be very accomodating. I stopped staying there when they told me that to get a corporate rate I had to get my company to hold meetings there -- moved myself and the company business to the PH and never have looked back!

If you decide to stick with the Park Hyatt Tokyo, I'd recommend using 6,000 hyatt points for their suite upgrade award. That's what I did for the two nights that I stayed there. I thought it was a good value to have a confirmed suite in Tokyo for around 46,000 yen a night.