CPH-Flyer

williamluk

You are not having 2 toddlers, 14 and 16 are pretty much adults considering the space they will need. I actually don’t know why you want to jam 4 ppl into a room with 1 toilet and suffer (of course that’s another story if all you care is to boast to ppl you are staying at a 5 starred hotel). Why not you just book 2 rooms at AC or CY (CY in Asia are MUCH nicer than those in NA) instead? It will actually cost less and everyone will be a lot more comfortable.

Intl359Widget

Is anyone not bewildered at the amount of points needed for this date?

I thought the max was 120k with an upgrade option?

CPH-Flyer

There is two rooms in the booking details for that screenshot, so 94K per room per night.

FoodRanger

Background: Ambassador elite, 1 week stay, busiest time of the year (Sakura).

Having stayed in most Edition hotels I can safely say this is the best Edition property currently around. The team is extremely hospitable and goes above and beyond for every guest. The director Marco and the bar manager Sandra are the stars of the show, treating every guest like a VIP.

However still some rough patches, some of which are easier to fix than others:

1. Room decor and amenities are absolutely sub-par for a Tokyo hotel in this price range (impossible to fix, Edition standard, but please opt out of the cheap amenities)
2. The bathrooms look very cheap compared to other Tokyo hotels in this price range (impossible to fix now that it’s built)
3. Breakfast is a loud, messy affair with small tables that are too close to each other and too small to contain the food you order. Items also arrive at completely random times with some items being forgotten altogether (more trained staff needed, need to space out tables, etc)
4. Breakfast quality is superb for US standards but sub-par for Tokyo standards
5. There are by far not enough umbrellas at the entrance desk. This is extraordinarily annoying as the only time you need umbrellas is when it’s raining, which is naturally when everyone needs one (very easy to fix, just buy enough damn umbrellas for the number of rooms)
6. Hotel seems understaffed for such a busy period with employees running around left and right
7. Like all Editions, no elite recognition beyond late checkout (not the fault of the property, but a fruit basket or bottle would have been nice as a welcome gift)

Overall I’d say pretty impressive what the team has been able to do given the Edition concept and the property stands well above the others.

The complaints above are made in the context of Tokyo luxury hotels - the Edition is in the same price bracket as MO, Four Seasons, Peninsula and that’s where it really falls short.

Radiation Station

Thanks for the review!

You don’t like LeLabo? I wouldn’t normally consider those cheap toiletries. Similar price to Aesop etc off the top of my head. But maybe I’m not a bathroom b*ller

Did they upgrade you? I’ve had mostly decent upgrades at EDITIONS and had a welcome gift a fair amount of the time.

The umbrellas thing is just weird - such an easy eventuality to prepare for and not expensive to provide for.

FoodRanger

No upgrade received, but the hotel is almost at capacity during a super busy season so can't fault them for that here. I knew it was going to be tight so I booked a larger room from the get-go.

In terms of amenities I meant more the other items (like the shaving kit, which seems to be more of a suicide device than a razor, the extremely cheap plastic comb, etc).

On Le Labo - I don't count them as real Le Labo products as they are made specifically for hotels by a factory in Malaysia (or China, depending on which Edition you are in) that has nothing to do with the Le Labo brand except the scent. It works in other markets because everyone does it there but in the Japan luxury hotel segment this is an outlier.

Radiation Station

Agree, not unreasonable for there to be no upgrade in that context. Smart to book a bigger room.

Oh yeah, I know what you mean - they do often skimp on the extra stuff like razors. Which is pretty cheap of them.

That is very interesting about EDITION lelabo, thank you. I do like that scent but didn’t realise they were making them on the cheap. Out of interest, where is the “normal” lelabo manufactured?

FoodRanger

Yeah unfortunately very common at Marriott properties. "Normal" Le Labo are all made in the USA for the North American market, in Europe I think they are made in France but not as familiar over there.

CPH-Flyer

It is very common at large number hotels of hotel brands. The fancy brands printed on the amenities are responsible for the formulation, other companies produce and package them for the hotels. I have had Bulgari and Hermes amenities coming from Malaysia. There does seem to be a quite huge company there that seems to stock a wide swathe of hotel amenities in the APAC region.

It is not just your hotel amenities, your run of the mill Dolce & Gabanna, Dior, Armani etc. products that you pick up in travel retail, your local Sephora, or department store, are by and large made by Procter and Gamble. It is only the very high end products like Armani Privé, Gucci Alchemist's Garden etc. that will be produced under the full control of the brands. And typically the bath products are all outsourced. Scale is everything. Same reason Toblerone is now made in Slovakia, and has to stop calling it Swiss chocolate.

Does it matter where it is made? Probably not. It matters what kind of quality control and follow up the brand is willing to demand to have their name printed on the amenity bottles, and their fragrance added to the production. I'd think that Le Labo has greater concerns there than most.

Pop quiz, where are the Le Labo products for Park Hyatt Kyoto made?

FoodRanger

By far not the same quality when "made for hotels" regardless of printed brand, especially shampoo/conditioner makes a huge difference between "real" Le Labo and the hotel variety. I'd say even mid-market shampoos you pick up at a Tokyo convenience store are better than the hotel branded amenities unfortunately.In Japan, boutique hotels will stock actual made in Japan amenities of high quality, just not the international chains. But I have resigned myself to that anyway, its more the other stuff that annoys me (like cheap razors at $1k/night...).

RK23

This is interesting on the Le Labo front, I stayed at a boutique hotel in Ghent Belgium, 1898 The Post, and they had Le Labo toiletries but they smelled like they were like the ones I bought directly from Le Labo. They were in the hotel minis though. I took a few, will see if it shows where they are made.

Aventine

Are yours like these ones? I know for sure the EDITION refillable eco-friendly bottles aren't the OEM ones but probably made in Malaysia.






These are just like the 250ml ones you can buy at the boutiques but distributed by/for International Hotel Supply.

frank.lan.yufan

The Le Labo amenities seent at EDITION in China are originally made in Canada too, only packaged in China

FoodRanger

Another interesting thing that just happened - there was no housekeeping by the time I got back to the room at 3pm but I needed to use my laptop so I went to the lobby. They were quite apologetic but told me that I can't use the restaurant space unless I purchase drinks (which I don't want) and I should use the Starbucks downstairs. My mind is blown lol.