Feb 18, 2019, 10:57 am
Last edit by: bhrubin
As of February 2019 this hotel no longer offers club lounge access to Marriott Platinum and higher guests, even if upgraded to a room category which would otherwise offer lounge access, so lounge access mentioned in older reviews would no longer apply.
The hotel also no longer participates in Suite Night Awards.
Breakfast offering for Platinum and higher is in restaurant, buffet plus made to order eggs.
Expert Review from May 2018 posted to the Luxury Hotels Forum: “Stunning hard product with great concierge and service”
https://www.flyertalk.com/hotel-revi...d-service-2620
The hotel also no longer participates in Suite Night Awards.
Breakfast offering for Platinum and higher is in restaurant, buffet plus made to order eggs.
Expert Review from May 2018 posted to the Luxury Hotels Forum: “Stunning hard product with great concierge and service”
https://www.flyertalk.com/hotel-revi...d-service-2620
The Prince Gallery Tokyo Kioicho, Japan, LC [Master Thread]
May 22, 2019, 2:09 pm
#857
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: WAS
Programs: Free Agent
Posts: 1,757
The breakfast, restaurant and lounge (dinner at Washoku Souten) are all pretty weak and mediocre and not what folks would expect from a Luxury collection hotel. Simple as that. PG do not impress and it's been like this since launch. The japanese way of we don't care about feedback and won't improve, that kind of japanese mind set. Personally I think the PG should be reflagged as a Design hotel instead or why not a Tribute Portfolio. The Luxury Collection brand doesn't make any sense here.
The Sheraton Yokohama is way better in its offerings when it comes to lounge and breakfast and the rate difference between a the two is pretty big. One you can have for 11 000 JPY/Night and the other 30 000-60 000 JPY/Night. One of the best breakfast in my life has been in Sheraton properties so the question is why the sleepy service from restaurant staff in PG (the guy in the PG Lounge was fantastic during our stay though)? There's no surprise and no innovation.
Now since some time back PG decided they want to restrict elites on their mediocre breakfast and lounge and of course it pisses people off. Instead of improving what they should be doing.
Great bar and room though and I liked the fitness with pool area.
The Sheraton Yokohama is way better in its offerings when it comes to lounge and breakfast and the rate difference between a the two is pretty big. One you can have for 11 000 JPY/Night and the other 30 000-60 000 JPY/Night. One of the best breakfast in my life has been in Sheraton properties so the question is why the sleepy service from restaurant staff in PG (the guy in the PG Lounge was fantastic during our stay though)? There's no surprise and no innovation.
Now since some time back PG decided they want to restrict elites on their mediocre breakfast and lounge and of course it pisses people off. Instead of improving what they should be doing.
Great bar and room though and I liked the fitness with pool area.
May 22, 2019, 2:20 pm
#858
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: SFO/YYZ
Programs: AC 25K, AS MVP Gold, BA Bronze, UA Silver, Marriott Titanium, Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 2,459
I thought it was a great breakfast too, so I am legitimately curious as to why people feel it's weak. Again, it's a wider selection than the RC Kyoto. Perhaps the RC Kyoto should also be demoted to the Tribute porfolio?
Last edited by hhoope01; May 22, 2019 at 2:50 pm Reason: Removed quote and response to post text that has been removed.
May 22, 2019, 3:05 pm
#859
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Sweden
Programs: Marriott Platinum - LT Gold
Posts: 688
Of course I didn't write a list what was missing as that would have been absurd. The main dish was there with western and Asian. But the overall presentation was mediocre and I guess others can fill you in what was disappointing who recently have stayed there and are sharing the disappointment as well.
May 22, 2019, 5:42 pm
#860
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Virginia
Posts: 291
I always try to be cognizant of the fact that for every one person who goes online to complain, there are 100 who found the same experience to be good. Did the free lounge breakfast leave me wanting to write love letters to the chef? No. But did I enjoy the custom omelettes, chef's egg, the unique (for an American anyway) option of warm fish for breakfast, fresh juices, champers, 10 different kinds of pastries, assorted meats, and my new favorite breakfast food: mashed potatoes? Yes!
I stayed in a Marriott last week and the lounge breakfast was cold turkey deli meat, oatmeal, hard boiled eggs, and bagels/muffins. Was this a Luxury Collection Marriott? No. But I thought the "upgrade" from deli meats and bagels was pretty luxurious when I was at the PG.
I realize writing this that I sounds like a loon to care so much...but...ehh, I'm posting it anyway.
