*********Moderator's note:  To improve loading time for this thread, I have deleted a number of photos (hopefully sensitively).  RichardInSF, moderator, luxury hotels and travel*********

For this Japan trip to celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary, we tried to maxmize enjoyment of my SPG Platinum Ambassador elite status while it lasted. With the coming merger of the Marriott-Starwood loyalty programs expected in late 2018 or 2019, I didn't know if Ambassador status and benefits would continue. (As of April 18, the new Marriott loyalty program was announced and will continue to offer Ambassador service.) 

We stayed 3 nights at the Prince Gallery Tokyo Kioicho (Luxury Collection), 5 nights at the Suiran Kyoto (Luxury Collection), 2 nights at the Ritz-Carlton Kyoto, and 3 nights at the St Regis Osaka. I originally used 35K points per night for our 3 nights at the Prince Gallery Tokyo Kioicho until I managed to secure a $234 Best Rate Guarantee for the same 3 nights! That rate was too good to use points. 

The Prince Gallery Tokyo Kioicho offers a stunning modern hard product mixed with a potentially wonderful soft product--potentially because of English language issues which turned out to be surprisingly endemic throughout Japan and even throughout most of the top luxury hotels. 

The hotel is truly stunning, offering a very modern Art Deco-inspired Japanese minimalist design throughout all of its public spaces and rooms/suites. The hotel design feels right at home in Tokyo's Chiyoda district, yet has its own design aesthetic that feels distinct from any of the other luxury hotels in the city.

Entering from the basement of the 26 story retail/business tower is the entrance to the Prince Gallery Tokyo Kioicho:

Elevators up to the 36th floor main lobby:

The elevators open to a spectacular view from the two-story Levita lounge:

To the right is the main lobby and reception:

We loved the art displayed in the elevator bays on the different floors:

There were security doors to pass from the lobby into the 36th floor elevator bay and again to enter any of the other room/suite wings on other floors, requiring you to press your key card to pass:

Once in the top 36th floor elevator bay, elevators took you to the other 5 floors of the hotel below:

The room hallways were cheerful, wide, and well lit:

Overall, the hotel really impressed! What an incredible hard product.

Check In

Check in was about as impressive as you can get from any hotel: gracious, efficient, friendly, and welcoming. As well as early! I had informed the hotel concierge team of our very early arrival, and we arrived at around 7:15 am. The hotel had indicated in advance that they would do everything they could to make our room available.

I also had used 3 Suite Night Awards to increase my chances for a suite upgrade for our 3 nights. Those begin searching for available suites at 2 pm 5 days prior to arrival, and continue automatically checking every day until the day prior. My SNAs did not clear, but I had seen that the hotel was fully booked (and with only 11 suites total out of 250 rooms, I knew that SNAs were unlikely for my stay).

Yet we arrived at 7:15 am...and our entry level room had been upgraded anyway to a Kioi Suite--and was ready for us by the time we finished check in. We were in the suite by 7:30 am.

The hotel obviously had pre-allocated the Kioi Suite to us well in advance of our stay, as there are only 11 suites in the 250 total rooms. That was almost certainly due to my Ambassador status, aided by my Ambassador reaching out to reiterate that this trip was to celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary.  That's pretty amazing for a $234 room rate!

Room

We really loved our Kioi Suite. We especially loved the views, the spaciousness, the technology, and the ease of using that technology.

The bedroom/master bath area was separated from the living room by a long hallway with another powder bath. Overall it was extremely spacious and had amazing views.

As it turned out, having that separation between the bedroom and living room was a real plus when my husband wasn't feeling well one night and didn't want to disturb me, whenever one of us wanted to read or do something without disturbing the other, and to allow my husband to keep the living room warmer (20-21 C) for his comfort while I maintained the bedroom for my frigid comfort level of 17-18 C.

Our suite was on the corner on the 33th floor.

