To kick off our trip to Japan, we spent five nights in Tokyo and chose the Hilton Tokyo to be our base of operations. There are a ton of hotels in Tokyo and the city doesn’t have a single core, rather it is spread across a variety of different neighborhoods, so deciding where to stay can be quite the challenge.
Booking our Stay at the Hilton Tokyo
While booking our stay at the Hilton Tokyo was relatively straightforward, figuring out exactly what we wanted to book took some time. Japan is currently an extremely popular travel destination and given the fact we were visiting during the summer, hotel prices were quite expensive.
As a Hilton Honors Diamond and Marriott Bonvoy Platinum member, I wanted to keep my focus on properties under those brands, as my status would allow us access to additional benefits during our stay.
Ultimately, we settled on the Hilton Tokyo and, since we were traveling with friends, I booked both of our rooms under my account. I booked our rooms directly with the property via Hilton.com. Our standard King rooms for five nights came out to roughly $365 per night, a great deal compared to many of the other full service properties in the city.
Hilton Tokyo Location
The Hilton Tokyo is located in the Shinjuku Kokusai Building, which is located in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo, across from Shinjuku Central Park. It is a short walk from Shinjuku Station, which is the busiest railway station in the world. The property is also connected to the Marunouchi and Oedo Lines of the Tokyo Metro.
This made it very easy for us to to explore the city as, aside from our Blacklane transfer from Haneda Airport, we primarily used trains to explore the city.
The property is easily identifiable from the road thanks to its unique wave shape and the Hilton Tokyo branding at the entrance of the driveway.
Hilton Tokyo Lobby and Check-In
We arrived at the property around 5:30p local time and were met at the door by two bellman who took our bags and escorted us to the check-in counters. The lobby is quite large with multiple shops and food and beverage establishments and the check-in area was located in the rear closest to the elevators.
There was no line at the counter and we were quickly assisted by one of the check-in desks. The hotel didn’t have any room category upgrades available but did move us up to the executive level floors, which gave us a better view and closer proximity to the Executive Lounge. If you’re visiting Tokyo, especially during the peak travel season, don’t expect much in the way of upgrades here.
With our room keys in hand we made our way to the elevators and the bellhops followed with our luggage.
Hilton Tokyo Guest Room
We were assigned Room 3210, a standard king room on the 32nd floor of the property. The hotel is quite large and we were a decent walk away from the elevators but, overall it wasn’t bad.
Upon entering the room the bathroom was off to the left while the bedroom was down a short hallway. The room itself was on the smaller side, but that was to be expected in a city like Tokyo.
In the bedroom, there was a king sized bed, two small nightstands, a chair, a small desk space, and a cabinet which held the room’s mini-fridge and some additional storage.
The bed itself was lower to the ground than you’ll find in a western hotel. Thankfully we found it comfortable enough to get a good night’s sleep on during our stay (that may have had something to do with the fact we were traveling for the first time without our kiddo).
To the right of the bed was a small red chair. While the chair was comfortable enough, we ended up using it as a luggage rack for the duration of our stay.
Across from the seating area is a large desk which had a phone, lamp, pen and notepad. To the right of this was a decent sized flat screen TV mounted to the wall above a low shelf.
To the right of the TV, across from the bed, is the coffeemaker, tea station, some bottled water, and the in-room mini-bar. While it didn’t have an extensive selection, all of the items in the mini-bar were free during the duration of our stay and were refreshed on a daily basis.
The closet was located next to the mini-bar and had slippers, an iron, a safe, ironing board, and hangars for use. Next to that, by the door, was a built in luggage rack. This is blocked by the door when you first enter but works well once you’re in the room as it is directly across from the bathroom.
The bathroom was a bit on the quirky side and the layout didn’t really make sense to me. Space is at a premium in Tokyo so that certainly factored into the equation, but some stuff just felt off. The sink with a large vanity was to the left, the shower and tub to the right, and the toilet was straight ahead. The toilet even had a telephone which you don’t see much of anymore.
The bathtub was located inside of the shower which is a design feature I’ve seen more of recently. However, the space for the shower was small and the tub was more in the way than anything. There was also a floor to ceiling glass window that separated the shower from the bedroom. While there was a partition that could be closed, it was located on the bedroom side of the wall instead of the shower side.
The toiletries in the room were Crabtree and Evelyn branded and were in reusable bottles mounted to the wall.
The toilet was a traditional Japanese style toilet and had quite a few features. For those of you that aren’t used to these types of toilets, the buttons do have pictures on them to help you out.
There was a large mirror above the sink and plenty of counter space for all of Mrs. ATX’s toiletries. Some shaving and dental kits were available along with another set of reusable toiletry bottles for lotion and soap.
Finally, there was a large window in the room that, thanks to our high floor, provided some great views out over Shinjuku.
Hilton Tokyo Food and Beverage
The Hilton Tokyo has six restaurants on site and, during our visit, a Mexican themed pop up on the roof. Of the six, we visited two as we typically prefer to eat out and get to know the surrounding area while traveling. The hotel describes the restaurants as follows:
- Dynasty: Chinese Cuisine reimagined—the chefs at Dynasty cook their signature Peking duck, complemented by new interpretations of dim sum and a full range of traditional dishes from the vast regions of China. Experience a dynastic confluence of gastronomy at your favorite spot in the space, with diverse interior designs, or in one of seven private dining rooms.
