RAPC

We are currently in the middle of a stay at this property and as there hasn't been a post for a while, I thought I'd put an update on this thread.

As a Plat, we were upgraded from the cheapest room booked for 3 adults, to a larger family room on the Club floor. All 3 adults were given breakfast each day, as well as access to the Oasis area. There are now 5 restaurants to choose from for the free breakfast, although we have only been to the Grand Buffet on the 1st floor so far. Tomorrow we are planning on trying the Summit restaurant on the top floor instead.

There is easy access to the Tokyo Resort via the monorail, or to the main JR station and shopping area via the monorail and the regular shuttle bus.

The hotel is pretty nice and well maintained. The staff are friendly and make a lot of effort to look after you. As others have mentioned, some of the staff have limited English speaking skills, but as this is a hotel where Westerners are in a very small minority, there isn't too much regular need for them to use English. A few words of Japanese, if even just a please and a thankyou go a long way.

Our bedroom is modern and functional. The 2 queen beds are Sheraton Sweet Sleeper beds with comfortable mattresses. There is also a smaller single bed with an older mattress, but that is absolutely fine.

Overall we are enjoying our stay here. The hotel is packed due to it being peak season, but the staff go out of their way to ensure you are looked after.

bkc6j

Thought I'd add an update as I just completed a 5 night award stay here.

I don't know if it was bad luck, back to the "Platinum hit or miss" issue here, or the fact that I was on an award stay, but I had a lot of trouble getting upgraded here.

Their first offer on check in was a Deluxe room ("It is the same as a club floor room"). Actually it isn't. They were just offering me a regular room and talking it up. But I had already had some conversations with someone in the Revenue Mgmt/Reservations department (about a totally different issue) and had learned the hotel wasn't that booked. After some insistence on my part, I ended up with a suite.

As others have said, the property is clean and nice. The staff are friendly, and it is very convenient for not only Tokyo Disney, but frankly, not as bad for Tokyo as others seem to have indicated (just takes an extra 20 mins train ride from Tokyo station). I'll stay here again in the future now that I know how everything works and don't really need their help at all. But for a first time stay: be cautions of the following 2 things:

1)At Tokyo Disney, the monorail is not only NOT free, but is fairly expensive. With current exchange rates, the BEST deal you can get is a 4 day pass for $25 USD. Per day prices go up from there if you need it less days.

2)Also, the English language availability at the hotel is even worse than some others have said. They speak some English so you can still figure basic things out. But in general if you have questions like "What are the most recommended restaurants in TDR?" or "I have 1 free day to take a trip out of Tokyo, what do you recommend?" ... then you are in trouble. I came with TDR as my focus, but with a few extra days and not much planned thinking that the concierge would help. Not happening at Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay. Either come prepared or spending your first few nights in the city (Westin Tokyo was awesome and very helpful).

caffeine addict

Stayed here earlier this year for 2-nights.

I booked the cheapest room and decided to negotiate a better room at check-in since it was a weekday and not around a Japanese holiday.

We were upgraded to a family room with 4 beds and it was quite spacious with a balcony and ocean view. All 4 registered Adults received the breakfast voucher plus access to the Oasis area compliments of my PLT status. (there was also an infant in the room).

We avoided the monorail and just took the complimentary shuttle from the train station.

Breakfast buffet was decent. Club lounge was, well, pretty lousy. Prepackaged snacks and the like but nothing special, really.

I'm fluent in Japanese so I'm sure that helped out in many areas as far as the room upgrade. We initially thought of booking two connecting rooms as the price points were similar but ultimately decided against it since I had a feeling the PLT benefits would be denied to the other room and I was right.

Paid about 22,000JPY/night and this includes the surcharge for person 3 and 4 in the same room.

Barefootdr

hmmm...the GM there is fluent in English and very influential in the SPG Asia regional area. His legacy includes some of the things you find most appealing about the Westin Tokyo.

bkc6j

Well, I might be a demanding traveler, but even I wouldn't ask for the GM just to get some travel advice around Tokyo.

I totally understand that based on the normal occupant of this hotel, they wouldn't focus on the same things (English language skills as important) as they would for a Tokyo Westin (huge numbers of English speaking guests).

I just wanted to give others the advantage of my experience. I talked to numerous hotel staff (3 front desk, 3 concierge, 2 at Disney services counter, 2 and SPG Preferred desk), and in no case was I able to find someone with good enough English to deal with more complex questions. This was even after them sending for someone that spoke better English on 2 occasions.

