This hotel has the city's most convenient location for business travelers looking for a quick connection between Narita Airport, downtown Tokyo, and bullet trains to other cities. For first-timers leery of getting from the airport to the hotel on their own, the hotel offers a greeting service, in which incoming guests are met at the airport by hotel staff, escorted to the train, met at Tokyo Station and brought to the hotel—all for a fee. Unlike the older Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Chinsan-so with its park setting and luxurious, old-world decor, this ultra-contemporary hotel is boldly modern, employing natural woods (ebony, sycamore and rosewood) and color schemes of ecru and charcoal or off-white and black, offset by splashes of color of modern art handpicked by the design team. The result is an atmosphere both soothing and relaxing, though there is little to remind guests they are in Japan.
With only 57 rooms, this boutique-hotel strives for unparalleled service, with a well-trained staff that goes out of its way to make guests feel welcome, including calling guests by name. Despite its location in central Tokyo, the hotel is buffered from outside distractions by triple-glazed windows and a secluded, cocoonlike atmosphere. The small lobby and hotel facilities, which are understandably limited in a hotel this size, are all on the seventh floor.
Just off the 20-seat lobby lounge is the smart-looking hotel bar, beyond which is Ekki Bar & Grill, a New York-style grill that serves Asian-inspired American cuisine, including fresh seafood from the Tsukiji fish market. Room service is available around the clock.
The so-called business center, open 24 hours, consists of two computers with Internet access (it's assumed that most business travelers bring their own laptops nowadays). Spa and recreational facilities include a 24-hour fitness studio free of charge, public baths with imported hot-springs mineral water, a steam room, and treatments ranging from aroma facial therapy to foot reflexology. Meeting space is confined to two private dining rooms, the largest of which can accommodate 100 for a reception. It's hard to imagine any well-heeled guests staying here taking advantage of the hotel's two complimentary bicycles.
Guest relations officers escort guests to their rooms, and with good reason, since rooms are so high-tech that performing even such mundane tasks as double-locking the doors or closing the tub stopper could prove difficult for the technically challenged. Rooms are large by Tokyo standards, at 44 and 65 sq m. They are of high quality in virtually every respect, from the wall-mounted, 106-cm flat-screen plasma TVs with DVD/CD players, movies on demand and Internet connections (complete with surround sound and MP3 hookups) to the leather-covered desks. Internet connections for laptops are both wired and wireless.
Beds feature down duvets and pillows, and the armchair with reading lamp is a comfortable place from which to read the complimentary newspaper and sip the in-room coffee or tea. The minibar is well-stocked with everything from wine to champagne (bottled water is free). Other in-room amenities include safes, hair dryers and scales. Shoeshine is complimentary. The Italian limestone baths have bidet toilets and separate showers and tubs, but the placement of the tub near the center of the room seems awkward and takes up too much space. At these prices, one has to wonder why baths don't include mini-TVs. Bedside control panels operate the drapes, and though there are floor-to-ceiling windows, the hotel's location on the lower floors of an office high-rise affords views only of Tokyo Station with its Shinkansen bullet trains and neighboring buildings. Half the rooms are smoke-free, and there's one room equipped for the handicapped.
Though there is snob appeal to staying in one of Japan's most expensive hotels, and though its location can't be beat, travelers who demand outstanding views and more facilities will be happier at the nearby Mandarin Oriental, Tokyo. Those who prefer a traditional setting in addition to views and extensive facilities should opt for the Four Seasons Tokyo at Chinzan-so.