The entry hallway:

On the entry wall was an easy control panel (in which we kept an extra key card so the air con was always working):

Behind the entry door was a butler's closet, allowing the hotel to pick up and deliver laundry, shined shoes, and any clothes for pressing:

The powder bath:

The Toto toilet automatically opened based on motion and had manual controls to lift the lid and seat, as well. It also flushed automatically based on motion. We loved it. We already have Toto toilets in our home with most of the functions but always thought the motion functions were silly. Not any longer! We already are planning to upgrade our Toto toilets at home.

Walking into the bedroom showcased the incredible views:

The view of Mt. Fuji on our second morning was glorious!Standard complimentary bottles of water for any SPG Platinum member. We asked for much more water, and were given as much as we wanted by housekeeping every day.

Control panels made it very easy to control everything in the room from temperature, blackout shades, curtains, lighting, etc

:

Storage was a weaker point of the suite until we realized there was more storage in the master bath:

The master bath was dramatic and spacious--and what a view. Its only weakness was the single vanity.

Remede bath products are the staple of St Regis, so I felt right at home!

Shower pressure was fantastic! Both the regular hose and rainfall shower heads had amazing pressure and were soft yet forceful. While I didn't love the rainfall shower spilling water in the tub, it wasn't a big deal--and turned out to be a staple motif for all the bathrooms at all of our hotels in Japan!

The toilet had the same functionality as the powder bath toilet. Heavenly.

Essentially, our bedroom and master bath was more or less the same room size and layout of the entry level rooms (though not with the corner windows). As it turns out, that would have been more than fine for us, though we definitely enjoyed having the extra living room and powder bath.

The living room was spacious, well appointed, and very comfortable--and also had a great view (similar to that of the master bath):

Even more closet space:

A humidifier was quite useful.

Overall, we really loved our Kioi Suite. The fact that we spent a mere $234 for the privilege to stay in such amazing accommodations only served to reinforce my desire to take advantage of my Ambassador status and perks as long as those may last. 

We also were impressed knowining that our bedroom/master bath was just about the same offering as an entry level room here. I would be most pleased to return knowing I would love even the entry level room category.

Club Lounge

I am not a fan at all of Club Lounges or Executive Lounges, regardless of how luxurious they may be or how luxurious the hotels that have them. My husband, on the other hand, loves a great lounge. Ying and yang. Sigh.

The Prince Gallery's Club Lounge is quite nice as far as lounges go. You can gain access by paying for a Club level room/suite or by having Platinum status for automatic access. We were given a summary at check-in:

It's on the 34th floor:

The lounge has plenty of food options available at various times throughout the day.

For breakfast:

Later in the day:

The views at night also were tremendous (opposite side of hotel from our suite):

There is plenty of seating, too, though everyone aims to get seating by the windows with the great views:

We stopped in for breakfast one morning and had omelettes made to order (sorry no photos). We stopped in a few other times to get a quick espresso or cappaccino, or to pick up a little snack. We often stopped in before dinner to get a quick apertif. I'd have preferred the bar, but my husband won that particular battle. (Marriage tip: pick your battles. Marriage tip 2: let your spouse think he or she can win a battle from time to time.)

While I'm not a fan of a lounge, I thought this was a pretty nice lounge. My husband, who has more experience with lounges, thought this was a very nice lounge. 

Service

Service overall was excellent. But we did have a few issues--almost entirely due to language. Barring the few English language issues for us, service was extraordinary.

First, concierge service was absolutely breathtaking. From my first communication months and months in advance, the concierge team was incredibly responsive, very helpful, and extremely efficient in helping to plan our stay. I never waited more than a day for any response. They alwayas were amazing at both setting expectations and making me comfortable and confident that they would get it done.

They easily managed to get the hard-to-get restaurant bookings I most wanted: dinners at 3* Yoshitake and 2* Narisawa. They even added a lunch booking for our departure day at 2* Sawada just a few weeks before our arrival.

