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Tokyo Luxury Hotels (consolidated thread -- older thread, now closed)

Tokyo Luxury Hotels (consolidated thread -- older thread, now closed)

Old Jun 14, 2017, 4:59 pm
  #1066  
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Originally Posted by Jermyn
I tend to be a creature of habit and have stayed at the Conrad a lot of times. I've also stayed at the PH twice.

I was thinking of trying somewhere new on a one night stay after 5 nights in Kyoto. My flight is not until 11pm from HND (QR 813).

I have access to some quite good corporate rates and can get a regular room at the MO or Andaz, or a Club Deluxe Room at the Prince Gallery for a similar price (around 45-52k JPY inc tax).

I hold mid-tier status with SPG and Hyatt at the moment but don't realistically expect either to give me a check-out anywhere near to 8pm. I'm more or less agnostic on location too, given how much time we'll have to make our way to HND and how easy it is to get everywhere on the subway.

I'm angling towards the Prince, as the hardware looks to be the best and I tend to find that great service doesn't always have a chance to shine through, on very short stays.

What do you all think?
The Prince is fantastic and if you can get a Club room that'll significantly elevate the experience. Club has all day drinks and it open until 11pm.
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Old Jun 14, 2017, 5:01 pm
  #1067  
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Originally Posted by Aventine
It's going to be 2 or 3 transfers to get to the Haneda monorail but if you're intent on subwaying it then being on the Ginza line is best. Prince and Andaz check that box. If it's good weather and you're inclined you can walk to Shimbashi from Andaz and make it an even simpler 1 transfer to the Haneda Monorail. I'd go with the hotel most willing to give a late check-out and that satisfies your hardware needs.
Not true. Prince Gallery -> Haneda is only one transfer. Ginza line -> Asakusa line. It's super easy if you don't have crazy amounts of luggage and only takes about 45min. No need to take the monorail.
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Old Jun 14, 2017, 5:07 pm
  #1068  
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Originally Posted by Aventine
Please post pictures when you go to the Prince Gallery!
Check the thread on the Prince Gallery, lots of pictures there. I've personally reviewed three room types (entry level Deluxe, Grand Deluxe Premier, and Kioi Suite) and I know others have reviewed the Designer Suite too .

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/starw...er-thread.html
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Old Jun 15, 2017, 6:04 am
  #1069  
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Originally Posted by Aventine
Please post pictures when you go to the Prince Gallery!
You know I will Aventine

Originally Posted by uggboy
Ditto +1

Cheers & Safe Travels. ^
Thanks

Originally Posted by helvetic
Check the thread on the Prince Gallery, lots of pictures there. I've personally reviewed three room types (entry level Deluxe, Grand Deluxe Premier, and Kioi Suite) and I know others have reviewed the Designer Suite too .

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/starw...er-thread.html
Thanks for taking the time to write your reviews. It was the reviews in that thread that first put the hotel on the map for me. The standard deluxe rooms look quite a lot smaller than the standard deluxe at the Conrad, almost entirely as a result of the lower ceilings. Otherwise they are very similar in terms of design.

The club lounge looks to be a significant improvement though (can't wait to try the chef's egg!) and the Grand Premier Deluxe looks a lot nicer than the Junior suites at the Conrad, which are the only other rooms I've tried.
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Old Jun 17, 2017, 5:01 pm
  #1070  
 
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Thanks MikefromTokyo. It is nice to hear that they will all be welcoming.

Many have great locations, and pool is not necessary. Certainly space/beds is something to consider! Thanks for these thoughts.

What are your (personal opinion) top three favorites?
I'll give you my top four

1) Ritz-Carlton club level
2) Mandarin Oriental
3) Four Seasons Marunouchi
4) Andaz
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Old Jun 17, 2017, 6:35 pm
  #1071  
 
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In response to a closed thread on traveling with children in Tokyo.

I just completed a stay at Palace Hotel, Aman Tokyo, and Ritz Carlton with an 11 month old. A few things to note in random order:

- There are age limits (that vary) to all of the pools. Our daughter was too young for all of them.
- RC has a Ritz Kids program (which looked pretty cool), it's for older kids
- Kids are not allowed in the Palace club level after 5:30. RC club level did not have any restriction.
- RC provided toys and small gifts (rubber duck, t-shirts, etc) to our daughter. They also provided free laundry and baby food for the baby.
- Bottle warmer. Palace didn't have it, RC did, and Aman provided us a microwave.
- They all provided diaper bins, cribs, and infant bathtub.
- Babysitting. Each of the hotels offered to book a babysitting for us. We ended up finding our own. PM me if you want any details.
- Being hardwood floor and lots of sharp lines, Aman is probably the least baby-friendly setup (though it is my favorite of the three hotels).
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Old Jul 2, 2017, 3:58 pm
  #1072  
 
