theOtherHolmes

Anyone knows when JW Marriott Nara will accept reservations?

FlyerBeek

JW Nara definitely seems to be taking reservations now. At just 50k/night during the cherry blossom season next Spring, I'm considering staying here and exploring Nara a bit more instead of the usual stay in Kyoto (which is just a quick 30 min train ride away).

-FlyerBeek

nexusCFX

I have bookings here for Nov and Apr. The Nov one was booked before this thread was made so the OP is kind of funny. There's no off/on peak rates for it right now so use those 50k certs while you can.

CPH-Flyer

I have a booking there in mid July. So it is open for business, if not already, then at least very shortly.

joakgarp

Very happy Marriott is investing in more properties in Japan and in rural areas. Have visited Nara a couple of times as well and it is a cute little town. Not sure if I'd stay more than one night here though? It's possible to see the main sights in 3-4 hours in relaxed walking. But I'm no expert if there are more to see outside the deer park and the temple.
​​​​​

CPH-Flyer

I'd say it depends a bit where you are coming from, and going to next. 1 or 2 nights is probably going to be the main. But there are probably more to do in a bit bigger area that could be covered with Nara as a base.

joakgarp

Looking at Google maps I can see that the JW Is placed about 20 min walk from Nara station to the west/8 min bus ride or 6 min cab ride. It's also placed further away from Nara Park than Nara Station. Nara Park is on the Eastern side of Nara but 5-10 min walk from Nara station. So if you are planning to visit Nara Park and staying at JW it's 33 min walk, 14 min train with walk or 9 min cab ride. Train station close to JW is Shin-Omiya Station run by Kintetsu, not by Jr.

Not that ideal for the regular tourists travelling with a 3-4 week luggage in Japan. I guess they want to attract tourists to less frequent spots such as Heijo Palace, Yakushi-ji temple and the Toshoda-Ji temple which are not that frequent visited by tourists as they are on the compete other side of Nara than where Nara/Deer park is.
City of Nara must be planning something in the long run but I wonder what that is. But imo the hotel should have been placed closer to the train station and Nara park than what is today.

Kintetsu line makes a stop at Shin-Omiya Station and the train ride starts in Osaka and in Kyoto. 10 min waking to JW, bus and cab 6-7 min. Looking at Google maps.

voodoofish

Slightly OT but when I travelled in Japan I just used Takkyubin to transport my luggage, so I didn't have to take it on the train with me. I dropped my bags with the hotel concierge, they would arrange everything and charge it to my room. The bags were then waiting in the room at the next hotel.

Pseudo Nim

Anyone there for the opening?

CPH-Flyer

Yes. At the pool right now.

It is a very nice property, the first day of operations was, as you can expect, a bit hectic. Also as they were almost booked to capacity. Lots of journalists, travel writes, bloggers, etc. here.

Yesterday noon time was also swarming with TV crews.

Pseudo Nim

Haha. Nice. I was actually booked for yesterday, but I decided first day is maybe not the greatest idea, so I moved it to next week. How are the elite benefits? Breakfast any good?

CPH-Flyer

Breakfast is in the lounge, there is a nice selection of hot and cold items, and an option of made to order eggs.

The evening spread was decent, more than a snack, less than a meal. The Japanese restaurant is very small, so you'd probably need to to book in advance. Yesterday the same for the all day dining, Silk Road. The Japanese restaurant definitely looks worth trying. The GM did come by in the lounge during cocktail hour to talk, and apologise that the recognition of status was not quite up to standards yet. But wanting to hear of we were happy with the stay.

A few minor hiccups in service indeed, but that is not rare for a first day. I am quite sure they will get that ironed out, and we are already talking about coming back again.

Pseudo Nim

Good to know. I was in (Hyatt) Seragaki a few weeks ago and it was a complete disaster - though not for lack of trying - it's a nice property but the service was so full of holes it was almost comical. I find every new Western hotel in Japan is suffering from this, as they hire staff who don't know much about this whole "elite" concept, and while some properties really "get" it and do it properly (ie Hyatt Naha), for some it's a total comedy of errors (Seragaki, or Iraph Sui). But yeah, I'm glad they opened a JW in Nara, I've always found Nara to be sorely lacking in accomodation options. The 50K yen nightly rate seems absolutely egregious, though, I'm really curious what their average (ie non-opening day) occupancy will be like.

Nagasaki Joe

Considering that the Hyatt Seragaki opened on Aug. 21, 2018, it should have its act together by now. It's not exactly "new" anymore, so it's disappointing to hear about its service shortcomings. I had thought about giving it a try and using one of my Club Access Awards there, but I hear the Club Lounge is not that great. However, there are plenty of other decent hotels in the Nago area, so I may have to pass on Seragaki. I hear the HR Naha has a nicer Club Lounge, but of course, it's in downtown Naha and not on the beach.

Pseudo Nim

Yup. That's exactly what I told the AGM there, I wrote a VERY long letter summarising what went well and what did not. They gave me 6,000 points as comp, which was hilarious in itself, because one of my complaints was "your service recovery is CRAP", and that was their reaction, basically affirming what I wrote.

I don't want to derail this thread, you're welcome to PM me if you want more info, and I think maybe I should post a review in the relevant threads, but the Club is very meh; by comparison, the Naha club is REALLY good, but as you said, it's in the middle of downtown, so kind of pointless as a beach destination.