ANA Crowne Plaza Niigata by IHG — Hotel in Niigata

We stayed at the ANA CP Niigata for a week during our trip to Niigata, and it blow my expectations out of the water.

The hotel is about 10-minute walk from Niigata Station without carrying bags. With bags, taking a taxi (JPY590) would be a wise choice. There are also taxi readily available at the hotel. The hotel is quite centrally-located, Bandai City, Bandai Bridge and Toki Messe are all within 5 to 10 minutes walk. As the hotel is about 50 meters away from the main road so it's very quiet at night.

As other reviewers have mentioned, the check-in process was smooth (took less than 2 minutes) and they do recognize IHG elites with generous room upgrades and the typical complimentary drink vouchers and bottle water, as well as special Niigata-limited Sapporo Beer.

We were upgraded to a junior suite, and the room felt like an apartment. At 15th floor, all North-ish facing rooms all have great view of the beautiful Shinano River. The room itself has a combined sleeping area, a living area and a working desk. The bathroom is separated into three small rooms, one with the bathtub and toilet (with a decent bidet, unlike Intercontinental Tokyo), one with the sink and one powder room. The amenities (made in Japan by Shiseido, again unlike the made in China ones in Intercontinental Tokyo) were provided in eco-friendly bottles. There were plenty of power outlets and Wi-Fi coverage was excellent.

Throughout our stay, both the front desk and housekeeping staff were excellent. The room was tightly made up every day (despiteits size), and the front desk staff were proactively helpful with our requests.

One thing we typically love about breakfast at Crowne Plazas in Japan is that they offer varieties of local flavors, and ANA CP Niigata is no different. Three different kinds of Niigata rice were offered, along with many other local dishes to pair the rice with. At JPY1,950, it's a steal.

Three things I do wish the hotel could improve upon: the Wi-Fi was not encrypted, there was no in-room recycling and the housekeeping staff changed our towels everyday even we had used the "do not change towels" sign.

Our stay at ANA CP Niigata was a highlight of our trip, and I would highly recommend this property for people...

When we were planning a year-end trip to Echigo region, ANA Crowne Plaza Niigata was an obvious choice as we had a wonderful stay back in 2018. This time it certainly did not disappoint.||We were upgraded to the 2-Double 1-Bedroom suite, which is larger than many Japanese apartments and overlooks Shinano river. The room has three separate areas: the entrance with a coat closet and half-bath, a bedroom with two double beds and a working desk, and a living room with 6-seat sofa and a bar with a Nespresso machine. The bathroom has a dedicated bath "room" that somewhat resembles what you have at a Japanese home - a bathtub with a separate area for showering. The decor is similar to most CPs in Japan, but very well-maintained. The appliances are quite modern. Plenty of power outlets, but no USB plugs.||The good:|- All the staff we encountered were very kind and helpful, the staff at front desk even greeted us by our names by the next day|- Meaningful upgrade and status recognition - first time being upgraded to a top-category suite as an IHG member, and we received a welcome basket with local beer and tea|- Very clean and well-maintained room with modern appliances|- Free parking (unsure if it was a courtesy as parking is shown as 1200 JPY/night on the website)|- Easy walking access to Niigata station (~10 mins) and restaurants/shopping|- The breakfast was excellent with plenty of local varieties (with a rice station dedicated to rice from different areas of Niigata), and self-serve cold brew coffee (available to hotel guests)|- Non-smoking hotel||The bad:|- Wi-Fi is not encrypted but quite fast. Wired connection is also available. This is definitely an IHG issue and not an issue of the property.||The ugly:|- Nothing really. It was just a...

When we were planning a year-end trip to Echigo region, ANA Crowne Plaza Niigata was an obvious choice as we had a wonderful stay back in 2018. This time it certainly did not disappoint.||We were upgraded to the 2-Double 1-Bedroom suite, which is larger than many Japanese apartments and overlooks Shinano river. The room has three separate areas: the entrance with a coat closet and half-bath, a bedroom with two double beds and a working desk, and a living room with 6-seat sofa and a bar with a Nespresso machine. The bathroom has a dedicated bath "room" that somewhat resembles what you have at a Japanese home - a bathtub with a separate area for showering. The decor is similar to most CPs in Japan, but very well-maintained. The appliances are quite modern. Plenty of power outlets, but no USB plugs.||The good:|- All the staff we encountered were very kind and helpful, the staff at front desk even greeted us by our names by the next day|- Meaningful upgrade and status recognition - first time being upgraded to a top-category suite as an IHG member, and we received a welcome basket with local beer and tea|- Very clean and well-maintained room with modern appliances|- Free parking (unsure if it was a courtesy as parking is shown as 1200 JPY/night on the website)|- Easy walking access to Niigata station (~10 mins) and restaurants/shopping|- The breakfast was excellent with plenty of local varieties (with a rice station dedicated to rice from different areas of Niigata), and self-serve cold brew coffee (available to hotel guests)|- Non-smoking hotel||The bad:|- Wi-Fi is not encrypted but quite fast. Wired connection is also available. This is definitely an IHG issue and not an issue of the property.||The ugly:|- Nothing really. It was just a...