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Originally Posted by sleepro
Is it true there might be some levles of noise in the train track-facing rooms at FS? Are there many small shops and restaurants within walking distance of MO like FS? The two hotels seem to be only a short distance apart.
I'll disagree completely with MikeFromTokyo on this - I stayed in the Exec Suite, which faces the tracks, and the noise from the trains going over the tracks was utterly invasive. It's for this reason alone that I won't consider the FS again, which is a real shame as I found both hard/soft product here to be top notch. I suppose other rooms at the property might be better-protected against track noise.
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Old Jul 2, 2017, 5:29 pm
  #1073  
 
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Originally Posted by gengar
I'll disagree completely with MikeFromTokyo on this - I stayed in the Exec Suite, which faces the tracks, and the noise from the trains going over the tracks was utterly invasive. It's for this reason alone that I won't consider the FS again, which is a real shame as I found both hard/soft product here to be top notch. I suppose other rooms at the property might be better-protected against track noise.
Everyone has a different threshold at which ambient noise becomes noticeable or irritating. It does not bother me, and the trains do not run long after midnight.

Even some of the hotels on high floors have ambient noise from traffic below.
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Old Jul 2, 2017, 6:28 pm
  #1074  
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Originally Posted by gengar
I'll disagree completely with MikeFromTokyo on this - I stayed in the Exec Suite, which faces the tracks, and the noise from the trains going over the tracks was utterly invasive. It's for this reason alone that I won't consider the FS again, which is a real shame as I found both hard/soft product here to be top notch. I suppose other rooms at the property might be better-protected against track noise.
No. FS Tokyo is horrible in this regard. I was in a corner room and got street noise and the tracks. Their GM is a credit to FS though. Great guy.
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Old Jul 23, 2017, 11:04 am
  #1075  
 
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HOSHINOYA Tokyo

HOSHINOYA Tokyo

Map| 1 Review | 100% Recommended

HOSHINOYA Tokyo

1 Chome-9-1 Otemachi Chiyoda Tokyo, JP 100-0004

HOSHINOYA Tokyo (0 Photo)

HOSHINOYA Tokyo

Check In

Check-in was interesting even though I knew it would be a different experience as shoes are not allowed in the hotel.  I've visited Japan before several times but shoe removal has always been more prompted even though I know not to walk at tatami with them.  I had taken advantage of car service through the hotel, and while they did take care of my luggage I think they overestimated my comfort level at figuring out what to do with my shoes.  Anyhow not a big deal (and experiencing cultural differences is the main reason I chose this hotel), and I managed to attract their attention fairly quickly and get assistance with storing my shoes.

After this, went upstairs to check-in and this was handled quickly with a couple of much needed cool towels to wipe off the sweat of a long trip.  English level was very good at the front desk.

Room

Awesome futons (I have some very good futons at home but these were better).  And a beautiful minimalist decor.  I would say TV should either be hidden or available by request (it is out of the way but not completely hidden) and detracted from the minimalism, and there was an electric tea kettle that seems superfluous given the ready availablity of tea at the lounge.  But these are very minor complaints, loved the room.

Service

Service in Japan is overly formal in my opinion, and the Hoshinoya Tokyo is no exception, but nevetheless the staff's friendliness was apparent, and service levels were extremely high with any request being done perfectly.  For example, requested omurice as a special, off menu breakfast and was given an extremely well prepared specimen just oozing with flavor and stock.  And the concierge staff prepared very detailed itineraries based off of what I was looking to do (plus they got me into a whole bunch of really hard to book restaurants).  Itineraries showed what stations to get off at what times, and had small maps showing where to go.  There were lounge areas on every floor, where you could get tea/coffee and small snacks that changed throughout the day (from a light breakfast of onigiri and miso soup to beautiful wagashi candies).  The staff in the lounge were simply brilliant and incredibly patient.

Dining

The main restaurant in the hotel is French, and while I have no doubt it is very good, I don't come to Japan to eat French food so can't comment on it specifically.  But I had room service for Japanese breakfast every day (you can also get a lighter breakfast at the lounge on every floor) and it was excellent, if too much food.  The lounges offered excellent coffee and tea, made from scratch and way above most "Club Lounges" where Nespresso is somehow ok to serve.  And delicious nibbles, onigiri were very good (I'd say 90% as good as the ones I got as parting gifts from top Tokyo kaseiki restaurants), and ever changing wagashi candies (I'm sure I ate more of the candies than is respectable but always felt like the lounge staff was happy for me to enjoy myself).