I stayed in a Marriott last week and the lounge breakfast was cold turkey deli meat, oatmeal, hard boiled eggs, and bagels/muffins. Was this a Luxury Collection Marriott? No. But I thought the "upgrade" from deli meats and bagels was pretty luxurious when I was at the PG.
I realize writing this that I sounds like a loon to care so much...but...ehh, I'm posting it anyway.
May 22, 2019, 7:36 pm
#861
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,418
I really don't understand the breakfast complaints. I just spent two weeks in Japan and the buffet offering at the PG had more variety than the buffet that offered at the Ritz-Carlton Kyoto where I have never heard a single complaint about breakfast. What sort of dishes would you like added to the buffet? There must be a ton of things missing for you if it's what you'd consider a weak offering.
I generally enjoyed the hotel, but the breakfast was not IMO befitting an Asian 5*.
May 22, 2019, 8:08 pm
#862
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: HKG • Ex SFO, NYC
Programs: UA 1K, AA EXP; Marriott Amb; Hyatt Globalist; Shangri-la Diamond; IHG SpireAmb; Hilton D; Accor G
Posts: 3,319
It's been a couple of months, but it was just a very basic buffet, I was particularly disappointed by the sparse fruit selection. There was also an absence of decent charcuterie, and the selection of hot dishes was miniscule. There was probably a quarter the variety offered by hotels such as Conrad or GH Hong Kong, or SGS in Bangkok. It's been too long for me to compare the selection to PH Tokyo, but I do remember the quality there was exquisite, which PG was definitely not.
I generally enjoyed the hotel, but the breakfast was not IMO befitting an Asian 5*.
I generally enjoyed the hotel, but the breakfast was not IMO befitting an Asian 5*.
The lounge's chef's egg is amazing, as is the Japanese traditional breakfast. But sure, if you want a million options of stale mediocre quality dishes, be my guest and stay at your average Asian Sheraton or Marriott
May 22, 2019, 10:51 pm
#863
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Sweden
Programs: Marriott Platinum - LT Gold
Posts: 688
I would much rather have a full Japanese breakfast vs. the biggest bland buffet like the MMQP BKK. One well executed a-la-carte dish beats any amount of meh food at even the largest of buffets.
The lounge's chef's egg is amazing, as is the Japanese traditional breakfast. But sure, if you want a million options of stale mediocre quality dishes, be my guest and stay at your average Asian Sheraton or Marriott
The lounge's chef's egg is amazing, as is the Japanese traditional breakfast. But sure, if you want a million options of stale mediocre quality dishes, be my guest and stay at your average Asian Sheraton or Marriott
But each to their own.
Is the full breakfast still for free for plats and above here or did they limit the elite benefit to water and a biscuit? Were some posts about a limited breakfast menu when the hotel started to restrict lounge access.
Last edited by joakgarp; May 22, 2019 at 11:44 pm
May 23, 2019, 5:41 am
#864
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2005
Programs: ua mm, aa plat, starriott LTPP, ihg plat, hh gold.
Posts: 13,016
Mr kk and I stayed here at the beginning of May, and were able to have a full breakfast buffet or the japanese set as a benefit of my lifetime titanium status—not limited. There may be a full American set as well, but I didn’t bother to look. With the buffet they’ll bring you eggs, (you order with the wait staff) and you select everything else from the buffet.
I’m in the camp that found the buffet perfectly lovely, and well laid out, although we gravitated toward the terrific Japanese set, which was served in a different restaurant one morning of our stay.
We also were grandfathered into lounge access (booked the stay before they stopped allowing it to plats) and the lounge was completely PACKED for happy hour several nights of our stay...so busy that on more than one evening there were no tables available at all; the overwhelmed hosts were offering to call people in their rooms to alert them when space opened up. We skipped it altogether one night, another was equally full but we managed to snag a spot as two people were leaving, and one evening we sat through from tea to happy hour—which seemed like what a lot of others were doing. The snacks seemed sufficient to pass as a dinner, if you got there before they were depleted.
I’m not certain if it was due to Golden week, but the lounge was so crowded during happy hour that it wasn’t pleasant. We did enjoy a nice teatime here, and of course unless you’ve booked a club floor, the lounge is no longer accessible to plat guests simply for being plats anyway, so it may be a moot point. We did enjoy one lounge breakfast, and I thought the tea (teavelope earl gray) was so outstanding I immediately bought some on amazon.
concierge staff was good, we enjoyed the hotel...but likely won’t stay again at the price point without lounge access. The breakfast is great, but having a place to escape (even if only theoretically) is important to us.
I’m in the camp that found the buffet perfectly lovely, and well laid out, although we gravitated toward the terrific Japanese set, which was served in a different restaurant one morning of our stay.
