Matsu Shaped Sofitel Ueno Being Moved???
Apr 20, 2007, 9:49 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Sunny Place
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Posts: 1,655
Matsu Shaped Sofitel Ueno Being Moved???
Can it be true? I've always planned to stay at this architecturally "interesting" hotel, but another thread tells me it's closed! (?) Later, the same thread mentions it will be moved! (??) Here is a website LapLap provided. Personally, I'm a fan of the Ueno location and am concerned a new location will come with it outrageous new rates.
Yes, I googled the internet for information, but searching for non-booking information regarding a hotel is problematic. If anyone has info links, please post it here.
Yes, I googled the internet for information, but searching for non-booking information regarding a hotel is problematic. If anyone has info links, please post it here.
Apr 20, 2007, 9:55 am
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: London
Posts: 18,404
Yep, Kudos to moytrah for that piece of information ^
And to give credit where credit is due - I am grateful to ping for introducing me to the sheepcote website - of which I am a HUGE fan.
From 2004:
And to give credit where credit is due - I am grateful to ping for introducing me to the sheepcote website - of which I am a HUGE fan.
From 2004:
FYI:
Yeah, the building has a very interesting design (designed after
the pagoda in front of the hotel by Japanese architect K. Kikutake
who also designed Edo-Tokyo Museum in Ryogoku).
However, lobby and guest room interiors are not weird: modern and comfortable.
I stayed there twice and I really liked this hotel.
(As I wrote before, the hotel has only 4 rooms on each floor and you
have a great view if you stay on upper floors...if you stay there on
Sumida River Fireworks night, you can watch it from your room. )
You may be able to see the picture of the room from these sites
( they're in Japanese, but you can at least SEE the pics.)：
http://sheepcote.jp/rum/hotel/sof-p01.htm
http://www.sofiteltokyo.com/index2.html
(Sofitel's Japanese site's photos are better than English site.)
I hope this info. helps.
Yeah, the building has a very interesting design (designed after
the pagoda in front of the hotel by Japanese architect K. Kikutake
who also designed Edo-Tokyo Museum in Ryogoku).
However, lobby and guest room interiors are not weird: modern and comfortable.
I stayed there twice and I really liked this hotel.
(As I wrote before, the hotel has only 4 rooms on each floor and you
have a great view if you stay on upper floors...if you stay there on
Sumida River Fireworks night, you can watch it from your room. )
You may be able to see the picture of the room from these sites
( they're in Japanese, but you can at least SEE the pics.)：
http://sheepcote.jp/rum/hotel/sof-p01.htm
http://www.sofiteltokyo.com/index2.html
(Sofitel's Japanese site's photos are better than English site.)
I hope this info. helps.
Last edited by LapLap; Apr 20, 2007 at 10:16 am
Apr 20, 2007, 10:25 am
#3
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: YYC - soon to be 東京
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Posts: 1,830
Ah yes, that hotel is familiar to me as well. Intrigued me back in 2003 with its odd shape while at Shinobazu pond. Surprised to learn that it will be dismantled and moved to a new location. Wonder how they'll do it given the tight streets of Ueno area. :P
I also could see this hotel from Tokyo Dome Hotel where I stayed at for a few nights this year.
Sanosuke!
I also could see this hotel from Tokyo Dome Hotel where I stayed at for a few nights this year.
Sanosuke!
Apr 20, 2007, 11:17 am
#5
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: London
Posts: 18,404
Psychologically, it's one of the buildings I would have felt safer in when in Tokyo. (I got a bit queasy under an enormous rocking chandelier at the Intercontinental once. Knowing a little about how the building you're in is designed to cope with these events does give a little peace of mind.
Apr 20, 2007, 1:40 pm
#6
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Kyoto, Japan
Programs: NH-PLT, NW-S, AC/UA/US/JL plain, Hertz#1G
Posts: 226
Collapsed, not moved.
As far as I read on Tokyo Shimbun this January, Accor have sold the building to the realtor and will build a new hotel at somewhere midtown (details not released). The realtor has decided in January to collapse the tannenbaum-shaped building, and will build an ordinary high-rise condo on its location.
I could no longer find a source in English, but in Japanese this and this may help.
I could no longer find a source in English, but in Japanese this and this may help.
Apr 23, 2007, 9:49 am
#7
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 5,679
Here's that the Mainichi Daily News said on Feb 14th, 2007:
I wonder which story is correct.
A Tokyo hotel known for its unusual architecture, said to resemble the shape of a Christmas tree, is set to be dismantled and transferred to a new location.
Workers recently began preparations to dismantle the 26-story Sofitel Tokyo, which overlooks Shinobazu Pond in Tokyo's Ueno district.
The Sofitel Tokyo had a reputation as a high-class facility, with some rooms costing as much as 100,000 yen a night. Since it had only 83 rooms, its operators had been looking for a new site where they would be able to expand its capacity. The location of the new site was not immediately reported.
The building, which drew both criticism and praise for its unusual shape, was built in 1991, and stood as a symbol of Japan's economic bubble era. Speculation has arisen that a condominium block will be built on the site to replace the hotel, but its owners say the details are still being considered.
Workers recently began preparations to dismantle the 26-story Sofitel Tokyo, which overlooks Shinobazu Pond in Tokyo's Ueno district.
The Sofitel Tokyo had a reputation as a high-class facility, with some rooms costing as much as 100,000 yen a night. Since it had only 83 rooms, its operators had been looking for a new site where they would be able to expand its capacity. The location of the new site was not immediately reported.
The building, which drew both criticism and praise for its unusual shape, was built in 1991, and stood as a symbol of Japan's economic bubble era. Speculation has arisen that a condominium block will be built on the site to replace the hotel, but its owners say the details are still being considered.
May 4, 2007, 2:56 pm
#8
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Curiosity got the better of me. After arriving at Narita, last night, I Keisei-ed to Ueno, dragging my roller behind me to ground truth this story. The hotel is still mostly up in its recognizable shape. The ground floor has been stripped out, there is scaffolding up five or six floors and an outrageously tall crane towers over the already incongrously tall hotel.
FWIW, Friday night Ueno Park was quite pleasant, with young lovers strolling around and yummy food smells filling the air.
FWIW, Friday night Ueno Park was quite pleasant, with young lovers strolling around and yummy food smells filling the air.