X-ON

Checked in with my wife and 22 months daughter for a 12 nights stay in July. Got upgraded to a Club Deluxe Room, no suites available since during the weekends and bank holidays during my stay the hotel was sold out. The lounge offerings and buffet breakfast has been cut IMO since before the pandemic. The breakfast has less selection of cold cuts, cheese etc. No more Pancake/French Toast station, No more Chinese breakfast items like Dim Sum and Congee. Breakfast is still good though. If I recall in the past this hotel used to serve (majority Chinese) tour groups in the past, so removing these from the offerings to cut costs makes sense I suppose. Stayed at a competitive long stay base room rate at 14000++ yen/night given that you as a Plt+ get upgraded to much better rooms (or suites if available) than the base rooms it is still good value IMHO.

vg247

We haven’t been back here since 2015 and I’m sure much has changed. As a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium member , do they auto upgrade you or do I need to request for it, or would using SNA’s be the best chance to get an upgrade?

We land Narita on 12/20/22 at 3pm , what are the best and fastest options to the hotel?

I recall the hotel has a free shuttle bus that takes you to a nearby subway station, is this still available and can someone kindly remind me what Subway station this is called?

We will be using the subway to go in and out of the main Tokyo areas often and even back in 2015 it was fast and very efficient..


Thank you for any help and updates

CPH-Flyer

They will upgrade you based on availability. If you are staying over a weekend, there seems to be a big local staycation business that actually pays for premium rooms. So there may not be a great selection of upgrades to be had on weekends.

Hopefully the limousine busses will start running again soon, particularly if you have luggage. If the busses are still not running, I would jump on the Narita Express to Shinagawa station, and take a quick taxi from there. You can also get bus 93 from Shinagawa Station towards Meguro, and get off at Shirokanedai subway station.

I think some of the shuttle busses go to Shinagawa as well, which is can be practical. But otherwise, the walk to Shirokanedai subway station is 3-4 minutes, so the bus is not worth waiting for.

vg247

‘Thank you very much , CPH-Flyer, for all the detailed information especially for the transportation details. I recall now - we used the Limousine buses historically, and will be prepared to utilize Narita express to Shinagawa station, then take taxi to hotel as you suggested. We will only have two large size checked baggages.

ETA - I now see there are many new Marriott Bonvoy hotel options in the Tokyo Station and Ginza areas eg. Courtyard Tokyo Station, Courtyard Tokyo Ginza ; do you have any experience or feedback on these hotels pros/cons other than prime location vs the Sheraton?

My sincere thanks again.

CPH-Flyer

The CY Ginza is quite old, and it kind og shows. But supposedly they give full breakfast to Platinum and above.
Tokyo Station CY is not that old, but pretty basic. Comfortable enough if you don't want too much from a hotel. They do give full breakfast to Platinum and above, and some drinks and snacks in the evening.
The AC Ginza is probably the nicer of the new additions in the select service segment. Also here platinum and above get full breakfast.
The final round up in that area of town, there is an Aloft in Ginza. Rooms are quite small but nice, and very new. There is breakfast here as well, but that is brand standard as opposed to the others above.

The Sheraton is a full service hotel with a lounge, where as the others are select service brands. I guess that is the main difference, apart from much better locations.

vg247

Many thanks again - this is perfectly the information I needed to compare the hotel options. Since I will not need a full service hotel amenities , I may consider the other options given better location and access to the nearby areas during this trip. I’ve stayed at the Sheraton in the past as their room were much bigger and they were more extended stays so we did prefer it for that reason.

This trip we will be there with a first time to Japan traveler and plan to stay in Tokyo for 5 nights, then to Osaka as our base hotel and side trips to Kyoto and the nearby areas so they can have the highlights to Japan experience.. On our last night 12/29/22 we will return to Tokyo before flying out Narita on 12/30 or 12/31 (tbd at this time). I have the same flight options flying SFO to Haneda direct as well going vs Narita , so contemplating changing to that flight since Haneda is closer to the city etc. It’s a short trip compared to all my previous stays , so I just want to maximize our time and travels within Japan for our first time visitor.

Also, my first time coming in December so we will be prepared for the much cooler temperatures and earlier sunsets 😊

Thank you very much.

alohastephen

I plan on staying at the Sheraton later this month (October 2022). Any current recommendations on making room upgrade requests as a Platinum?

YariGuy

I'll be in Tokyo in December, before Christmas. I've stayed at the Shinagawa Prince Sakura Tower before, and am trying to decide between that and the Sheraton Miyako.

I'll be with wife and kid, so my key considerations are:

• Room size. The room at the Prince Sakura is bigger (46 vs. 36 square meters), but there doesn't seem to be upgrade opportunities. If we get upgraded at the Sheraton, we may get the 60sqm jr. suite (I'll try using SNAs)
• Location convenience. I know the Prince Sakura is an 8-10 minute walk from Shinagawa, which is pretty good. What about the Sheraton? It seems the nearest station is the subway station Shirokanedai, and the area is pretty residential. How convenient is that? We like hustle and bustle

Your advice appreciated.

CPH-Flyer

There is certainly no hustle and bustle in Shirokanedai. There are quite a few good restaurants. You only have the Namboku line in Shirokanedai, it connects to quite a few other practical lines, but in the evening the trains do get quite far apart. But it is pretty central so taxis will not be that expensive to and from rather busy stations in the evenings.

Shinagawa is more lively, but probably not really that interesting lively for tourists. But there are lots of places where people from all the offices will go to eat and drink after work. But nothing to really do and see in Shinagawa. The latter also applies to Shirokanedai.

cozysuite

You can take a complimentary shuttle bus every 15 min to connect to and from Meguro station from where you can go many places using Yamanote line.
Also there are many restaurants and bars in Meguro.

YariGuy

Thank you both. In the end, when I started the reservation with 3 people on Marriott.com (very strict about that in Japan as you all know), the Sheraton Miyako option disappeared. So I ended up booking Prince Sakura. I know Shinagawa could be commercial, but I like it. If you just cross Shinagawa station to the east side, there's so much to do.

alohastephen

Im currently checked in at the Miyako and according to the attendant, kids are okay for breakfast at the lounge.

keep in mind that the Plat welcome gift includes restaurant passes as well. You will have a choice of breakfast at the California Cafe or Chinese Restaurant on lobby level.

vg247

Thank you for sharing…how was the staffing, occupancy , and did you get any upgraded room?

alohastephen

understaffing caused delays but not too much of an issue. Lounge was crowded ( a few kids too for cocktail hour too!)but was able to be seated. Currently sold out but Small upgrade to deluxe room. Get an early check in of 1pm to avoid line at check in.
ASK for renovated room upstairs!

PES_B1

Are the rooms at Sheraton better than the CY,AC and Alofts? I successfully BRGed the hotel for an early January stay for 14.5K per night 2 pax. Also, which hotel I should stay at to catch a morning 9:30 am international departure at NRT, currently booked CP Narita?