A millennial Take on the Sheraton Miyako Tokyo

100   Recommended
Room 1144 , Executive Floor Deluxe
April 21, 2018 by

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Sheraton Miyako Hotel Tokyo
 Map | 1 Review | 100% Recommended

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Room 1144

Executive Floor Deluxe

Liked:
Location
Service
Food
Amenities
Room
Stats
Room
Executive Floor Deluxe

Once Upon a Time - Historic Background

I begin staying at this hotel through the years at the very begining when the Miyako Tokyo joined Starwood in 2007. I remember having to stay here because the Le Meradien Shinagawa hotel left Starwood and this is the cheaper alternative to the Westin Tokyo. Back then the average night prices was around $CAD 140/night (after everything). Back then our CAD is on par with USD and I was just a new university grad with a job teaching English in Japan and on my first or second year as an SPG Platinum member.

So this review is based on comparisions with pre-merged program SPG Platinum experience. Comparing this hotel of 2018 to itself back in 2007. Comparing this hotel with the Westin Tokyo of 2017 and the Prince Gallery Tokyo Kioicho (ehh Luxury Collection) of 2017.

Location

Getting to this hotel, if coming from other Japanese cities, is more work than the Westin Tokyo. While the westin Tokyo and JR Ebisu station has a covered walkway/Shopping complex Yebisu place that attached, the Sheraton Miyako hotel is about 20 minutes walk from the nearest JR Train station through regular (and sometimes more narrow) streets. If you arrive during normal hours like 10:00am-10:00pm, there is a mini-van that can shuttle guests from the JR Meguro station to the hotel. However, the hotel mini-van was not modified to have shelving space to serious tourist style luggage (ie the more larger suit cases), so if you have some large luggage, the mini-van will have to put luggage on people's seats or put it up front next to driver. I wish the hotel takes a page out of Hong Kong's MTR free shuttle mini-vans and install luggage shelving onto the vans.

The Sheraton Miyako similar to the Prince Gallery Tokyo Kioicho is 10 minutes walking distance from a subway station. In this case, the Shirokanedai Station. So if you have very light luggage, arriving with the subway is also a good option.

If you are coming from Narita Airport (or Haneda Airport) with checked luggage, just save yourself the luggage pulling and just pony up with the Airport Limousine that goes from Airport to hotel (basically a normal tour bus but have a grandiose name). I timed myself by taking the Narita Express vs the shuttle bus and by the time I fooled around with train transfers (some have long walks), hauling luggage up stairs and waiting for hotel shuttle mini-van, I arrived just 5-10 minutes before the airport Limousine pulled in. 

 

Check In

The check in is normal. Unlike the Prince Gallery Tokyo Kioicho where you get greeted by a white (cacuasion) staff, or the Westin Tokyo where you get greeted with pure Japanese staff, the Sheraton Miyako greets you with a diverse set of East Asian and ASEAN staff.

WTF does above have anything to do with check in you would ask? To us in North America, absolutely nothing. To my ahem... Asian perspective, there is a pile of dog whistle. The ability to get a cacuasion staff working there to be the face is considered prestigious. The Westin Tokyo of having pure Japanese staff seem all with pretty good English (and Japanese on average have pretty bad English compared to Singapore or Hong Kong) is likely show they sucked a lot of talent to that hotel. The Sheraton Miyako have English speaking professionals (that happen to be minorities or foreign workers) is a tad lower but still good.

Room

I have stayed in this hotel every year and some years multiple times since 2007. Through the years as Platinum, I never have gotten a suite upgrade. Then again, I stay here for the lower price so I started with low expectations.

I normally get a "superior" room (or just a regular room) in their 3 - 5th floor. Last year in 2017, I got a rennovated room on their 2nd floor which feels like a normal room.

This trip in April 2018, I finally gotten the best room I ever gotten among my 10 years with this hotel. I was upgraded to the 11th floor - the Executive Floor and their better rooms. It's never happened to me so I assume this is the best upgrade I would ever recieve from this hotel.

Regular rooms have a normal shower/bath tub, the room in the Executive Floor has a seperate shower and bath. The shower area is very Japanese like what you see in hot springs. The bath tub has a remote control that can auto fill the tub. You can look through from the bath area to the bed and out the window. Because you are on the 11th floor and taller than almost all buildings around you can just leave bath window and hotel window wide open with no blinds without fear someone will be able to see you shower and sing (not that I would ever do that ahem ahem).

