gengo

Hi all, I am not entirely sure this qualifies for posting in this sub-forum, however, since it spans two different brands, I didn't know where to put it.

I have a trip to Tokyo later this year and am seeking some advice on hotels and booking programs.
I have done some research, but would like as much of a direct comparison as possible from those with experience at one or (hopefully) more of these properties.
I will be in Tokyo for 9 nights. I currently have the first five nights booked at Westin Tokyo, however, I am considering switching that (will try to explain below).
I don't want to change hotels more than once, but can break the two stays up into different options (currently 5/4, but could do 3/6 or 6/3, etc.)

I have two main categories of questions:

• Which hotel AND room type combination would you choose? I might choose two, so having first choice/second choice would be very helpful.
• How do the online agencies mentioned on here operate, what should I expect, and do I even qualify to use them?

Possibly unnecessary backstory:
I have been to Tokyo eight times previously and have stayed at Hyatt Regency (HRT) and Hilton Shinjuku each once, and I have stayed at Hotel Chinzanso six times.
However, after years as a Hilton Diamond, when travel resumed for me this year, I switched to Marriott and fairly quickly reached Titanium Elite.
Once that happened, I found out I was eligible for a Hyatt Globalist Challenge - so by the time this trip happens, I will be a Hyatt Globalist "lite" (no tier suite upgrades).
Because of this, I am limiting my interest to Hyatt and Marriott properties.

Further clarification:
I do not expect to be in the room a TON, but when I am there, I want it to "feel" very nice. I will likely have to entertain 1-2 other people in my room for a short time 1-2 nights.
I also want a nice bathroom.
While in most cases I would LOVE an upgrade further than what I have listed below, I have done the preparation of "booking the room type that will work".


For question 1, here are the hotels AND room type combinations I am looking at - and trying to compare against each other:
I have priced each of these through classictravel -dot- com (I don't know if links are allowed), and am fine with those prices for my dates of travel.
The Privé & STARS rate details are also from this site.
The Marriott STARS rate seems to have a leg up since both of those include a 3rd night free.
But I would do Andaz if that was far and away ahead of the other two.


In putting the above list together, I also considered the following:
Prince Sakura Tokyo Tower - Executive Tower View King (no STARS rate for the 3rd night free)
Does Prince Sakura make sense as a replacement for Westin? Would probably do it 100% if there were a STARS rate for it.

Conrad Hilton - no availablity for at least one of the nights I need.
Grand Hyatt Tokyo - Grand Suite (pricing similar to the three listed in detail above)
Park Hyatt Tokyo - 1 King Deluxe (pricing similar to the three listed in detail above)


So to restate some of the questions/concerns:
Is there a clear winner among the above three hotels?
What is the difference -if any- between ClassicTravel and LiveLuxeTravel?
Can I use either? Is one easier than the other?
Those are the only two I have read about here - are there others you would recommend, and if so, why?
Will I earn Spend and Night Credits at Hyatt and Marriott if I use these rates to stay at their respective properties? (My understanding is the answer is 'yes'.)

Can anyone further clarify what is meant in this part of the Hyatt Privé rate?Does that mean I can request an upgrade before check-in, and if it is available, they could confirm it ahead of time? How likely is this to happen?

Other thoughts:
I do not expect location to play a role - I feel comfortable taking buses and trains as necessary. But proximity to at least one of those would be very helpful.

I am least impressed by the Tokyo EDITION's bathrooms from what I can see in available pictures. Both Prince Gallery and Andaz Tokyo look more like I was expecting.

Finally, I am strongly considering changing my Westin dates to one of the following: Prince Sakura Tokyo Tower, the 'second' place finisher of the three detailed above, or Hilton Shinjuku.
The more I look at the pictures, the more the Westin room décor seems off to me.

Thank you in advance for any and all help.

MSPeconomist

I'd avoid an online travel agent and instead book through a Virtuoso agent or AmEx FHR if you have a Centurion/Plat charge card. One advantage of FHR is the *guaranteed* 4 pm checkout.

