The Westin Tokyo

We stayed at the Westin Ebisu already twenty years ago, and the hotel has barely changed at all in that time. The lobby, which is beautiful, has remained unchanged. Unfortunately, so have the rooms, which now feel dated and quite old-fashioned, in a not so positive way. The bathrooms are in dire need of renovation, with old tiles, old toilets, and small, outdated showers. The amenities are average for a Japanese hotel experience, with no shavers or tooth brushes available for example. We didn‘t need anything, but this is unusual in Japan. Compared to the Westin Miyako in Kyoto, the experience in Westin Ebisu is quite different, and not meeting our expectations. The windows in the rooms are very old, and although they have double panes it is a bit noisy at times. In the winter time, the windows allow cold air to come in, which is nice if you like that. The bed is outdated, and the mattress needs changing. Even though there are several pillows to choose from we found it a challenge to get a good night‘s sleep at this Westin, and this normally isn‘t an issue at Westin.

The restaurant, where we only had breakfast, is very good from a food perspective. Unfortunately the furniture is quite worn, and especially the couches are in dire need of replacement. In fact, certain parts of the couches are so bad that we had to ask to sit somewhere else. The cover of the couches is torn in many places and it is extremely dirty, making the dining experience unpleasant. The staff is good, but at a hotel at this level, particularly one claiming to be five-star, we would have expected more. The breakfast staff is partially poorly trained and in some cases we found staff members understood no English at all (newspaper could not be understood, so we had to explain in Japanese).

We also booked a small meeting room for some late night conference calls, and the price was absolutely unacceptably high. JPY 90000 for a conference room in the middle of the night, with only ice water provided, is an insult. We have booked conference rooms before, but never been confronted with such excessive pricing and poor service and amenities.

The location of the hotel is good, and especially if you enjoy the Ebisu area, which we do. The hotel is a stone‘s throw from Yebisu Garden Place which features shopping, dining, and offices. There is also a beer museum featuring the history of Yebisu beer. However, if you have a lot of luggage and plan on walking from the Yamanote line Ebisu station, it is quite a walk and you need to calculate 15 minutes walking at a normal pace. If you walk through Yebisu Garden Place to get to the hotel, which is the shortest way, you also will encounter flights of stairs if the elevators are closed as in early mornings or late evenings.

Our hope for a nostalgic stay at a hotel we used to rate at the very top unfortunately didn‘t come to fruition. This was our last stay at the Westin Ebisu.

Location: 3/5 Ambience: 2/5 (Only the lobby prevents this from being rated 1. Note that we are comparing with other five star hotels in Japan, for instance the Intercontinental in Shinagawa, or the Westin Miyako in Kyoto) Food: 3/5 (nothing special for a five-star hotel) Staff: 3/5 (sometimes not friendly, sometimes poorly trained) Price/quality: 1/5