They also easily managed booking a private Samurai lesson with Mr. Tetsuro Shimaguchi, acclaimed Kill Bill Vol. 1 swordfight choreographer who also played the Crazy 88 leader, Miki. I asked, they researched, and within a week or two they delivered. That lesson was the highlight of our stay in Tokyo, along with Yoshitake and Narisawa!

They also arranged our Shinkansen train tickets with ease, as well as a private tour of the city on our arrival morning--including some time at the famous fish market for sushi breakfast.

The concierge team was amazing in providing written reminders and directions with photos to all of our restaurants and activities, some of which were known to be tricky to find.

Second, the hotel really did everything possible to make me happy. They got me early check in. They pre-upgraded us to a suite for our wedding annivesary. When the air conditioning went out due to lack of motion in our suite, they fixed it. When the air conditioning seemed to turn off anyway, they reset the whole hotel air con system to make sure ours would keep running. Seriously, they had 4 guys in our suite at one point to make sure it worked the way I needed!

Third, the hotel left little notes and welcome amenities galore.

The first of many notes from my Ambassador:

Rose petals left for us our after our dinner our first evening:

Fourth, everyone really tried to help and be proactive. The concierge would call down to the valets/bellmen so they knew how to direct the taxis for our excursions. The club staff were always eager to know if we needed or wanted anything else. The restaurant staff, even when we had trouble communicating our desires, always were trying to make us happy. 

Finally, the chief concierge and senior manager, in particular, went out of her way to make our stay so memorable. Shinobu san was an absolute pleasure and delight. She really made a huge difference in our stay being so fabulous. She was on top of everything. When the air con issue reared its head, she took care of it. She followed up to make sure it was working the way we wanted. She followed up and greeted us whenever she was on property. She very much was like an Aman GM who was always aware of what our itinerary was and checked in to make sure we were enjoying our stay and having fun in Tokyo. She is an ace. Prince is lucky to have her!

There still were some English language issues, however. Prince is a Japanese hotel group, even if this Prince Gallery Tokyo Kioicho property is the only one that is included in the Starwood/Marriott Luxury Collection. The net result is that there can be English language issues, usually with food/beverage but also even with the hotel operator or reception. It took me a while to realize that this was endemic throughout Japan. Looking back, the issues I had at the Prince Gallery seem more trivial now. Having had issues at the Aman Tokyo even for tea service put things into better perspective for me, as well as the issues we experienced throughout the rest of Japan. 

Overall, the Prince service was absolutely oustanding. They never failed to bend over backwards trying to please and get us what we wanted or needed--and they usually pleased us beyond plenty. Ms. Shinobu san is an absolute treasure, worthy of any Aman hotel in the world. 

Dining

Dining was very good, but perhaps overall the least impressive part of our stay--likely because we were dining so often off premises at 2 and 3 Michelin star restaurants!

We dined most often at the Oasis Garden restaurant:

Like everywhere else in the hotel, the views were tremendous:

The blinds were lowered when the sun was too bright:

The breakfast menu:

The incredible breakfast buffet:

The breakfast buffet here is one of the best we've seen anywhere in the world. Very impressive.

My omelette:

Poached eggs:

The spectacular French toast, missing the raisin compote (since I'm allergic to raisins). I could have eaten this every day, all day!

Our pasta lunch, after needing a break from so much Japanese food!

Our first night's dinner was also here, since we were a bit put-off from any Japanese food after we had sushi breakfast in the fish market at 8 am!

We never had occasion to try the Washoku Souten Japanese restaurant, unfortunately. We obviously had too many Japanese dinners and lunches planned for outside the hotel. But the restaurant space, located on the 35th floor just below Oasis Garden, is also spectacularly beautiful.

Overall, food and beverage at the Prince Gallery was excellent. There are many great options to suit everyone. Of course, with so many incredible restaurants in Tokyo, we didn't eat as much here as a business traveler may.

Spa/Pool & Fitness Center

I don't ever use a spa, but my husband loves them. We did visit the spa and fitness center together to work out, and my husband had a message and loved it.

Spa and Fitness Center, along with the pool, are on the 30th floor. You need your key to access them.