- Junisoh: Premium sushi, exquisite multicourse kaiseki, and a teppanyaki grill featuring selected ingredients await at Junisoh, where the cuisine reflects the twelve months of the Japanese culinary calendar. Antique timber is scattered in modern and sophisticated interior design which embodies the restaurant’s concept of bringing new life into traditions.
- Metropolitan Grill: With an open kitchen, the chefs at Metropolitan Grill creates delectable set lunches served with desserts from our ever-popular afternoon tea buffet. Enjoy a selection of burgers, steaks and more as the menu is catered to each season and theme.
- Marble Lounge: Relax and indulge in stylish Marble Lounge, located in the heart of Hilton Tokyo. From breakfast to midnight snacks, Marble Lounge on Level 1 awaits with extensive food and beverage options. The Lounge offers various buffets, including award-wining breakfast, lunch and afternoon dessert selections and the ever popular dinner buffet.
- St. George’s Bar: Relax over a pint at this English-style pub. Sink into a comfortable sofa and sip a house cocktail or selected wine and beer while enjoying the tunes of live music.
- Zatta: Exotic color, light and shadow lure you into Zatta, a bar/lounge that sets the stage for an evening’s culinary journey. Enjoy cutting-edge signature cocktails created by the experienced bartenders and live music on selected days.
Of the options, we primarily visited Marble Lounge as it is home to the hotel’s massive breakfast buffet. As a Hilton Honors Diamond member and having a room on one of the Executive Lounge floors, we had the option of complimentary breakfast in either location. We typically dined in the Marble Lounge as the selection of breakfast items is mind blowing, offering western and Japanese-style selections.
While I have over 20 photos of all of the available items, in an effort to shorten this review I’ll spare you all of them. Just know that even the pickiest eaters can find something here. It might be the largest hotel breakfast spread I’ve ever seen.
St. George’s Bar, the other space we visited, is located next to the Marble Lounge. It is only open in the evenings and we typically were out late, but we stopped in one night near closing for a quick nightcap. Live music was playing in the bar and it was a nice space to have a drink if you wanted something relaxing.
Also, while it is currently closed for the winter, the hotel also has a rooftop dining space that is open during the summer months. It was a Mexican themed cantina during our visit.
Hilton Tokyo Executive Lounge
While the executive level rooms span multiple floors, the lounge itself is located on the 37th floor. As soon as you exit the elevators you’ll see the entrance to the space. Immediately upon entering you’ll find a check-in desk where staff will verify your credentials and then welcome you into the lounge.
Likely due to size constraints, the lounge is split into two different spaces. The primary lounge area is located directly off of the elevators while a secondary space, that appears to have been converted conference rooms or another public space, is located just down the hall. For the sake of this review, I’ll cover the main lounge first before moving on to the secondary space.
The primary Executive Lounge is arranged in the shape of an upside down L and is divided into three rooms. The first room have a few dining tables and some bar seating along the windows. The buffet area is also located here
The second room was larger and had a mixture of booth seating and dining tables. The seating was tight as they were attempting to maximize space. Your neighbors would definitely be able to hear your conversations though.
Turning to the right, and passing down a short hallway, you’ll find the third, and largest, room in the lounge. While mostly consisting of two-top dining tables, there are some booths along each wall as well as a tucked away alcove with three tables. We spent most of our time in the lounge here since it was the least crowded of the three rooms.
The secondary lounge space was only open during the peak breakfast and happy hour times. This was by far the most comfortable space in the lounge as it had larger tables and couches. While the hours were limited, we tried to get a space here when visiting for happy hour snacks and drinks.
The Executive Lounge had multiple beverage stations available throughout the day with coffee, tea, water, soda, and beer on offer.
During happy hour, a full self-service bar is made available with wine, soju, sake, and spirits available. There is also a selection of light bites on offer which rotated throughout our visit.
Having access to the lounge was a great addition to our trip as it allowed us space to fuel up, meet with friends, and relax outside of our rooms when our travel companions wanted to sleep. Having the happy hour beverages also saved us a considerable amount of money given the drink prices in Tokyo.
Hilton Tokyo Spa and Fitness Center
Given the size of the property, it was no surprise that it had a large fitness center and spa complex. There’s a room dedicated to treadmills as soon as you enter (this was packed during my visits so I don’t have any photos) as well as additional rooms with weight and cardio equipment.
One level up from the fitness center is an indoor lap pool with two swim lanes.
Finally, on the roof of the fitness center are two outdoor tennis courts. This was a cool feature and, while we didn’t play on this trop, it would have been fun to play in the center of Tokyo surrounded by skyscrapers.
Summary
To kick off our trip across Japan, we had a great five night stay at the Hilton Tokyo. While there are certainly more upscale properties around, for the price, amenities, and location, this property can’t be beaten.
Convenient access to Shinjuku Station and the Tokyo Metro made it a breeze for us to get around the city and we found the staff to be friendly and accommodating. While the bathroom in our room had a few quirks, I would gladly stay at the Hilton Tokyo again.