A tale of three hotels – in Tokyo, Kyoto and KIX airport

[love_the_life]

I should point out that this will be as dry as piece of unbuttered toast but someone may find the information useful

There have been many fine TRs written on Japan so I thought it better just to make some observations about three of the hotels we used on our recent trip. In order they were Tokyo Station Hotel, Sakura Terrace The Gallery in Kyoto and Hotel Nikko Kansai. Location was one of the prime factors in our hotel choice. We either used Booking.com or Expedia to make the bookings. Apologies that I forgot to take photos of the rooms or hotels but I have provided the URLs for each of them so that might help a bit.
Free wifi was available in all the hotels as it was so much faster than we have at home, we made sure we updated any apps that needed it.


Tokyo Station Hotel – 3 nights – classic room
www.thetokyostationhotel.jp

Being right at Tokyo Station meant that the N’EX in from the airport was easy and quick. The hotel offers a meet and greet from the train if needed though you need to supply them with the actual arrival details. We didn’t bother and followed the signs (in English) to the hotel reception.

The hotel feels a bit like being in a 1930s television program. It has that quiet elegance of the era and we would not have been surprised to run into Hercule Poirot in the halls.
Ceilings are high and the hotel has a real European feel about it. Staff couldn’t be more helpful – the receptionist accompanying us to our room and explaining the facilities/features.
One thing I quite enjoyed was the comforting distant rumble of the trains below. Somehow it was very relaxing..ZZZZ

The room
Our Queen classic room was small with only enough room for a beside table on one side of the bed (mine naturally) and a somewhat narrow squeeze down the other side. It looked out onto the Marunouchi side where there was a lot of construction happening to upgrade the area. In spite of its small size the room was beautifully appointed with everything we needed for a comfortable stay. The bathroom was excellent. I just love the automatic Toto toilets in Japan – seat lid up as you near it, heated seat and automatic flush. I want one! There was a big shower and bath and really good quality soaps etc. It is an indication of the level of service that on the second day when we found that the housemaid had placed face washers under our toilet bags to keep them dry, just a little thing but very thoughtful.
The hotel was great for exercise as our room (3004) was right down one end of the corridor and we were told it was 300 m from the central lifts though I can’t verify that. I can say it was a LOOONG way. There is another lift giving access to the street much closer to our room but unfortunately the outside doors were locked when we were there. Nevermind, the exercise did us good!

The food
We had coffee in the Lobby Lounge which was lovely but served to demonstrate the high cost of coffee here. It was approximately $45 for 2 filtered coffees :shock: though they did come by with refills) and there were three little sweetmeats each to accompany the beverage. Alcohol was actually cheaper! We did not visit the restaurants though we did poke our heads into the Oak Bar and high tailed it out pretty quickly. As tourists we were not really dressed appropriately as the patrons were all in suits and it was something of a rarified atmosphere. The Camellia Bar was much more suited to our situation with a comprehensive drinks list and quite a good tapas menu (or main courses if you wished). Their epynomous Tokyo Station coughtail was delicious and I think it was based on gin with the addition of several other liquors and Suze (after a couple it was hard to remember).

Our verdict
Would we go back? Hell yes in a heartbeat. There was something soothing about entering the lobby after the hurly burly going on outside. Next time though we will probably book a larger room even though there was nothing wrong with the one we had. The cost through booking.com was around 109,000 yen for the three nights, including taxes (around $A1350) so pretty good value for Tokyo.

 

[love_the_life]

Ok, next up
2. Sakura Terrace The Gallery – 3 nights – superior double
(www.sakuraterrace-gallery.jp/en/ )

This hotel had a lot going for it though also some rather odd features. It is a fairly new hotel with 2 buildings (North and South) across a quiet street. Apparently the South Wing provides the more luxurious accommodation. We were in North Building which is where reception, bar and restaurant are located.

The foibles
The rooms are in a U shape around an open courtyard or atrium. Bar seating is in this open area and although there was a canopy and 2 fire pits, the area was really cold in the evening. We were there in November so I can imagine it would be pretty brisk in winter. :shock:
The room was pretty large by Japanese standards with a queen bed, a 2-seater couch and a small balcony with table and 2 chairs. The whole building seemed to have been built in modules and then dropped into place and our room reminded me of a cabin on a cruise ship. Walls and the door were metal underneath the wall coverings. The bathroom was even more reminiscent of a ship. The bed sat on a raised area with a step down to the sitting area/tv etc. As there wasn’t much space around the bed we had to be really careful not to fall over the ‘cliff’ as we called it. Actually I should come clean and admit that I did trip up the step on the first day - a bit of carpet burn on the forehead for my troubles
There was very little hanging space with a small alcove and a rail in the room and no safe in the room, though we just locked our stuff in one of the cases when we went out. This may all start to sound a bit negative but really it was fine. You just have to remember that this is a 3 star hotel.

Good points
The good points far outweigh its little shortcomings. The hotel was good value (about 69,000 yen or $A890 for three nights) when there was very little available in Kyoto even months ahead. The welcome drink (which included spirits) was provided each night you were there (bonus). There were 3 areas in the hotel with Jura coffee machines for guests to have complimentary cappuccinos etc or iced fruit teas any time during the day. Not only that but each side of the coffee machine was a different blend.
There was a free guest laundry with 2 machines and 4 dryers as well as some compact drying racks to take back to the room. It was great to be able to clear the washing. The hotel had a small gym with treadmills and separate mail and female public baths. I had intended to visit this but just didn’t get around to it.
The restaurant did a mixture of western and Japanese dishes. For the quality prices were a steal (entrees 300-400 yen, mains 1000 yen and desserts 400 yen and of course the free coffee). Bar prices were pretty good – about 500 yen for a wine/mixed drink.
The hotel was only a few minutes walk from the Hachijo side of the station, across the road and down past the Ibis hotel. Again, it was very easy to find and easy to get to.

The verdict
For what it offered, it was great value and we would not hesitate to stay there again.

 

[love_the_life]

And finally...
3. Hotel Nikko Kansai – 1 night – twin Premium Economy room
(www.nikkokix.com/e/)
As airport hotels go, this was pretty good. There are 4 levels of accommodation ranging from Economy to First. Our room was large with 2 double beds, shower over the bath, tea/coffee making, safe, in other words all the usual western hotel room inclusions. Being right at the airport it was a simple matter to walk from the train to check in and then in the morning across to the terminal. There was a convenience store near the entrance which we looked at but didn’t need to buy anything. From memory it was a Lawsons store. As we were tired we decided to eat dinner in the brasserie restaurant. A burger (large) and a pizza came to about 4000 yen, though we did add a couple of drinks to that. For one night the hotel was all it needed to be, comfortable and quiet and not a bad price ($A221). I had been checking this hotel for several months and it only became available for booking about 100 days before our trip. Before then it was showing as ‘no rooms available’.

 

[RoMambai]

Thanks love_the_life for a comprehensive write up. Always helpful to read about lesser known hotels, particularly those near stations. They seem more authentic.