I've stayed in the Price Gallery (back when Bonvoy elites got lounge access, so I won't go back now), Westin, Andaz, and Park Hyatt among others in Tokyo. IMO the Andaz has the best bathrooms because they seem very relaxing and Asian in style. PG seems clinical while PH are luxurious but dated. I'd probably also more generally vote for the Andaz becasue you can't use TSUs there, but Globs are likely to get upgrades to deluxe or view rooms. In fact, I'd probably suggest booking a regular room there (without the tower view) and hoping to get the upgrade; if you don't you can enjoy the view from some of the hotel's public areas (bars and restaurants).

If you're entertaining a couple people in your room, don't you want a suite, ideally with a second half bath?

If lounge access matters, Prince Sakura Towers might make sense. However, I don't think it would be considered luxury.

BTW, IMO the Westin breakfast is excellent. The same is true for Andaz but not the PH.

gengo

Thank you so much for the response!

I do not have the Amex Plat, though I did recently receive an offer. Given that, I have not used FHR or Virtuoso (or any of the others - however, I believe both of the sites I mentioned also have Virtuoso rates listed).

The Andaz bathroom looks the best, and what I like about the PG bathroom is it has a view. The EDITION seems to be similar to the PG, but no view.

And while a suite/second bathroom would absolutely be ideal, I don't think it will be often enough to justify the expense for the entirety of the trip. So I looked for the largest sized room available within the price I was willing to pay.

I do like having the option of the lounge, and the room I picked at PG has Club access included.

RichardInSF

I can provide a bit of color on two hotels you mention.

I moved my regular hotel from the Westin to the Park Hyatt and have never felt the slightest urge to go back. People on this site knock the PH for the 12 minute walk to Shinjuku station (the hotel does have a regular free shuttle if you don't want to walk), but it's at least a 10 minute walk to Ebisu station from the Westin even using the moving walkways between Ebisu Garden Place entrance and the station.

The Westin is a good hotel and there are a reasonable number of restaurant choices at Ebisu Garden Place nearby. There are also a goodly number of restaurants in the basement of the building the Park Hyatt is in. But the Westin isn't a luxury hotel and the Park Hyatt is.

You can do better than the Westin in Tokyo. If you do stay at the PH, try to get a room with a view towards Mt Fuji. If you get a clear day, it's amazing.

Aventine

PH offers Globalists room service breakfast and I can't imagine Girandole to be that bad either. Andaz buffet breakfast would rank towards the bottom among the heavy competition in this forum. OP is most likely going to get a suite at PH too. It's a dated suite but you can always visit NY Bar and then do your best Scarlett Johansson Lost in Translation impressions in there.
EDITION rooms are spartan but their F&B spots are colorful and great for entertaining and lounging. I think their Blue Room breakfast is superior to Andaz because they still do a la carte offerings plus cold buffet.

gengo

That is interesting to read, thank you for the reply!

was under the impression that getting ANY complimentary upgrade at PHT based on status was unlikely (aside from maybe a "same room, better view" upgrade).

Breakfast is a nice option to have, and I would likely take advantage of it at least once (same with any club/lounge if I had access based on room or status) to get the feel for the hotel for future visits.

Aventine

Japan based Hyatt Globalists would need to comment but I believe they still treat Globalists very well. Park Suites are usually the norm there.

Pickles

Haven't stayed there in a few years, but in my many, many stays at the PHT I never ever recall getting an upgrade to any kind of suite without a TSU. It was usually to a Mt. Fuji view or if I got lucky to a corner room.

Aventine

Interesting. I had the opposite experience of many Park suites without using the TSUs.

gengo

It looks like there are no Park Suites available for my date blocks. If I check individual dates, there are some available, but not for any block I could come up with, so I would right that off as "not happening".

Most of the time I love upgrades, but I always try to book the room I am comfortable booking and view any upgrade as a bonus.

ETA: Wait, I just checked, and if I split my nights 3/3/3 (instead of 5/4 or 6/3), there is a Park Suite King available for the middle three. I really would rather do just two different hotels, but I would consider a 3/3/3 split if it was nearly a sure thing to be upgraded to the Park Suite King. Is anyone willing to share a contact email address for someone in the hotel who could better answer this? I have reached out to GMs before trips to ask clarifying questions with both Hilton and Marriott properties.

Also, Conrad Tokyo became available again for the first block of 5 nights and I am now strongly considering that for my first block and moving to one of the other options for my second/last block of 4 nights.