The gym was also excellent and with comparably amazing views:

I didn't get to see the spa treatment room, but my husband indicated that it was very modern, had another amazing view, and was quite nice. He had a very nice massage.

We were very impressed with the Spa/Pool and Fitness Center.

Private Samural Lesson

Since we were coming to Japan and wanted to do something unique and special while in Tokyo, I settled on something related to Samurai swords. I researched and found that you could do a private Samural swordfighting lesson with the one and only Tetsuro Shimaguchi--the Kill Bill Vol.1 swordfighting choreographer and actor who played Miki, leader of the Crazy 88, in the film. 

I asked the concierge to arrange it, and that was that. Within a few weeks, the whole thing was set up. Once our stay was closer, the site was selected near Mr. Shimaguchi's home in the outskirts of Tokyo. it took us about 20-25 min by taxi to reach the community center from the hotel.

The experience wasn't cheap: $1500 for the two of us for about 2 hours. But it was worth every penny! The team had 5 people there just for us, and they performed for us and instructed us well. We had an absolute blast! Mr. Shimaguchi was very friendly and outstanding as a teacher. One of his assistants also fluent in English, even though they all spoke some English.

Don't mess with us now. You've been warned.

Michelin dining in Tokyo

The reason we came to spend more time in Tokyo was to eat and eat well! We were thrilled that the concierge was able to secure bookings for us at 3* Yoshitake, 2* Narisawa, and 2* Sawada. Fortunately as well, the first two permit photography (without flash).

3* SUSHI YOSHITAKE

Finding the place was tricky! Thankfully, the concierge directions made it a snap. Master Yoshitake speaks a little English and was friendlty, and we enjoyed ourselves immensely. Dinner was fantastic--one of the most, if not the most, amazing sushi experiences ever. 

The master...

I despise oysters, but I could have eaten these endlessly...

Who knew I could ever enjoy mackarel?

Or that uni could taste good?

Even we joined in on the teasing and razzing. Some things are just universal regardless of language. He blushed. Yoshitake was entertained.

2* NARISAWA

The next night, we had dinner at Narisawa. What a different experience, but we absolutely loved our dinner here. This, along with 3* Kitcho Arashiyama in Kyoto and maybe 3* Hajime in Osaka, were our favorite dinners in Japan.

This would become our bread. It was fermenting still.

Definitely one of the best restaurants in the world. We loved every second!

Location

We really liked the location. It was very convenient to several different subway lines that we used tio get around the city, and it was only about 30 min drive from Haneda airport, where we landed in Tokyo.

It was just a 15 min taxi ride to the Tokyo Station, as well. And a 20-25 min taxi ride to our private Samural lesson in the suburbs.

Overall

Color us extremely impressed! The Prince Gallery far exceeded even my lofty expectations and is a truly outstanding luxury hotel option for Tokyo. We loved its modern design, its use of technology, its spacious suite, and its amazing concierge and service team. While we did have some English language issues, those were usually quickly resolved by the service team.

We also really loved the views from everywhere in the hotel--and the amazing toilets and technology that were so well integrated and easy to use. 

We also had the chance to visit the Aman, Peninsula, Mandarin Oriental, and Four Seasons while in Tokyo. The only hotel with comparably excellent hard product is the Aman--but we experienced the same language challenges there even while only having tea. We also had a few service issues in seeing rooms at the Aman, and even on getting something to ease some stomach issues. The MO had quite dated decor and furnishings in its rooms, though it has a number of different F/B outlets. The FS was extremely disappointing, offering a brusk greeting, no real public spaces, and rooms that looked like they belong in an older Park Hyatt. No wonder that they are opening a new Four Seasons soon.

Seeing the other hotels made us realize how speciall the Prince Gallery truly is. It is one of the best hard products of any hotel in Tokyo, and its soft product can compete with anyone--and will only improve as the English capabilities of its staff improve. We would gladly return in a heartbeat to the Prince Gallery for any future trips to Tokyo!