We also were grandfathered into lounge access (booked the stay before they stopped allowing it to plats) and the lounge was completely PACKED for happy hour several nights of our stay...so busy that on more than one evening there were no tables available at all; the overwhelmed hosts were offering to call people in their rooms to alert them when space opened up. We skipped it altogether one night, another was equally full but we managed to snag a spot as two people were leaving, and one evening we sat through from tea to happy hour—which seemed like what a lot of others were doing. The snacks seemed sufficient to pass as a dinner, if you got there before they were depleted.
I’m not certain if it was due to Golden week, but the lounge was so crowded during happy hour that it wasn’t pleasant. We did enjoy a nice teatime here, and of course unless you’ve booked a club floor, the lounge is no longer accessible to plat guests simply for being plats anyway, so it may be a moot point. We did enjoy one lounge breakfast, and I thought the tea (teavelope earl gray) was so outstanding I immediately bought some on amazon.
concierge staff was good, we enjoyed the hotel...but likely won’t stay again at the price point without lounge access. The breakfast is great, but having a place to escape (even if only theoretically) is important to us.
Last edited by karenkay; May 23, 2019 at 5:48 am
May 23, 2019, 5:47 am
#865
Suspended
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Kan@da
Programs: Anything with sweet spots
Posts: 1,790
For example, they offered only lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber and two dressings for the salad section. Westin Kyoto had more variety: Corn, spinach, pickles, beats, olives, hard boiled eggs, and many more, plus about 10 different kinds of dressings.
Same for other food sections
May 23, 2019, 7:06 am
#866
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: WAS
Programs: Free Agent
Posts: 1,757
It's been a couple of months, but it was just a very basic buffet, I was particularly disappointed by the sparse fruit selection. There was also an absence of decent charcuterie, and the selection of hot dishes was miniscule. There was probably a quarter the variety offered by hotels such as Conrad or GH Hong Kong, or SGS in Bangkok. It's been too long for me to compare the selection to PH Tokyo, but I do remember the quality there was exquisite, which PG was definitely not.
I generally enjoyed the hotel, but the breakfast was not IMO befitting an Asian 5*.
I generally enjoyed the hotel, but the breakfast was not IMO befitting an Asian 5*.
What was missing was more variety for each food food category.
For example, they offered only lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber and two dressings for the salad section. Westin Kyoto had more variety: Corn, spinach, pickles, beats, olives, hard boiled eggs, and many more, plus about 10 different kinds of dressings.
Same for other food sections
For example, they offered only lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber and two dressings for the salad section. Westin Kyoto had more variety: Corn, spinach, pickles, beats, olives, hard boiled eggs, and many more, plus about 10 different kinds of dressings.
Same for other food sections
May 24, 2019, 10:23 pm
#867
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2011
Programs: Hyatt Discoverist, SEIBU PRINCE CLUB Silver, Marriott Gold
Posts: 20,432
May 29, 2019, 6:19 pm
#868
Suspended
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Kan@da
Programs: Anything with sweet spots
Posts: 1,790
Jun 3, 2019, 9:13 pm
#869
Moderator, El Al and Marriott Bonvoy, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: SIN
Programs: SQ*G, Mar LTT, Hyatt Glb, AA LTG, LY, HH, IC, BA, DL, UA SLV
Posts: 12,018
Based on my stay, I would agree that the breakfast, both in the lounge and in the restaurant opposite the lobby, are weak at this property.
The number of different dishes is small compared to those I stay at in SE Asia. Add to this the fact that they serve the same dishes every day gets monotonous.
I loved the hard product. It was amazingly well-located for my office. We still had lounge access when I stayed. But I would never suggest this property for a leisure stay.
The number of different dishes is small compared to those I stay at in SE Asia. Add to this the fact that they serve the same dishes every day gets monotonous.
I loved the hard product. It was amazingly well-located for my office. We still had lounge access when I stayed. But I would never suggest this property for a leisure stay.
Jun 4, 2019, 9:02 pm
#870
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Parts Unknown
Posts: 10,050
What was missing was more variety for each food food category.
For example, they offered only lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber and two dressings for the salad section. Westin Kyoto had more variety: Corn, spinach, pickles, beats, olives, hard boiled eggs, and many more, plus about 10 different kinds of dressings.
Same for other food sections
For example, they offered only lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber and two dressings for the salad section. Westin Kyoto had more variety: Corn, spinach, pickles, beats, olives, hard boiled eggs, and many more, plus about 10 different kinds of dressings.
Same for other food sections