MattEvan

There's a wide margin for personal preference here, but for me for just hard product:

1) Andaz
2) Prince
3) MO (hard product is quite dated, IMO)

ray1022

MO will be renovating their suites. I am hearing it may/may not be done in time for cherry blossom season in 2018. We are booked there and fingers crossed.

Unsure if rooms will be renovated at the same time.

Aventine

1. Andaz goes first for me because I just adore the hotel and get treated very well there.
1a) Prince because it's new and you have some status there?




dead last is MO. Some of their base rooms are completely torn up and glad to hear the hotel will be renovating suites at least in the next year. I don't turn on the mid 2000s Sharp tv but it's embarrassing to see in this day and age.

MikeFromTokyo

I would try go get at least a corner or Mandain room at MO. The same goes for Andaz, corner rooms are much better than standard. Presumably a slightly higer category room also works better at Prince.

I think you should stay wherever you can get a good deal, but if it's an option R-C club level as always is my favorite.

It's not my favorite hotel, but if you would like a late check out for your departure, Peninsula on a Pen Club booking might be a good idea. The room product is very good (including standard/Deluxe rooms). What I don't like about the hotel is its service, but that could be less noticeable on such a short stay and if eating out elsewhere. A confirmed "Peninsula Time" late checkout that would give you access to the room until departure in the evening could possibly outweigh any of those negatives.

hailstorm

If you're considering Kiocho, then I'd also throw Prince Sakura Tower into the mix. It's freshly renewed, so feels almost as new as the Kiocho. It's also affiliated with Marriott, so status carries over as well.

Jermyn

Thanks for the input everybody.

It sounds like it's a toss up between the Andaz and the Prince, with the MO falling short on hard product (I've only stayed at one MO before - Prague - and the hard product did not impress me either).

Pen 24h is an interesting idea but I've seen so many negative reviews of the hotel here, it makes me quite hesitant. Late checkout is probably less of an issue in Tokyo than anywhere else on earth. You can leave your bags at any train station, if necessary, and the entirety of Tokyo is basically one giant train station

Given that I can get a Club deluxe at The Prince for the same price as an entry level room at the Andaz, I think that it makes the most sense to go with that. If I got a single category upgrade thanks to SPG Gold, I'd end up in a Grand Deluxe Room, which I would be delighted with.


[Maybe it's just me but I feel that service is so universally excellent in Tokyo, that hard product becomes more of a deciding factor.]

hailstorm

If you're a hard product fan, then you really should go with Aman. Especially if you only have one night.

MikeFromTokyo

Between Prince and Andaz, I suspect you are right that Prince might be the better value in your case. Unless you ended up being upgraded to a corner room at Andaz, which would be a gamble.

24 hour flexible check out really appeals to me. Peninsula is my least favorite of the high end options in Tokyo, but it does have a nice hard product, swimming pool, etc...

Not as nice as Aman, however, as hailstorm has pointed out.

BlackHappy

I know there are a lot of fans of RC-club level (myself included), but this time round, I'm finding the rooms to be dated. I'm currently in a Club Tower Suite. Maybe it's because I've stayed at newer places recently, but the decor does look like it's ten years old. Yes, it has the best club (good food, drinks, and service), but it has been very crowded these few days.

From my my recent stays, I'd rank hard product as follows: Aman (Suite and Corner Suite), Palace Hotel (executive suite), Prince Gallery (some suite I can't remember), and RC (Club Tower Suite). Palace and Prince are very close in my opinion.

For service, RC is slightly above Palace and Aman, and I'm still annoyed at Prince for the issue stated in a previous post. Nonetheless, I don't think there's much separation in service. RC does offer free laundry for infants, which is a real plus.

bhrubin

You're making me even more happy about choosing the Prince Gallery. Thanks. (I believe your annoyance at the Prince for the girl in the hall is best left behind as an outlier moment.)

nmuva98

I'll throw in my 2 cents on recent stays in Tokyo, as well:

