Braindrain

Ok, thanks! ^

b8b

Hi All,

Looking at a stay in Tokyo for two nights summer 2012 with the wife and kids to experience the city and maybe some sights.

I've read through quite a few threads and having trouble deciding between the Sheraton Miyako or the Westin. Any advice would be appreciated.

TIA

mahasamatman

We prefer the Sheraton's location (and the shuttle is useful), but they're both very nice hotels.

Braindrain

IMO, the Westin is a much nicer hotel with great Plat bennies. However, if you're not a Plat (can't tell from your sig), I'm not sure you'd notice too much of a difference. Probably not enough for the $ difference...

3rdworldresident

does anybody stay here recently?

thanks in advance

Life_Platinum

I usually stay at these properties every year. I prefer the Sheraton, mainly because their bus that runs to the railroad station every 20 minutes or so, as the walk to the train station from the Westin is long, especially for my wife with her knee problem. In addition, the Sheraton is far less expensive, but the Westin has larger rooms. The possibility of being upgraded at the Sheraton is almost impossible as I think they have only 1 or 2 suites, whereas the Westin has a good number of suites and large rooms. The concierge ladies at the Sheraton are some of my SPG favorites. A couple of months ago they provided me directions to eat at Ivan Ramen, a hole in the wall with a world class reputation run by a Brooklynite (as in NYC) who graduated from the Culinary Institute in New Hyde Park. I returned with a Ivan Ramen shirt for them.
My wife and I are planning to again stay at the Sheraton in March.

yeunganson

I have many stays with this hotel for the past 4 years. Before that, I was with the Le Meradian Pacific Tokyo before they left starwood. It is my default hotel while I am in Tokyo. I consider it the best bang for the buck among all the Starwood Hotels in Tokyo. I stay at the Westin Tokyo for special occasions.


Buffet breakfast wise, the Sheraton Tokyo is less grand than the Westin Tokyo in terms of food choices, fresh fruits and drinks. The Sheraton Yokohama (20min from Tokyo) is just as good as the Westin Tokyo but a lot lower in prices.

Bed is a close match - Shearton Sweet Sleepers VS Westin Heavenly Bed is a more subjective choice. I like the Heavenly bed more.

Westin Tokyo doesn't have the Heavenly shower (something I value greatly) so it is a big minus. Washroom Amenities are similar - Sheraton stuff VS Westin's Spa stuff.

Hotel enviroment wise. The Westin is in a more upscale, elegant and an upper-class and spacious feel area. Sheraton Tokyo, also in an upper class area, doesn't have the same spacious feel.

Hotel room (upper floors). The view in the Westin Tokyo is better - a city as far as eye can see (forget about seeing nature or sea). Sheraton... just university campus.

TV program - Boomberg and CNBC is available in Westin but not in the Sheraton.

3rdworldresident

thanks again for very useful information.

drron

We stay in Tokyo at least twice a year staying at either the Sheraton or Westin.I always check the rate for both.On the last 2 stays the Westin was only 500 yen per night dearer($6).If you are plat the difference in breakfast which you can have in the restaurant more than makes up for that much extra.Normally though there is a few thousand yen in favour of the Miyako so that is where we stay.
Again the Conciege girls at the Miyako are fabulous.Nothing is a problem and they have been able to get us into booked out restaurants on more than one occasion.

Pitero

Stayed there last October and found the breakfast (free for plats) quite upleasant. Large crowds (travel groups I suspect) the minute they opened the restaurant early in the morning. Lines were forming immediately in front of the buffet, which was just ordinary. I dearly missed the excellent Yokohama Bay Sheraton breakfast.

I agree regarding the great front desk staff. They smoothly organized a hairdresser's appointment for me on very short notice right after check-in. The hairdresser is located in the basement of the hotel, it's expensive, old-style, basically no English spoken, but professional and of good quality.

The room upgrades might be nothing too special, but personally I like that they feature a Bose CD player (something I'd love to see at the Yokohama property) and, when lucky, a balcony.

As for the shuttle, I think it can be time consuming and somewhat of a hassle, especially if your schedule is tight and you decide to go via trains to appointments and thus have to add the shuttle transfer times to your itinerary. Plus if it's hot outside you're sitting in the shuttle bus without air condition until the driver starts the engines just 30 sec. before leaving the lot. Plus last time I travelled with quite a heavy suitcase and the driver didn't lift a finger to help me get this thing onboard the tiny bus. Very surprising given the otherwise outstanding service standards in Japan.

Braindrain

I just finished 2 stays here, one for 7 nights and the other for 1 night. Room upgrades are pitiful. For the 1st stay, after front desk *confirmed* my upgrade, I was disappointed to see what I got. I had to call down to Service Express and they got back to me after 20 minutes of making 3 room moves for a better room. Definitely a big . For the 2nd stay, got stuck in their normal "upgrade" but didn't bother as it was for just 1 night. As for the breakfast buffet, it's definitely 'meh' - very limited choices. We did go to the lounge for drinks and, while less of a selection than the Meridien HKG, it was enough.

Service, as described by others, is top notch. We did utilize the shuttle a lot and never found it full. In fact, we found it easier to use the shuttle to head to Meguro Stn for dinner and hop back than doing the Westin sky-walk run. We never used the shuttle for suitcases so I can't comment on that.

Next time, I'll definitely return to the Westin if the price is right. This time there was a $170 USD/night difference.

andreirublev

Staying here now as a gold and I am very happy with the experience. I assume some floors must have suites, but based on the footprint fire escape map on the door, I'm in the "best" room on my floor for an upgrade, and it does seem big by Japan standards. Service has been uniformly excellent.

I would definitely recommend against the "scrambled eggs" for breakfast, though; I don't know if it's just a cultural expectations mismatch of what, but... yeeech.

margarita girl

Can anyone confirm if this property has a Club Lounge? There is a mention of the Bamboo Lounge, but not sure if that is open to all the guests. On the "Which Property in Tokyo" thread, they seem to indicate there is no lounge here, but given the new Sheraton brand standard of having a lounge in every Sheraton property, I'm thinking there should be one.


TIA

FlyMan

No Club Lounge, period. Bamboo Lounge is in the lobby and open for all guests, but you get Platinum benefits incl free drinks.

Braindrain

Correct. No exec lounge. You have to go to Bamboo. A word of warning. If you're a non-smoker, Tokyo is about 20 years behind N America. Meaning, you'll be placed in the non-smoking side but you're all in the same space.

IMO, it's worth trying once but it's nothing spectacular.