Mesm Tokyo Review

100   Recommended
Chapter 1 Executive
September 27, 2020 by

 Map | 1 Review | 100% Recommended
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Mesm Tokyo, Autograph Collection
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Chapter 1 Executive

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Chapter 1 Executive

Check In

The lobby floor and check-in counter are on the 16th floor. Even though we had an Executive room with club lounge access, the check-in was conducted at the lobby check-in counter and not in the Club Lounge, so I'm not really sure if they conduct Club Lounge check-ins for guests staying in Executive rooms, even though there appears to be a check-in counter in the lounge. The hotel opened in late April, so everything is very new and attractive, and the view from the lobby of the Sumida River and Hamarikyu Gardens is quite stunning. Check-in was quick and smooth, and we were immediately taken to our room by hotel staff.  IMG_1726[1].JPGIMG_1725[1].JPGViews from the 16thlobby

Room

The hotel is comprised of 11 floors from 16 to 26 (the top floor of the building). Our room, a Chapter 1 Executive room, was on the 24th floor and commanded a view of both the city and the Sumida River. Although technically a "Chapter 1 Executive" room, it is the same layout, design, and floor area (430 sqft) of the standard room. The only thing different that a Chapter 1 Executive room provides is Club Lounge access. If you want more space, you will need to reserve a Chapter 2 (463 sqft) or 3 (1022 sqft) Executive room, which also have balconies. The room was very modern and well-appointed. The bathroom in particular catches your eye with its modern and somewhat spacious design and push-button control of the privacy curtain between the bathing area and bedroom. On the bathroom counter is what looks like a book that when opened contains amenities including toothbrushes, a shaver, shower cap, and other necessities all boxed nicely to fit perfectly within the book. Next to the bathtub is the shower area with a large ceiling rain shower and a hand-held shower head. The room itself did not feel particularly spacious. A 55-inch LCD TV is mounted on the wall and below it is an electric piano, which is in every guest room. The room refrigerator held 2 Heartland beers (a Kirin brand), 2 orange sodas, and 2 mineral waters, all of which are free and replenished daily, but there are no snack foods. Tea packs containing matcha tea powder are also provided along with a Japanese bamboo tea whisk and oversize teacups for an authentic tea ceremony-like experience. A tablet PC is provided in-room for hotel information, ordering room service, to control various room functions, and instructions for using the electric piano, but unfortunately, it does not control the curtains, which are manual. I might add that the hallway lighting in the hotel is poor and the walls are painted in a very drab and unattractive color. For all its stylishness, the hotel really missed the mark wIMG_1701[1].JPGIMG_1700[1].JPGIMG_1702[1].JPGIMG_1720[1].JPGView from our room - Takeshiba Station below on the Yurikamome Line monorail and the Rainbow Bridge in the backgroun

Dining

There are two restaurants in the hotel, Chef’s Theatre on the 16th floor and a Teppanyaki restaurant on the 4th floor. There’s also a bar with tables called Whisk where you can also order food and have afternoon tea. The same breakfast is served in Chef’s Theatre and Whisk. You are given the option to choose one main item from the menu from about five, which is supplemented with salad, baked goods, pastries, yogurt, fruit, juice, coffee, or tea. The five menu items are not substantial, but we were told we could order seconds of anything served at breakfast. Among the items we ordered were a ham and cheese omelet and pancakes, which were tasty. Although the pancakes were substantial, everything else we ordered from the menu was small in quantity, but overall filling. At both breakfast sittings, we got window seats with nice views of the Sumida River and Hamarikyu Gardens. For lunch, we ate at the Teppanyaki restaurant, which overlooks the gardens, albeit from a low 4th floor level. We ordered a course lunch for 4,800 yen that consisted of an appetizer, grilled Miyazaki beef and vegetables, a tasty cold mushroom soup, garlic fried rice, with dessert served on a terrace overlooking the garden. Since the weather was nice, it was great to move outside to sit on a comfortable sofa and have sherbet with fruit and tea or coffee while taking in the view. Although this appears to be a private restaurant, it is attached to the hotel and you can charge you meal to your room. I highly recommend their course lunch. On the evening of our second night, a small concert was held in the lobby area with a singer singing a classical tune backed by piano, violin, and cello. While listening I ordered a Margarita and Mai-Tai from the bar, which made already good music sound better.      IMG_1728[1].JPGTeppanyaki restaurant on 4th floor

IMG_1729[1].JPGHamarikyu Garden view from the restaurantIMG_1736[1].JPGDessert on the terraceIMG_1732[1].JPGTerrace viewIMG_1749[1].JPGBreakfast in the Chef's Kitchn

Club Lounge

The Club Lounge is located on the 25th floor and has an outdoor terrace with tables and a counter with chairs that overlooks the Hamarikyu Gardens and Sumida River. When you enter, you register by giving your name and room number at a counter in the entry area. Because of the pandemic, food and drinks are not available for guests to take freely buffet style, rather, they must sit down and be served by staff who take their orders. A drink menu is available to choose from and includes beer, wine, and cocktails, along with non-alcoholic drinks. Food was a set course of a small antipasti plate, a small lasagna, and a plate with three small deserts. I don’t know how extensive the food offering would have been under normal circumstances where guests could grab prepared food buffet style, but the food selection was definitely insufficient for the price you pay. Because the hotel was almost fully booked, the lounge had two evening cocktail hour shifts of 90 minutes each. On our first night, we could not get seated in the lounge, so overflow guests were accommodated at tables in the 16th floor lobby lounge near the piano. I was initially disappointed, but since we were still quite hungry after eating the lounge food offering, we were able to order from the Whisk food menu, which you could not do from the lounge, so we ordered extra food. On the second night, we got into the lounge and found a table on the terrace. I think we received the same food items as on the first night. Drinks, on the other hand, were free flowing and you could drink as much as you wanted for 90 minutes, but if you don’t like to drink on an empty stomach, you may want to eat a little before arriving due to the sparse food offering. Overall, the views are exceptional and if you can get a table on the terrace, all the better, as long as the weather is warm. But the price you pay for club lounge access here gets you little foodwise compared to what you can get at any Ritz Carlton club lounge, so I can’t say it’s a good value. We originally had a reservation at this hotel for July but had to cancel. At that time, the lounge was only open one day a week on Saturday, but now it is open every day from 11am to 10pm.IMG_1742[1].JPGIMG_1745[1].JPGIMG_1747[1].JPGClub lounge te

Location

The hotel is a 7-minute walk from Hamamatsu-cho Station on the JR Line. Since I had a domestic flight to catch after my stay, the location was great. There are several restaurants and shops on the first three floors of the building and there are numerous restaurants in the surrounding office buildings to choose from. The Hamarikyu Gardens are a short walk away and open from 9 to 5 (with a 300-yen entry fee). We took a long walk in the park and really enjoyed it. The Yurikamome Line, a monorail line, passes a few feet in front of the hotel. However, you should not confuse it with the monorail line to Haneda Airport since it does not go to the airport. If you are going to Haneda, you need to catch the monorail at Hamamatsu-cho Station. For me, the location is rather ideal since I don’t live in Tokyo but fly there via Haneda Airport. Others may prefer a more central location with a more active night scene such as Ginza, Akasaka, or Roppongi.

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