This is the kind of hotel that gives bragging rights to the international business travelers who know enough to stay here. Not only is it among the tallest hotels in Tokyo (the Ritz-Carlton beats it by one floor)—it fills the top 14 floors of the 52-story Park Tower—but it offers the highest standards and one of the most sophisticated designs of any hotel in town. Little wonder this striking boutique-hotel, opened in 1994, has inspired many imitators over the past decade and was chosen as the hotel of choice for Bill Murray's character in Lost in Translation. It boasts the kind of views one usually gets only through the windows of a Cessna, and on clear days, Mount Fuji graces the horizon.
The hotel makes only a discreet appearance on the ground floor, where guests board ear-popping elevators with special lighting effects to the lounge on the 41st floor. Passing through the softly lit 2,000-volume library, new arrivals enter the intimate reception room, where they sit to register before being ushered into the hotel's more secluded accommodations area. Skillful indirect lighting adds warmth to the natural tones, and original art enhances the
delightful modern ambience.
Fine food, a hallmark of this hotel, is found in three restaurants that match the cookery with gorgeous accompanying views and in the 24-hour room-service menu. The very popular lobby lounge serves light meals and tea in the glow of natural light pouring in through window-walls revealing breathtaking views. The adjacent all-day Girandole provides brasserie dishes along with Asian favorites, and delicious, painstakingly prepared contemporary Japanese specialties and a wide range of sake are offered one floor below in Kozue, a tiered setting facing the windows. At the pinnacle of this posh house is truly memorable dining in the New York Grill, which also prepares takeout dishes for the Delicatessen. An extensive selection of California wines accompanies American specialties prepared in an open kitchen, and windows wrap all sides of the upper-atrium setting. Drinks flow both here and in the adjacent New York Bar with its nightly entertainment of live jazz. The Peak Bar, in a setting of bamboo and paper lanterns with a view of the glittering city, is a romantic rendezvous.
On the 45th floor, under a glass atrium, is one of the most alluring health clubs in Tokyo, with a gym facing the city far below, along with an aerobics room and a 20-m pool (all free), and the spa boasts seven treatment rooms along with whirlpools, steam rooms, saunas, and shiatsu and Swedish massage.
Conference facilities include a magnificent ballroom with a capacity of 300 for a reception and smaller function rooms for groups of up to 90. The comprehensive, 24-hour business center offers multilingual secretarial services. In 2008, free wireless service is set to be available throughout the hotel.
Secluded behind the magnificent public rooms are gorgeous guest quarters that range 45-60 sq m, which makes them among the largest in Tokyo. Each is exquisitely decorated with Japanese touches, fine fabrics, original art and understated wood accents. Every amenity one expects is here: air-conditioning, 37-inch plasma TVs with on-demand movies, CD/DVD players (with free rentals), dual-line phones with voice mail, complimentary high-speed 
and wireless Internet access, fax machines that double as printers, safes, remote-controlled drapes, extra-wide beds covered by duvets (hotel literature boasts that they're the widest in Japan) and vast dressing rooms. The combination baths pamper with 15-inch plasma TVs, stall showers, deep tubs, bidet toilets, fine toiletries and hair dryers. Views from every window soar over the rooftops of city and suburb, and some catch glimpses of the bay or Mount Fuji. Nonsmokers reside in 70% of the guest rooms, but there's only one room for the handicapped.
The staff is among the brightest in town, with service that is unobtrusive and all-encompassing, and the general manager often makes rounds and introduces himself to guests. Although the Ritz-Carlton offers larger rooms at a higher cost, for many travelers this exquisite house is the closest Tokyo comes to heaven—in terms of service, amenities and altitude.
