Too_Fly1

He's complaining because he had to wait when he arrived 20 minutes before breakfast finished? God forbid.

I agree the buffet at the PG is pretty terrible, which I mentioned in the various comment cards they asked me to fill while there, but their omelettes and Japanese breakfast were wonderful. Of course now with the changes they are charging ridiculous amount for those options. This, along with the lack of lounge access, makes other non-Marriott options in Tokyo a lot more attractive for my next visit.

bhrubin

NJFlyer_HOHO

I just returned from a 2-night stay (on pre-devalued points). With all these complains about the breakfast, I thought I would opt-in for the breakfast while I was there to see what the fuzz was all about. Maybe I had low standard in terms of food, but I thought the breakfast was pretty fantastic. In total, we (2 adults and 1 child) had breakfast there 3 morning straight. First day, we accidentally (due to language issues), ordered the Japanese breakfast. We didn't know we ordered it, so we had our share of the buffet before the Japanese breakfast showed up. So we were all pretty full. But we didn't want to waste any food, so we ate most of the Japanese breakfast anyway. It was definitely no Tsujiki Fish Market, but it was plenty tasty for me and my very picky eater child. They spent a lot of time putting that whole tower of food together. I enjoyed it!

As for the buffet, I didn't see what the problem was. Good spread of pastries. Good selection of hot offerings. Heck, they even offer 8-min egg (my favorite) and super thin bacon. What's not to like?

We didn't have Club level room, so we didn't get to see the offerings inside the club. I am sure it was probably fine too.

So much about the breakfast... now about the location and room... The location was perfect for us. It's not in the middle of Ginza or Shibuya which I can only take so much every time I go to Tokyo. PG is located along the Natagacho and Akasaka-Mitsuke stations. We like walking back to the hotel through quieter street after a day of craziness in the busier part of town. The room is pretty good too. You get all your high tech stuff and it's comfortable, and with a view.

I would agree with many of you, would I go back there? Maybe... There are so many options in town, I want to try them all. But does PG has any fault that would make me not want to stay there again, I just don't see it. It is a pretty good hotel.

My two cents...

bhrubin

Haha, thanks for that. Yes, I think there are some out there suffering from a fair amount of confirmation bias or lack of perspective, just as there are a number out there who honestly were disappointed with the hotel location, breakfast, or other elite issue.

But the fact of the matter is that the Prince Gallery is unquestionably the best award stay option in Tokyo--including the slightly dated Ritz-Carlton, the very dated Park Hyatt, and the similarly amazing view Andaz. And it's one of the best luxury hotels in Tokyo on top of that.

MasterGeek

bhrubin

That's funny.

Basically, the PG is an amazing luxury hotel. But if you're trying to get a ton of stuff for free, please look elsewhere. And go with my thanks/blessings.

Kacee

What a load of nonsense.

There are legitimate reasons to critique this property's breakfast compared to other properties in the same class. No need to insult those of us who have higher standards (and pay full freight, thank you very much). I can say unequivocally the breakfast here did not measure up to the 72,000+ JPY per night I paid to stay at PG. I otherwise enjoyed the property.

Too_Fly1

Clearly your money wasn't "self-funded" enough, or else you would have unequivocally enjoyed breakfast. /s

-

I paid full fare for a week and if we didn't have the a la carte option, which they now removed for Plat+, we would have chosen to eat elsewhere. Unfortunately, others cannot have differing opinions on the topic in this thread.

Enjoy your breakfast gatekeeping with a side of cold bacon and overcooked veggies.

Dave510

richarddd

There's a perception that those who stay for points or who are elites rate hotels based on elite benefits or other free stuff, while those who pay cash rate based more on the hotel quality. If you're deciding where to stay it can be helpful to understand the biases of the reviewer.

MSPeconomist

bhrubin

I understand your feelings and respect that. I couldn't disagree more, but I am happy to know that I will have one less person to worry about competing with me here.

You're most welcome to the very outdated and less impressive PH for its Globalist benefits. It's too bad you can't get the same Globalist benefits at the Andaz, since that's the only Hyatt property that comes close to being as nice as the PG. If you only care about elite benefits, it sounds like you most certainly will enjoy the PH more. But the PH isn't even close to as nice as the PG.

I had a stay here at the PG (as Plat100 Ambassador) in May 2018 when SNAs were accepted...but mine didn't clear. (Most SNAs never cleared because there are only 11 total suites in the hotel; the constant complaints about SNAs not clearing is why the hotel finally opted out of participating.)

Yet, due to my Ambassador status and because it was our 8th anniversary wedding trip, we arrived early and still were upgraded to a Kioi Suite (and given the suite on our 7:15 am arrival no less).

The lounge here was very nice...but I don't care much about a lounge, nor do I expect one in any luxury level accommodation. You now have to pay for the lounge here, but you also have to pay for the lounge at the Ritz-Carlton. So it's a wash at the luxury level in Tokyo between those 2 properties.

We are in the fortunate position of not needing elite benefits--even if we usually have them by virtue of my Ambassador status. I paid for our stay (got my one and only BRG, actually). I loved the PG...and I know from stays at the best hotels in the world that the PG is among them. We had high tea and toured rooms and suites at the Aman Tokyo--and had poor service there. But what a hard product! We had lunch at the MO and toured rooms and suites--and this is the only hotel where F&B is even better than that at the PG, but wow was the decor dated and tired (but not as much as that of the PH). We had drinks art the Peninsula and toured rooms and suites--and sorry, but the PG blows it away. We toured the rooms and suites at the Hoshinoya, too--but that isn't for us because it's too non-Western and lacked way too many amenities we desire. We'd previously stayed at the PH and knew it was overrated.

I think we're quite comfortable with the PG being one of the best hotels in the city.

3rdworldresident

flyerbjorn

On the topic of breakfast, I've had a few stays at the PG and always enjoyed the breakfast buffet. I've never had to wait for breakfast, that seems like an anomaly. I like the breakfast buffet at the PG slightly better than the RC.

The lounge access was convenient for grabbing a coffee in the morning, but the breakfast was always much better in the restaurant.

helvetic

If you mean "immediately around the hotel" as not willing to cross the street. The lively area you're talking about is literally right opposite the street from the PG's tower. Under 100m / 3min walk.