The ammenities brand is also different on this floor. Instead of the usual Sheraton brand, I was givien Mikimoto Cosmetics. I have no idea what they are. I called one of my former Japanese student's moms and was told this company make very famous pearls and their cosmetic line advertise pearl like skin and supposively very high end. Upon telling my mom this news, she insisted I cleared the ammenities each day and put in my luggage to safely excort these precious bottles of shampoo, conditioner and bodywash so they arrive safely to my mom hands. (you know East Asian moms do that)1_20180406_165317_resized.jpg1_20180406_165358_resized.jpg1_20180406_165621_resized.jpg1_20180406_180921_resized.jpg

 

Platinum Guest Treatment

Back in 2007/2008, the Miyako Tokyo did try to put in good faith attempt to treat Platinum guests well on the service side. Back then, you can choose different places to dine for breakfast - the Buffet at the Chinese Shisen Restaurant, the Japanese meal in the Japanese Yamatoya Sangen resturant, or the "high quality" American style breakfast at the California Cafe (espeically when the Buffet ended at 10:30am). Their buffet was not as good as the Westin Tokyo nor the Sheraton Yokohama, but it was good enough for a good start of the day.

Fast forward 2017, you can only have breakfast at the Club Lounge in 2017 and normally we are dealing with chaos as everyone, especially East Asians, try to eat like its their last meal. Food selection mirror those of USA with some pre-made scrambled eggs, non-US quality ham/sausages, cereal/yogurt and stuff . Yes. I was used to dine like the Chinese Emperor while staying in Asia. Seeing the sight of the Club lounge reminds me of average North America Sheraton and not the Luxurious brand that typically being associated in Asia. I normally just grab a coke and go outside for food. Sometimes even the staff will give me a look - tsk tsk tsk, drinks can only be consumed inside the lounge.

This time in 2018, I was given the Executive Floor. With it, I have my dining option restored like it was 2007. I can have the buffet in Chinese resturant, the Japanese food in the Japanese resturant, Cafe California for high quality American breakfast or.. the chaotic Club lounge. (See my Dining section about breakfast experience)

Dining

I only had breakfast in these hotel resturants. The main reason is these resturants don't have the same glorious view available like the Westin Tokyo (can see Tokyo Tower) or the The Prince Gallery Tokyo hotel.

The buffet breakfast Shisen Chinese is less grand than what you get in the Westin Tokyo or the Sheraton Yokohama. You get the standard fare. You would have to excuse the bacon and sausage situation and that goes for all Japanese hotels. The species of pork is different so if the definition of proper bacon is what you get in North Amercan Denny's, the Japanese may not have the pork speices or the process know-how to make the American style bacon. That is the same with North American style sausages. There is staff there to make you omelettes (or other style of eggs). The omelette looks ok I recall, but it wasn't as perfect looking (perfectly folded with everything enclosed while slight egg liquid ooze out when you pierce the omelette) as what you get at Westin Tokyo nor the Prince gallery tokyo.

If you try to Japanese breakfast at Yamatoya Sangen, you're going to get some grilled fish and rice with Miso soup and some plain scrambled eggs. That is definately what my grandma would love to eat in breakfast. It's very healthy and thus more...bland (or light tasting). It's like something I would eat if I am sick. That being said, you can tell some effort has be made of each small dish as they all look professionally made.

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The third option is to have breakfast at the Cafe California. The staff there makes as order. So things come out fresher. The slight irritation is they put a uneccesary Japanese premium twist on something is already quite perfect as is. Here's an example. I ordered pancakes and the North American style you get at iHop or Denny's are already quite perfect (with Maple Syrup). The Japanese made it thick like a cake and put fresh banana on it.

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It looks good. It would have loved it more by just giving me a stack of 3/4 layers of pancakes. I understand why they thought this is an improvement because the syrup (or honey) do get absorbed into the pancake due to the it being extra thick.

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The kitchen is see through and you can see staff working on your order.

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Service

There are a few services I used.

I normally order a pile of goods from amazon Japan and get it sent to the hotel. The hotel of course keeps it for you.

There is a slight difference in elegance. The Westin Tokyo for example, will put all the items in your room (to give you a feeling that they have prepared the room for you in advance and its waiting for you). The Sheraton Miyako Tokyo is a hit and miss. Sometimes they do that. Most times, once you check in, they deliver the goods to your room.

I also use their service in sending luggage to other domestic hotels. This seems like a standard thing that hotel offers.

I have been at this hotel for through a decade. I do notice their staff change more often than the Westin Tokyo. Overall, I have no problem with their service.

Overall

The hotel among my many stays only upgraded me to this nice room on my... 10th year as a Platinum guest? But again, I stayed here mostly because it was cheaper than the other Starwood hotel - ie Westin Tokyo & now the Prince Gallery Tokyo. So because it was cheaper, I didn't hold it to the same high expectation as I do with the Westin Tokyo or the Prince Gallery Tokyo.

So by comparing it to how this hotel was at the very begining when they joined Starwood and tried their very best, it is a mixed bag. IF you get the room I got (on the top two floors), then the experience is BETTER than it ever was. You breakfast options are diverse as it ever was. The room is nicer than it was when they first started. The lounge or the lobby for drinks is similar.

However, if you got a "normal room", the experience is LESS than it was when the hotel first started with Starwood. You lose your choice of breakfast resturants. The lounge is crowded and people unruly you can tell the staff is stressed while trying to maintain composure. The food is really a cut-back. I would say you might as well eat outside for breakfast and get some proper Japanese breakfast.

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