hailstorm

Only by purchasing an upgrade to a club room.

Duke787

How convenient is the Prince Sakura to the Shinkansen? To Ginza? As a base for Tokyo exploration? We've been before but the folks we're traveling with haven't -- and we've only stayed in Shinjuku or Ginza -- never Shinagawa (and we'll definitely be heading to Ginza for lunch and/or dinner which is a big point in favor of the Hyatt).

Trying to determine whether to stay here on a 22000 JPY/night rate or stay at the Hyatt Centric on points.

Big plus here seems to be better room size (plus upgrade possibility as Titanium), access to shinkansen (assuming it's as close as I think it is), and Titanium benefits (though we'll have 2 rooms so will need to see if they give us benefits for both).

nexusCFX

There's basically nothing to be upgraded to as a titanium. Small number of rooms on the tower side which I guess have been rebranded as jr suites although they really aren't, and then one single suite.

It's an 8-10min walk to the entrance of Shinagawa station from the lobby. The Shinkansen stops there and several useful lines run through there to get to other parts of Tokyo. For some areas to the west like Toranomon, Roppongi, you'll end up connecting from JR to subway lines to get there which doesn't bother me personally but it's probably a step down from having access to some of the useful subway lines at the Hyatt like the Hibiya line.

The _Banking_Scot

Hi,

It is also a short walk to the Takanawandai ( Toei Asakusa line)whch can be handy for Tokyo Tower, Ginza ( 5 stops IIRC to higash-ginza with a walkway to Ginza station), Gotanda and Oshiage ( Tokyo skytree) and Asakusa ( Senso-ji temple). It has a very nice garden rooms are large and got a nice view of tokyo tower. Fitness centre is good.

The JR Yamanote line ( Shinagawa station) is pretty good as mentioned above.

Regards

TBS

MSPeconomist

I always find the JR Yamanote (circle) line to be convenient in Tokyo.

IIRC the Prince hotels that are co-located near Shinagawa run a joint shuttle bus between the hotels and to/from Shinagawa station; I've seen the vehicles, but I don't know the details.

BTW, there's at least one other Prince hotel nearby (or at least not far away), close to Tokyo Tower. It's walkable from the Andaz.

hailstorm

Actually two. Prince Hotel Tokyo and The Prince Park Tower.

The shuttle you mention runs between the station, The Prince Sakura Tower, Grand Prince Takanawa, and Grand Prince New Takanawa. It does not stop at Prince Hotel Shinagawa across the street.

The junior suite at The Prince Sakura Tower offers a phenomenonal view of the gardens, and IMHO is worth going to the trouble of getting an upgrade to one.

FlyingFrZ

Currently booked 3 nights in late March as I was able to secure a pretty sweet rate on the junior suite

Curious what the difference is between the normal junior suite and the south side junior suite?

nexusCFX

The south side ones overlook more of the gardens. If you look at the building on maps you’ll see the curved northeast and southwest corners which is where those rooms are.

Also it’s hardly a jr suite; they used to just call it the corner deluxe and it’s about 50sqft larger than the normal rooms. Nice windows and views though; try to get a high floor.

FlyingFrZ

Thanks for the input

It was only 2500 yen a night more so I figure it was still a good rate. Hopefully I'll get one of their better suites with my status.

nexusCFX

The hotel has only one actual suite so hopefully you'll get a south view one but that's about all you can move up to since you're already in one of the higher tiers.

arjen05

Currently staying here and if you consider booking this hotel anytime soon, keep in mind that this hotel is way stricter in its Coronavirus preventions than other Marriotts in the region.

-Executive lounge and club lounge are only serving individually wrapped small sweets
-All fitness centers / gyms are closed
-No breakfast buffets, instead there's an à la carte service

nexusCFX

The same is true at the Prince Gallery.

toddvader

At this hotel, is there a public bathing facility on B1? I see something about a worldpool, but I also see traditional Japanese bathing stations. I assume no bathing suits allowed? Thanks

hailstorm

No bathing at all right now. The entire B1 is closed.due to coronavirus.

hailstorm

Spent last night here. The sakura in the garden are currently only about half in bloom, but still very pleasant to view, especially at night. Unfortunately, all regularly scheduled Sakura Festival events are cancelled.

All of the above restrictions are still in place until at least the end of the month. Additionally, the Grand Prince Takanawa club lounge is closed entirely, and the Grand Prince New Takanawa club lounge is not open at all at breakfast time.

An American Breakfast is available in the Prince Sakura Club Lounge. You get choice of eggs made to order along with some meat and vegetables, a plate of fruit, bowl of yogurt, and a few breads and pasteries.

In lieu of breakfast at the Grand Prince New Takanawa club lounge, you can take your Executive Lounge card and have a set American Breakfast at the Momiji Lounge restaurant overlooking the Garden Pool. This seemed slightly different from the Sakura Club Lounge offering, but not especially so.

As I am a SEIBU PRINCE CLUB Platinum member, I am also entitled to breakfast in the Ciliegio restaurant. From 7am they serve choice of American Breakfast set or the Japanese breakfast set that is normally available at Nadaman (currently closed for breakfast). My wife enjoyed the Japanese set very much. The restaurant American Breakfast set is 90% the same as in the lounge, but they did also offer Eggs Benedict as a choice. In addition to the American Breakfast set, they also made me some French Toast that is normally available with the breakfast buffet.

So I had 3+ American Breakfasts this morning. I'm still stuffed.