keio plaza hotel
 

I will be staying at the Keio plaza hotel from the 15 to the 19 of AUG.
I have 2 questions :
Do I get english speaking channels on the room TV ? ( I have stayed in a
3* hotel , 3 years ago and the TV only had a total of 6 channels - all in
Japanese ).

I joined the EIC of the hotel.What are the benefits I can expect , taking
into account that I booked the hotel on AA.com and not directly on the

hotel website .

Thanking for any info.

Michael

Gosh, it's been nearly 2 years since I was last there and I can't actually remember the answers to your questions.

What I do recall is that the hotel is clean and in a convenient location (virtually atop the Shinjuku station). Staff was very kind and the breakfast buffet was fun.

I did sign up for the program but don't recall if it extended any benefits that I would otherwise not have received had I not signed up.

Sorry, wish I could be of more help!

No, it's not virtually on top of Shinjuku station, more like a 7-10 minute walk.

You should get the benefits if you show the card when you check-in even if the booking is made some other way. At the least you get free breakfast for 2 every day and late check-out on your last day.

I haven't stayed at this hotel, but I cannot imagine that the TV would only have Japanese channels.

I once stayed at a budget ryokan in an obscure neighborhood of Nagoya, and I was surprised to see that they had CNN International. Anyone who has satellite or cable will have some international channels. The hotel you stayed in before may have had only over-the-air TV, for which six channels sounds about right.

The Keio Plaza's own English-language website says:

Guest Room facilities include
· High Speed Internet Service(Free of Charge)
· TV (CNN, BBC ,ESPN, Discovery and Movie Channels)
· Two line phone jack
· Voice Mail
· International direct dial
· Japanese bathrobes (Yukata)
· Mini Bar
· Tea making facilities
· Bathroom amenities (shampoo, conditioner, Bath&Shower gel, toothbrush, razor, shower cap, comb, hairdryer, etc)

It is a walk to the station, but a nice short one. It has CNN and that is about all in English.

Keio Plaza is my preferred Tokyo hotel because it is very convenient without being busy busy busy once you get out of the hotel. Not had any "benefits" even when showing the card at check-in, but don't need any, it's a good enough hotel.

Stayed at the Keio Plaza for 4 nights earlier this month. At the advice of some earlier posts on FT, booked a Premier Plaza - the cost wasn't that much more than a regular room if I recall.
Also had joined the EIC - to note that some of the benefits (such as daily breakfast, lounge access) work only if you've booked the room through their site (at least this is what it says), which is what I had done (at check-in they give you coupons for breakfast and for the lounge).
You do get BBC, CNN, Bloomberg, Nat Geo/Discovery, and maybe a sports channel in English. I thought there was one more - AXN/Star World (but not too sure now). And, of course, there's pay-per-view (movies in English) One of the local channels had an English movie playing (dual sound).
Very comfortable hotel - although it is a huge hotel - lobby can get busy sometimes.
And, as mentioned, around a 7-10min. walk to the Shinjuku station.

Cheers!:)

Oh good, that answers my unasked question as to whether this hotel has a bilingual button for the TV.

When you are shown to your room, ask the member of staff who escorts you there to show this to you on the remote control.

Occasionally you will find TV programs and movies on non-Japanese channels that can be switched to English. Examples might be episodes of House or Star Trek.

Here's a brief explanation with some useful pointers:
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Court...lingualtv.html

You could always ask the concierge to help you identify suitable programs if you're starved for entertainment options in Shinjuku.:)

Good idea above..!

I recall this TV was a biggish Toshiba LCD - this being Tokyo, I presume the rooms would all have TVs that allowed for bilingual transmissions?
Not sure if they've still got some nice big CRT TVs with minimal controls stashed in some of their rooms...??:confused:

Thank you all for the wonderful info

Michael

The Keio Plaza hotel is on the Tokyo Hotels map, as is Shinjuku station.

For the keio plaza hotel, do hotel guests have to pay to use the swimming pool and gym?

https://www.keioplaza.com/facilities/
Unless you are planning to stay there in July or August 2021, the pool (which requires a fee*) won’t be an option.
As the website says, gym would be free for guests over 12 but it is currently off limits.

* pool fees (indoor and outdoor) at Tokyo hotels are common practice, usually somewhere between 2,000 to 3,000yen. Virtually impossible to find an outdoor pool at a hotel which is open before July or after August even when they do admit patrons.

After 25 years here, still one of the most baffling things about hotels here, pools only open in "summer". They could easily have them open from May through October !

Not as baffling as the "everybody out for 10 minutes every hour." Don't want to overdo the slow walking up and down the lane!

Or the the swim cap rule being enforced even with a shaved head.