1) Just stayed at the MO about 2 weeks ago:
- Service was very, very good (surpassed the level of service of my recent stay at Amanpuri, which I have an entire thread whinging about ). I only stayed for 1 night, yet was greeted by name by literally everyone. At check in and check out they had 2-3 people each time waiting on me and starting up conversations. Also little things, like when I checked out and wanted to have a quick lunch in the lobby lounge, they did a very good job of the check out process, taking my bags, making sure the lobby lounge knew I was coming, and then when I got to the lounge was greeted by name. That sort of stuff. Given that it was just a 1-night stay, and that I rarely stay at Mandarins in general, I thought this level of personal touch was quite nice.
- But as others posted, the hard product is a bit dated. I stayed in a deluxe room (1 level up from the base room, only difference is Tokyo Skytree views), and it was perfectly fine, but starting to look a little worn. Bathroom only has 1 sink, and there is no separate dressing room.
- Sushi Sora had absolutely outstanding service (5 staff dealing with a maximum of 8 customers), and food was very good, but probably not as good as at some of the high-end standalone sushi places elsewhere at the same price point (that said, in addition to 3 omakase menus they also do a la carte, so you can keep the price reasonable if needed, even though I didn't!).
- Lobby decent, but a bit small and I'm guessing not anywhere nearly as impressive as Aman (have not stayed there yet).
- Very good food and beverage options in that there are a ton of options. In addition to Sushi Sora also ate in the lobby lounge, which has great views, as well as spent some time in the main bar/lounge, which was good, as well. Japanese whisky selection was a bit sparse, and prices a bit high, but decent enough.
- On that note, for the whisky fans out there. I compared the prices of fairly standard whiskys (think Hibiki 17 and 21) and the stuff that's no longer produced and hence increasing in price (Yamazaki 18, Yoichi 20). I compared the prices from the menu of the Shangri-La 2 years ago, with the MO this week. Prices were almost exactly twice as much. So still 1/2 the price of Hong Kong, and probably 1/4 the price of New York, but still a bit shocking.

2) Did a base room at Shangri La when it first opened:
- Hard product was outstanding. Service and such was quite good, but not as good as the MO. Still just 1 sink in the bathroom and no dressing room, but being brand new it was probably the nicest overall I have stayed in in Tokyo (have not been to the Aman).
- Lobby a bit underwhelming. Good views as it's high up, but not quite as good as the MO, which in turn (from what I've read) is not as good as the Aman.
- If you need to be near Tokyo Station the location is pretty fantastic.

3) R-C, non club level:
- Had the room I believe is 1 level up from base--great views of Tokyo Tower, especially at night (better than the views of SkyTree from the MO, imo). In addition to the views, the R-C did have 2 basins in the bathroom, but no separate dressing room (from memory). Sizeable, but looking very long in the tooth. And I'm also not a big fan of the less-than-contemporary design common in many R-Cs, so that combined with the dated/worn out interior was less than ideal.
- Very fun lobby environment, although it may be crowded and not always easy to get a seat. Only ate at one restaurant, the Japanese one just off the lobby, which is well past it's prime, but not too bad overall.
- Being non-club level, I felt the service here was pretty weak. Waiting in line to check in and check out, just 1 person dealing with you in a polite yet robotic way. No warmth at all. But would definitely be willing to go back and try club level, given the feedback on the board.
- I'm still a fan of the location. If you're going to Tokyo for holiday and not for work, then staying in Otemachi or Marounouchi is just so far away. So I like being on the west side of the palace grounds. Even if you don't have any intention to go to bars in Roppongi, many of my Japanese colleagues still lived around Roppongi Hills, so it's much convenient for holiday trips.

4) Pen:
- This was my 1st stay in Tokyo, for a few nights about 3 years ago. Base room.
- Initial impression was that the lobby was a disaster. The whole design and flow is just woefully off. Made up for that by heading to the bar upstairs, which was pretty solid (thought F&B options middle of the afternoon seemed a bit limited, from memory). And F&B here is well behind the MO in terms of selection, or at least was at the time.
- Room was pretty dated and worn--not as bad as the R-C, worse than the MO, and well behind SL. But, it was the largest of the bunch--large separate sitting area, separate dressing room, and large bathroom with 2 sinks.
- I'm of mixed opinion on the Pen's approach globally to "technology". Great idea putting gadgets into all the rooms, but once they are dated they look really, really dated. So whilst I love the intent, not sure the execution is practical.

Jermyn

Awesome roundup of the various luxury options in Tokyo nmuva98. Thanks for taking the time to write it all up. I'm a recent convert to RC hotels. I found the service and quality of F&B to be exceptional in Jakarta MK, the other day, despite the rather 'classic' decor. It did feel like a very large and rather corporate hotel though, when outside of the club. I suspect much the same applies to the Tokyo property.

Aman does look like a beautiful hard product but I'd be paying double the rate I've got at the PG for the Club Deluxe, in order to get an (admittedly very large) entry level room. On a one night stay I think I'm better off spending the difference on Sushi Saito / Narisawa etc.

Aventine

Please post pictures when you go to the Prince Gallery!

uggboy

Ditto +1

Cheers & Safe Travels. ^

bhrubin

We also are booked for May 2018 for 3 nights at Prince Gallery. Definitely plan to do an expert review with plenty of photos!