Not saying anyone should shy away from the property, just be aware of the limitations and factor accordingly into your plans.

Barefootdr

bk6cj... I understand your posting and thank you for reply. I have known the GM for many years and was somewhat surprised to read about the difficulties you encountered there as an English speaker. Fully aware that the hotel is in Japan and not quite in Tokyo, but is also servicing many foreigners and knowing the perfection of service level of that GM, I was surprised to see your post.

While I know some GM's in Asia, spending 9 months a year for many years in this region, I too would not ask a GM for trivialities like directions. I do however think he would be very attentive to your comments should you and family return there under his tenure. Your heads up to others heading there is of course, one of the main reasons for this forum, and I greatly appreciate your posting.

Cheers

bidhere23

Here @ the Sheraton Tokyo Bay now for one night. First time stay and the location is a tad out of the way and only really good if you want to go to Disneyland. Disneyland is closed due to the earthquake until today and in a conversation with the manager he told me they are at 1/8th of their normal fill rate. Without a doubt it shows. They are running on a skeleton crew. Most facilities have limited hours. The lobby is a ghost town and there wasn't a bellhop when I arrived. Beautiful view. Rooms seem a little dated. Apparently not offered an Plat upgrade as the room appears to be the one I booked. Club Lounge is normally 24 hours but closed.

LivninSC

Noticed the same in the middle of June still. The hotel is definitely easy to get to. Take the Keiyo line from Tokyo station, go down some stairs and wait for the bus that takes about 3-4 minutes. No biggie. It is a bit out of Tokyo but not horrible. Their occupancy rate is still way down so I was shocked to get a room on the 4th floor, another on the 5th, and another on the 6th floor (3rd is the first floor and is Japanese style rooms). Those lower floors weren't anything special but one night did get a 12th floor room and it was considerably nicer! The view of the bay is great as is the indoor pool. I booked a couple nights there over a weekend mainly to relax by the pool outside only to find out that the outside pool wasn't actually open until July. Thought that was kind of strange as it was hot and humid but it clearly hadn't been cleaned in quite a while.

It's kind of nice to get out of Tokyo and go for a jog along the water I found, and again relax at the nice and large indoor pool.

LLJFK88

Looking to stay here in January for two nights while at Disney. I'm just curious about the process of reward booking as it doesn't seem like any nights in January are bookable online (just via phone). Do you think they haven't released the space yet? I'm going in the middle of the week so I don't think the space is occupied.

Starwood Lurker II

Hi.

Which award booking are you referring to?

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Thyetus Lee | Social Media Specialist
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LLJFK88

I'm just looking for a Standard room redemption for Jan. 9th - 11th. Now when I try to search this the hotel says it isn't even taking bookings for that time. Or anytime in January (edit: I haven't found any availability through March).

yyznomad

I have a bunch of FRWN to burn up and I figured I would use this for my next trip to Tokyo in December. The reviews in this thread, especially the more recent ones remain mixes. It sounds like I for sure won't be getting an upgrade on my reward stay even if standard suites are available at the time of check-in. In fact, I have yet to receive any semblance of an upgrade while staying at a SPG property on Japan as a Plat.

I will be traveling by myself, so I have no plans to visit Disnelyland at all... But rather hang out in Tokyo. Should I just bite the bullet and pay for my 4 night stay at the Westin Tokyo? Or should I keep my reward stay for the 4 nights at the Sheraton? I realize it's a bit of an open ended question... Just looking for more opinions I guess... TIA!

Braindrain

If it's a personal stay, the Westin can get pricey especially with the forex rates. With the dates I'm looking at in late Nov, it's about $400 CAD/night with taxes. The Westin has a far more superior buffet breakfast, but I figure I could buy lunch at Robuchon in front of the Westin and still save $ over my booking at the Sheraton.

LLJFK88

I just read on the Disneyland site that there is a baggage service for those staying at official hotels (Link) which would allow me to arrive at the station, drop my bags off here, and then check in later after I am done with the park.

Does anyone have experience with this?

yyznomad

Yeah it's a personal stay. I wish the Free Resort Night promo was just a plain Jane Free Night promo for any property. I received 8 of these free resort nights and have been having trouble putting them to good use.