lcpteck

There is a Club Lounge which offers breakfast and evening nibbles and drinks. Can't remember if any pictures were posted before in the thread.

karenkay

Icpteck is correct, there's a fairly large club lounge on the second floor, and many club rooms are on that floor as well, apparently. they're renovated rooms, and at least as of last week they were renovating floors 11 and 12, if memory serves...

I've just stayed at both the Sheraton and the Westin, and found the offerings at the Westin a fair bit better...but the Sheraton lounge breakfast will give you two hot breakfast options (scrambled eggs and a 'Spanish omelette,' which appears to be scrambled eggs with peppers and onions) along with fruits, salads, breads, cereals, yogurt and juices...a small meat and cheese tray, a coffee machine...it's perfectly serviceable.

There's a tea service in the afternoon as well, which I didn't attend, and the evening offerings include wine and drinks you can mix yourself, along with a few hot entrees, like lasagne and fried shrimp, crudités, grilled octopus (yummy) along with some cheese and crackers. It's easily enough you could make a meal out of...although since you're in Tokyo, you might prefer something more tasty/local/interesting. Again, I thought the Westin had better offerings in the evening, although the lounge there was smaller and packed.

gcashin

Thanks for the info - very helpful. I've stayed at the Westin Tokyo before, so thanks for the comparison.

farmerandy

I've got an upcoming stay in Tokyo and was wanting some of your guy's opinions on this. As of now I'm booked at the Prince Sakura Tower on points but am curious for those who have stayed at both/either Sakura Tower and Sheraton Miyako. Here is the breakdown:

Prince Sakura Tower Tokyo - 120,000 Marriott points or: $377.00 Nightly Rate/ $1356.59 Total with taxes for 3 nights

Sheraton Miyako Tokyo - 36,000 SPG Points (108,000 Marriott Points) or $158.00 Nightly Rate/ $622.00 Total with taxes for 3 nights

So here is my question. After researching, I found that the Prince Tower is more suitable for what I'm looking for. Though a bit far from all the areas we plan on visiting, the close proximity to the train station more than makes up the trade off for having a larger than average sized hotel room in a quiet location. The Miyako Hotel is rated lower than the Sakura Tower, and location wise, seems a little bit more of a nuisance due to the train station being a little further away, but paying the cash rate of $622.00 for 3 nights looks a lot more appealing rather than using 120k Marriott points. For those of you who have stayed at both, would you consider the Sakura Tower worth double the price point of the Miyako? For those who have stayed at either, were you satisfied and would actively search rates to stay at that hotel again? Thank you in advance!

schoflyer

If you are going to burn Marriott points stay at the Sakura.
If you are going to burn Starpoints, stay at the Sakura.
If you want to pay $220 per night Miyako is your friend, however I hope you are entitled to an upgrade and club access. That being said, not worth $200 per day.

farmerandy

Thanks @schoflyer , exactly what I was hoping to hear (value wise). Looks like I'll be sticking with Sakura.

uscjeff

I just stayed here and found the hotel to be fine but agree with all comments here. No upgrade as a Plat 75 with 2 rooms, neighborhood quiet, etc. Ended up spending way more on ubers than I ever would have wanted to. Did enjoy the lounge (and its amazing toilet) though

schoflyer

The best upgrade to expect at the Miyako is a club king. And you may have to push for that after checking availability. The king Balcony rooms are also nice. Not sure if they are renovated yet.

Bottom line, check the Club King availability before check in.

Club King with lounge access for $220 per night all in is likely better deal than Sakura @ $440.

schoflyer

To clarify my last sentence, without the lounge access at the Miyako is not worth spending $200 per day to stay. The value play would redeeming points at the Sakura. This does not mean that the Miyako is not worth paying $200 per night in TYO.

The Miyako is great to pay cash and get a renovated club room with lounge access if you have the status, if not, redeeming either points currency the Sakura is a better than redeeming at the Miyako.

stephem

I'd give a pass to the Sheraton Miyako if it's your money. I stay there for work when places nearer Shinagawa station (where my office is) are full or exorbitant. This week I did i and probably would have preferred to have stayed at a more distant location like Hyatt Regency. Dont spend your own money here, it will be a let down.
As for the neighborhood, if you walk out the hotel and turn left, you can find just about anything you might need from drycleaning to groceries about 15 minutes away. A bit further is Meguro station which is the JR Y line and more convenient for hitting Shinkuku area. I dont mind the 'hood but the hotel is like a weak Sheraton in colombus Ohio or something. There are many better options in Tokyo for you money...

jpdx

I don't get all the hate for this hotel. We had three stays here in the past month, on BRGs of ~10k yen. At that rate, the hotel is stellar value. The newly remodeled rooms are great, the club is not bad at all, and even the rooms that were remodeled 7-10 years ago are ok by Japanese standards. Yes, this hotel is grotesquely overpriced on points, benefits are not as good as in the past (club breakfast only), and they will not upgrade you unless you ask. But the rates that are attainable here make this a steal for Tokyo.

Now, to be sure, SPG has a hotel in Tokyo that's an absolute dog, but it's the Westin. We spent three nights there last week -- against my better judgment -- but I had made some C&P reservations at the old Cat 5 rate ($110 plus 6k points) before the 2016 devaluation. The location is awful, the club laughable, the rooms prehistoric. Even at the old Cat 5 rates, I felt like I was wasting money/points, and I was wishing I'd be at the Sheraton instead.

schoflyer

Club Breakfast Only? Happy hour too, right? You must be comparing to pre club benefits? Restaurant breakfast + Bamboo Lobby Lounge? I like club breakfast better but Bamboo was cool.

Yes, if its my cash, I stay here and my company will not pay higher so I stay here. A lot of the rooms are OK. There are a few dogs however.

Personally, I enjoy the location.

jpdx

I meant no more option for restaurant breakfast at the Sheraton. There is a happy hour at the club, which is far better than the Westin's (and the Hyatt Regency's, which someone mentioned above).

I think the location is fine -- quick walk to the subway, small grocery store, even a Don Quijote. Plus, the shuttle bus to Meguro works great.

karenkay

That's fascinating to me...I prefered the miyako's location as well--walking one mile to meguro station passes by Don Quixote, the grocery, a park and a variety of interesting shops and coffee bars, and of course you can take the free shuttle if you don't want the stroll--but found the offerings in the Westin club at happy hour FAR superior to the Sheraton, both in variety and quality.

I thought the breakfasts offerings at the Westin were much better as well (try the croissants at both and report back).

farmerandy

@schoflyer @stephem @jpdx @karenkay

Thank you everyone for all the awesome info. Really wish I would've found Flyertalk sooner; just recently go into the airlines/hotel/credit card awards/loyalty game this past year, and to say it's been eye opening would be an understatement. To clarify more on this stay, I will be celebrating my honeymoon in Japan and a handful of other countries. This will be our first visit to Japan, and we'll be in the country for a total of 8 full days. Though transportation is top notch it may take me a minute to figure it all out, so going off the great advice from you peeps, I've decided to just go ahead and burn through some of my Marriott points on Sakura Tower. Deciding factors were closeness to train stations and my status only being Gold which would not give me access to what seems like the greatest attributes at Miyako. Though staying closer to Shibuya/Shinkjuku makes sense this being our very first hotel stay in Japan, room size and quiet location is a huge thing for us. We'll be finishing the rest of our stays in Japan via Ritz's in Kyoto, Osaka, and back to Tokyo so the main reason for this original question was targeted towards value. (Wallet is taking a hit on the Ritz's) lol. Thank you again for your expertise! It is very much appreciated.