coolfish1103

Without the lounge access and not offering the Japanese breakfast (or personalized eggs - not sure if they reverted that) as a complimentary option, the concierge being almost useless (not responding timely and not getting any preferential restaurant bookings even given enough time ahead), plus no longer participating in the SNA awards and limited to just Kioi upgrades (where it's often full anyway), this property is probably not worth the regular price to stay in.

Everything else can be excellent to great but there are other options for you at Tokyo, which can be either a bit more expensive or a bit cheaper to get all these included. If you don't need to be at the Akasaka Mitsuke area and are willing to go out of your way, there are many other suitable choices.

nexusCFX

I'm curious to know what people have been paying here as the "regular price". My average rate here over several stays has been 27K JPY a night and I've been upgraded to a grand deluxe corner room every time, including my current stay. The only way for me to get a better hard product than this room is to go pay 100-140K JPY a night at the Aman.

scubadu

And yet... most here will not experience the MO buffet because they are caught in the perpetual loop of being obsessed with maintaining "status" so they can continue to stay at properties where they can complain about the elite breakfast benefit...

Regards

hailstorm

If you want everything and the kitchen sink, go to SATSUKI at New Otani, right across the street.

Kacee

I paid 65k JPY during Sakura, no upgrade. Prices were high everywhere.

At 27k, this would be a very attractive property.

Dave510

hailstorm

If you're staying here, go up to the desk and take a minute to fill out the form for a SEIBU PRINCE CLUB emi card.

If you do it over the next few months, you'll also receive a very snazzy clearfile!

https://emi.seibugroup.jp/en/privile...mpaign/201906/

joakgarp

Last year during sakura my Brg rate was around 35-40k jpy and that was booked like 2-3 months before arrival. But at 27k I must say it's a no brainer. Think the lowest brg rate I've seen here on FT is around 25-27k jpy/night? Difficult to score during high peak seasons and weekends though. Taxes included in these numbers.

coolfish1103

Unless you BRG this hotel I hardly ever see a rate that's below 29K and that does not include tax and service charge.

Staying at an inclusive rate of your 27K is a no brainier cause I can always find decent food outside to not bother with the lounge.

Even the 29K rate only shows couple days a year, with most priced at 39K or above. If you do a dummy search now all rooms are at least 45K (if not in the 60 or 70s) now till next year.

The incompetent concierge itself is enough to not justify the rate of 45K. Slow to no reply on the e-mails and failure to obtain decent restaurant reservations.

nexusCFX

I would, but I will just lose it. Also, to my regret, I've been told I have to actually go to work so I'm dropping from monthly visits to Japan to just once more in November and then...probably 2021, so it wouldn't do much for me.

helvetic

And what, pray tell, are the benefits of having this membership?

helvetic

I really don't understand why concierge is such a big deal to people? I live in hotels almost full time (>300 nights a year now) and I can count the times I've used a concierge for anything I couldn't easily do myself probably on one hand, maybe even zero. (Basically only to make reservations in places that speak a foreign language — not that I wouldn't have figured it out without their help)

scubadu

Completely agree. Honestly, have almost never used a concierge.

Regards

hailstorm

You earn points in the program, that you can redeem for gift certificates, free nights, or other stuff. You might be able to double-dip with the Marriott program, but I've never tried (this is the program for foreign residents; I participate in a separate program for residents of Japan).

You get 3pm late checkout, which might be handy if you don't have top Marriott status. You can rent a suite for half price during the month of your birthday. Sometimes they have special promotions for members; last year there were a couple months where stays included breakfast. And you can get some discounts at certain Prince and Seibu establishments.

More information here:

https://emi.seibugroup.jp/en/privilege/

helvetic

Thanks! 50% discount on suites is pretty insane! What's the catch? Sounds almost too good to be true.

Don't believe you can double dip. It's been discussed on this thread before. (I salivate to think of a half price suite credited to Marriott.)