For the Conrad Tokyo, I would be booking the King Suite Bay View. For 10,000 Yen more, I could book the King Executive Suite Bay View - looks to be the exact same room/room size, but grants access to the Executive Lounge.

However, since I am Hilton Diamond, I would automatically have access to this lounge at this property, right?

Pickles

My favorite non-upgrade experience at the PHT was the time I had a reservation that was paid for a couple of days and then on points for another couple. I check in and get some kind of "upgrade" (corner room or Mt. Fuji view or whatever) and once I'm in the room I get a call from the FD telling me that I'd have to move to the room category I had booked using the points for the nights that I had booked on points.

I told them (in no uncertain terms) that I thought this was the daftest, most tin-eared thing they could come up with and to basically go away. If they had not "upgraded" from the get-go, I would be none the wiser, but it was just moronic to ask me to move halfway into my stay because of their absurd stance. Thankfully, they sensed my displeasure (which wouldn't be hard to sense), and let me stay in the "upgraded" room the entire visit.

Having said that, I do like the hotel, although it is (perhaps) a shadow of its early days in the pre-2004/5 timeframe, when it was probably the top city hotel in the world. But then the Peninsula opened and stole Malcolm Thompson to run it. But karma does come to bite in the rear, and the Peninsula itself was soon eclipsed by many other fine hotels that have opened since. But it's still the best Hyatt in Tokyo, and one of the top 10 hotels in the city.

Aventine

I know where you're coming from. Front line staff at PH Tokyo can be the most anal retentive I've ever seen for a Tokyo luxury hotel. They basically harrassed a colleague of mine to provide proof for a corporate rate. Had to show a work badge or business card and they were most insistent on it in that small lobby desk area. Poor woman had to get her bags from downstairs, open them there and present what they wanted before they would proceed with the check-in. I've heard now they accept a work email but they act like judge, jury, executioner. It was definitely not a Luxury Forum worthy experience.

Aventine

I would take a suite at Conrad Tokyo over a room at Andaz, EDITION or Park Hyatt.

boolean64

I have yet to have a bad experience with tokyo hotels. You can't go wrong with the choices listed.

I stayed at the princes gallery right before the pandemic started. Good breakfast with i believe ability to order from the menu in addition to extensive buffet. If I recall, I got the corner room and it definitely felt bigger than the andaz or PHT room. The aesthetic overall and the bathroom in particular was fine but not remarkable. The lack of club access is unfortunate, especially if you plan to host guests in the room. location was much more convenient than andaz or PHT, but i'm sure that could depend on where one needs to be.

It's been many years since i stayed at both the andaz and the park hyatt. Agree with all the comments here about the PHT. luxurious but dated. I was not a fan of the breakfast buffet at all, especially when compared to andaz or princes gallery. Room was fine but had a very old school aesthetic, not the clean decor of most park hyatts. One of the best hotel showers I have ever experienced. NY bar was fun but i wouldn't pick the PHT for 5 nights based on going to the bar one night. Location is a bit of a walk from shinjuku but not unmanageable unless you have a ton of luggage or you're there in the dead of winter or heat of summer.

I still love the Andaz. Great aesthetic. Excellent buffet breakfast. great bathroom. good gym. Location is a bit annoying. I found it not as convenient to public transport as the other two hotels. The rooms are smaller than the princes gallery and limited chance for an upgrade beyond better view. Also i don't believe the bathroom is as private which would make hosting guests a bit tricky.

I don't know anything about the edition other than there are limited (or no) meaningful status benefits offered, but that shouldn't be an issue if you do FHR or virtuoso booking.

Overall, i'd probably still pick the andaz with the exception of having to host people in the room. If it has to be in the room, i might go princes gallery, especially if you can get club access for hosting instead of your room...although be careful they may not let guests into the club.

One last thing... i had good concierge experiences with both the PHT and Andaz. I didn't try to use the concierge at the princes gallery.

gengo

Since I am in Tokyo for 9 total nights, I am rethinking the need for a "hosting space" for the entirety of the time there and just looking at other options for that 1-2 night possibility.

I tend to "overthink" sometimes - magnifying details that don't really matter as much as when they first bubble up.

Thank you all for your suggestions.