theOtherHolmes

Thanks, that makes me feel better about using two 50K cert’

Nagasaki Joe

At the very least you will get club lounge access, which would make me feel good about using two 50K certs, even if I didn't get a room upgrade. Hope you get one though! BTW, the room upgrade might only be a standard room with a Hamarikyu Garden view instead of a city view, but at Titanium, I should think you would get better if occupancy is not so high.

hailstorm

A partial victory. I did not get upgraded to an Executive room. I think he was inclined to do so, but he said there was no vacancy (an online search confirmed this)

What he did do was say "there's a guy in a balcony room using late checkout. I can switch you to that room from 6pm if you like." I'm so glad I did that. The first room had a view of a small slice of river sandwiched between two obstructing buildings, but this one has a spectacular view overlooking the river and Hamarikyu Gardens. It might be my favorite view from a Tokyo hotel yet. I could spend hours sitting here watching the boats go by.

I did look at the lounge. It looked very nice, but was pretty crowded even at 4pm. To be honest, I don't think I'm comfortable with that right now. I'm happy just sitting out here alone with the boats and the free beer from the fridge.

All in all, this free night makes the 30000 yen or so annual fee for this credit card money well spent.

Nagasaki Joe

You got better than I did, and I'm Gold too, but it was a very busy 4-day weekend (with national holidays) when I was there, so I couldn't expect much in terms of an upgrade. The free beers are a nice treat if you're not going to use the lounge. However, I think there is adequate spacing between tables in the lounge if you're concerned about maintaining distance. Glad it worked out for you.

hailstorm

This was a three day weekend, which also seemed very popular based on the foot traffic in Tokyo that I saw on the news. This hotel doesn't seem to allow points reservation for a base room on Saturdays, which is what I needed to use the credit card night, but for whatever reason they didn't bother blocking out the Sunday of a three day weekend, so this was my only realistic chance to use that night here before it expired.

I tried the breakfast in the restaurant. It was decent, but quite overpriced even with the Go To Eat discount.

Love the amenities, and really happy with the service. Just wish the area wasn't so boring. Unless I had an early boat trip to one of the islands to catch, I can't think of any reason to stay here again.

Nagasaki Joe

That's a rather restrictive condition for using a credit card FNA. Sounds like you have the Amex Japan-issued SPG card and not an Amex US-issued Marriott card such as the Bonvoy Brilliant. IIRC, the AF is only about $150 (converted from yen), so that's a small price to pay for a free night, and I think you also get free entry into Amex Centurion Lounges for one person, which are decent perks for the price.
Sounds like Roppongi or Ginza may be more to your liking.

hailstorm

Well, I'm not getting any more US-based credit cards, so this will have to suffice. As of now at least, the SPG AMEX card (as it's still called on the website still worth having.

I prefer the hotel itself being a place I can spend two or three days within without ever leaving it, like PHT.

But as for the area around a hotel in Tokyo, my favorite is Hilton Odaiba.

SkyElite

I know this is a wild guess, but between the MESM in Tokyo and the new W Osaka, which one would you rather spend 2 50K certificates (or 100K points) on? Cash rate being similar.

CPH-Flyer

W Osaka. More interesting location I'd say.

hailstorm

If that was a question for me in particular, then W is a no-go, as I'm hopelessly devoted to Ritz Carlton Osaka.

CO-PLAT

[QUOTE=hailstorm;32837833But as for the area around a hotel in Tokyo, my favorite is Hilton Odaiba.[/QUOTE]

What do you like about Odaiba? I stayed there a couple years ago and found the area around the hotel very boring.

hailstorm

I like boring.

airsniper

May I ask you the width of the bed? Is it single (1m), semi-double (1.2m) or a real double (1.4m)? The room description says "2 double", but the picture looks more like semi-double. Thank you!

airsniper

The problem with Hilton Odaiba is its building configuration: a single long aisle and the elevator is not even in the center, and we happened to have a room at the vary far end...

Still, I love the hotel. It has a very quite AC and a nice lobby, and shuttle to Disneyland, and the Gundam. The hotel was also featured in one of the cartoons I watched when I was a kid:
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%96...83%A5%E3%83%A9

Nagasaki Joe

I couldn't tell you the actual width of the bed, though my room had two double beds. You can see the photo I took of the beds in my room on the hotel review site at: https://www.flyertalk.com/hotel-revi...yo-review-3785
Your guess is as good as mine, but it looks like it could be closer to 1.2 m than 1.0 m.