Great Hotel! Will Stay Here Again.
By A Yahoo! Contributor, 7/7/06
My room was a 323sqft Double on the Executive floor. Compared to other Tokyo hotels I've stayed in, this one was amazing. I'll be staying here on all my visits to Tokyo from now on.
Pros:
Awesome location. 5 minute walk to Shinjuku Park and, in the opposite direction, Shinjuku Station (which will quickly get you to anywhere else you want to go in Tokyo). Less than 10 minute walk to the Alta building.
The room was spacious for a Japanese hotel. There was a separate writing desk and a chair comfortable enough to spend long periods of time in. The reclining chair and queen size bed were also comfortable. The bathroom came with a full-size bathtub and a large sink counter.
Free, unlimited, high-speed internet. To my knowledge, wireless was not available but the room came with an ethernet cable and the desk/chair were comfortable enough to not want to use my laptop from another location.
Breakfast buffet had a decent selection of western food. A few flavors of yogurt, granola, boiled eggs, juices, salad, breads, fruit, cheese, bacon, some sort of fried potato thing.
Buses leaving roughly twice an hour going back and forth between the hotel and Narita Airport. The time (1.5-2 hours) and the cost (3000 yen) are comparable to that of the Narita Express train. The bus is much more convenient and I highly recommend it if you have a lot of luggage or are not familiar with Japan. There are also buses going between the hotel and Haneda airport.
The service all around was fantastic. Everyone at every level of employement in the hotel was always very cheerful and happy to help with anything I needed. It seemed like everyone but the maids spoke English.
There are a few restaurants and bars in the hotel as well as a convenience store. I didn't try any of them but they looked pretty nice.
The room was about 23,000 yen per night ($200 USD with the current exchange rate), after all fees and taxes. The internet and breakfast buffet are worth $30/day, putting the real cost at around $170, which is very reasonable for everything you get with this hotel.
The hotel is large/popular enough that any taxi driver in the Tokyo area will know it by name. You'll have no problem getting home at night if you happen to miss the last train.
Cons:
Swimming Pool closes too early at 8pm, last entrance 7:30 (strict).
Gym is very small. 2 treadmills, 2 bikes, 2 stairmasters, some mats for stretching on but as far as weights go there was one chest machine and one shoulder machine and that's it!
Breakfast buffet ends too early at 9:30am. If you are taking full advantage of your time in Tokyo, you will not be waking up this early. Also, the breakfast is the same every day.