flyerbjorn

Disney hotel guests can make advance lunch/dinner reservations for the parks.

Does this hotel count as a Disney hotel? If not, what's the best way to make lunch/dinner reservations for the Disney parks? Can the concierge help?

hailstorm

No.

The best way to do what you want is via the Tokyo Disney website.

joakgarp

So we're planning a 2nd stay here. Last one was back in 2016 and enjoyed their breakfast a lot. But now I'm reading spg platinum members are forced to have breakfast in the club lounge if you are after the free breakfast perk. Is the difference big between these two breakfast areas?

hailstorm

It's a pretty huge difference. Breakfast in the lounge is like having breakfast. Breakfast in the main restaurant is like having breakfast in a breakfast theme park.

But if you're going to pay for breakfast, and have kids, you really should go for the Chef Mickey experience.

joakgarp

Yeah haha that breakfast theme park was a blast last time... Might be worth it to pay the extra just to eat there again.

travelswithmyself

Just a note that Lifetime Gold & Plat members can have their breakfast at the Grand Cafe or at the Club Lounge. I don't recall that SPG members were entitled to breakfast in the Grand Cafe in the last 3-4 years - it was Toastina (their lobby level deli) or the Lounge. Are you sure you didn't have a breakfast-inclusive rate the last time?

joakgarp

I was only a base member back then so had to pay for my breakfast and it wasn't included in the rate.

joakgarp

Can now confirm Platinum members are only eligible to the Club Lounge breakfast. To eat in the Grand Café i'll have to pay 1700 JPY per person. Pretty disappointing.
I quote their email:

"As you are our loyal Platinum member, you will be eligible for Sheraton Club benefits including complimentary breakfast at Sheraton Club Lounge.

You can upgrade complimentary breakfast to our all day dining Restaurant GRAND CAFE on the 1st floor with the additional charge of 1,700JPY per person.

We are very happy to inform you that Platinum members also has the benefit of room upgrading and late check out as available as possible depends on room situation upon your arrival."

miloworld

Tried both and would say Breakfast in the lounge is a better experience.
Overlooking the theme parks in the morning, filled with anticipation before getting on the train to the parks.

The Grand Cafe was too loud for me.

joakgarp

How is the variety of food in the lounge compared to the Grand Café? I remember fun stuff like ice cream, soda, candy etc.

travelswithmyself

To each his own. I don’t ever give up the wide Japanese breakfast spread for the peacefulness of the lounge. Besides, this is TDR... the moment you step off the trains it’s crowded and noisy... might as well get a good meal with it

To answer your question, like all lounge vs cafe debates, the variety is definitely less in the lounge.

escape4

I stayed here and generally had a positive experience. There is a shuttle bus from Narita which brought us straight to the hotel door which was convenient. The website did not show suite availability at the time I checked in so I did not expect a suite upgrade. They upgraded me to a corner room in the Park Wing which is the newer building. Looking at the floor plan, this is probably the best room to have if you don't get a suite. The layout was a bit odd because there is a single bed at each corner of the room (4), and a couch and table in the middle of the room. This would be a good room for a family, but for a couple it's a bit of wasted space unfortunately.

Happy hour in the lounge is obviously not what you would find in a business hotel because there are lots of children around. Some nights, the lounge stayed reasonably quiet so it was enjoyable, but there are a couple of nights where just one family ruined it for others. They let their kids misbehave and disturb the entire place while they were just chilling and drinking.

The lounge has a barman who makes mixed drinks with great care and effort; quite professional. Normally in lounges they do not want to make people wait so they prepare drinks quickly however that is not the case in this hotel: the barman had his own recipe and took quite a bit of time to prepare each drink carefully which means there is a lineup all night if you want his services. There is also a self-serve station with wine, beer, liquor, sparkling wine, in addition to sangria and another bowl which is a mix of grapefruit juice + Campari. I thought it was an interesting choice of alcohol in this lounge given the high attendance of children. Food options were good on some nights and so-so on others.

Not having free breakfast in the restaurant is a downer, but the choice in the lounge was adequate so we did not go to the restaurant. Given there are lots of children in this hotel, I am not sure I would have been tempted to go downstairs even if free.

The location is good and walking distance to the entrance of Disney. Alternatively you can take the monorail in front of the hotel if you don't want to walk. If you stay here, it must be to visit Disney. In my opinion it's just too far from the city with too many subway transfers required to use this hotel as a base if you need to go to the city more than once.

travelswithmyself

Just returned from a trip there too. Must say that the nibbles in the lounge have improved significantly from when I last visited about 2 years ago. Sufficient to make a meal though they still try very hard to make them look appetiser-like - eg rather than a cooked beef dish they presented a beef salad.

As usual - breakfast is comped for SPG Lifetime guests (Gold or Plat) - either the club lounge or the main restaurant (Grand Cafe). The new addition is a small restaurant below the Park Wing called Galleria which serves cooked meals at ~ 1800-2500 JPY. Eg a large steak-don bowl was 2500 JPY IIRC. They have a morning buffet breakfast but looking at the space available it's probably not much better than the club lounge. I didn't go in.

FYI, here are the PAID breakfast prices and options, in JPY, for adults, children 9-12 and children 4-8: 3400 / 2600 / 2100. They've standardised the prices at all outlets which is a good move IMO. The outlets are:
. Grand Cafe - the biggest, most crowded, buffet style
. Galeria - newest, small, ? semi-buffet style
. Maihama Teppanyaki - buffet - never tried
. Toastina - buffet, equivalent to club lounge
. Asuka - japanese breakfast bento (3210 / 2380)

Lastly, take note that the Grand Cafe will be renovated early next year, apparently to expand it.

travelswithmyself

These and their equivalents on the Club Floors and Ocean Dream rooms are the 2+2 bedder rooms. Did you see any Suites on the floor map of the Park Wing? I was given to understand that there are none...

nikkoap92

My preferred room at this hotel is now Park Wing Corner (double sink + 4 beds), better air-con and larger bath. I noted to the hotel not to upgrade me to the suite whenever I come as it is definitely worse than the Park Wing corner room and now I always get the exact room everytime i come. The corner room has a sofa so you can think it as a Junior suite.