Location

Located in Otemachi, convenient for most of the great restaurants I was going to (nowhere in sprawling Tokyo is convenient to everything).  Metro station in the basement of the hotel.  I would say that Japanese taxis even with a printed taxi card given the hotel address are 50-50 on whether or not they'll have issues finding the entrance.  They all do eventually find it of course, just extra minutes driving around or waiting for the taxi driver to call the hotel and get better directions.  

Overall

Probably my favorite hotel in Tokyo as a hotel.  It is not a resort, nor does it (for me) have sufficient F&B choices (I wish it had a great Japanese restaurant attached to it) but stayed previous at the Mandarin Oriental (which had great F&B aside from no real "lounge" to casually get tea/coffee/snacks in), I would return here in a heartbeat and just eat meals outside the hotel as I feel I experienced genuine Japanese hospitality and culture versus a great hotel that aside from the bowing could exist in any major city in the world.

HOSHINOYA Tokyo

Would you like to write a review on the HOSHINOYA Tokyo?

No, thank you.
Yes
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Old Jul 24, 2017, 1:18 am
  #1076  
 
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Originally Posted by japanesegeek
Overall
Probably my favorite hotel in Tokyo as a hotel. It is not a resort, nor does it (for me) have sufficient F&B choices (I wish it had a great Japanese restaurant attached to it) but stayed previous at the Mandarin Oriental (which had great F&B aside from no real "lounge" to casually get tea/coffee/snacks in), I would return here in a heartbeat and just eat meals outside the hotel as I feel I experienced genuine Japanese hospitality and culture versus a great hotel that aside from the bowing could exist in any major city in the world.
Thank you for writing this. Just last night I was looking this up after reading about it in Conde Nast. It does not look to my style and gives me too many flashbacks to ryokan's, but I may drop by just to take a look when I'm back in Tokyo later this year.
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Old Jul 24, 2017, 1:56 am
  #1077  
 
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Re Mandarin Oriental, I rather don't understand the comment about nowhere to get tea/food/snacks. There is the casual all day restaurant k'shiki, and there is an area adjacent to the lobby with tables for afternoon tea or to sit and have drinks in the evening with great views. And, don't forget the casual Italian outlet on the lower floors operated by MO, as well as other restaurants in the same building such as the very good Sakuragawa.

MO has possibly the strongest overall F&B of any hotel in Tokyo, rivaled only by Ritz-Carlton and The Palace. However the Palace is somewhat different as they have restaurants that are essentially tenants, and are operated by top local restaurant groups, so therefore it no wonder why they are so good...
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Old Jul 24, 2017, 4:04 am
  #1078  
 
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Originally Posted by MikeFromTokyo
Re Mandarin Oriental, I rather don't understand the comment about nowhere to get tea/food/snacks. There is the casual all day restaurant k'shiki, and there is an area adjacent to the lobby with tables for afternoon tea or to sit and have drinks in the evening with great views. And, don't forget the casual Italian outlet on the lower floors operated by MO, as well as other restaurants in the same building such as the very good Sakuragawa.

MO has possibly the strongest overall F&B of any hotel in Tokyo, rivaled only by Ritz-Carlton and The Palace. However the Palace is somewhat different as they have restaurants that are essentially tenants, and are operated by top local restaurant groups, so therefore it no wonder why they are so good...
I probably could have formed my thoughts better. While the Mandarin Oriental does offer places one can get coffee/tea/snacks and has very good F&B in general, they are all restaurants/bars versus the quiet inviting lounges that the Hoshinoya Tokyo offers. While the offerings are much more limited than a typical Club Lounge, the quality of the few items is superb and the effort the staff puts into it great. I suspect this is largely because there is one lounge per floor, so the number of guests who partake in a particular lounge very small, allowing personalized attention. I was out in the evenings when alcohol is offered in the lounges, and would not be surprised if it was busier then, but during the times I was there there was never more than two other guests in the lounge I used.
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Old Jul 24, 2017, 4:46 am
  #1079  
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I read Hoshinoya drilled 1 mile into the earth to get onsen waters. Pretty cool. japanesegeek, how were the public baths and sauna areas?
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Old Jul 24, 2017, 5:06 am
  #1080  
 
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Originally Posted by Aventine
No. FS Tokyo is horrible in this regard. I was in a corner room and got street noise and the tracks. Their GM is a credit to FS though. Great guy.
No double-glazed windows?
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