Hotel Sunlite Shinjuku — Hotel in Tokyo

Stayed 2023/01/11 to 01/15.

Location: 10/10 Hospitality: 8/10 Cleanliness: 7/10 Space: 7/10 Bathroom: 8/10 Internet Connection: 4/10

I booked using Expedia. Really enjoyed how close everything in Shinjuku was as well as the subway lines. All of the receptions were polite and super helpful. They would usually stand up and bow to you when you entered and most were able to speak English whether fluent or partial.

There were 10 floors and I stayed on the 9th. The view was meh, but I didn't really choose this place for the views. The room itself was basic. Fairly small, but again, wasn't staying for the space. I had two suitcases, one large and one small. The large one was challenging to open, but it was manageable. When closed, I could fit them underneath the bed.

The room was deceptively clean looking, but on one of the vents, it was this strange gradient of orange which leads me to believe that at one point, it was a smoking room despite it being non-smoking. Past that, it was comfy enough to house myself for the night. The bed was quite firm, but I didn't mind that.

The bathtub and shower combo was great. Super hot for that Japanese bath experience. Toilet/bidet worked well, so all good.

The breakfast service was fine, though not free. It was actually across the street from the west side of the lobby in a restaurant called Floret. Usually had a piece of fish, a sausage, egg, bead, drinks (milk, OJ, water, tea, coffee), and also a tea. It is self service, with a waiter taking your entrance ticket and bussing the tables. The food is okay if you just need something to get your day started.

I would consider staying here again, but mostly for location. Would consider looking around for another place if I...

If you’re top priority is budget friendly stay, then this hotel might work for you.

We arrived from Shinjuku Bus terminal, so it was minimum 15mins walking distance to the hotel, which could be okay for some, but personally for us who has been already traveling for few days from Osaka and Kyoto, it was quite a long walk.

The staff were nice and professional. They allowed us to leave our baggage in the reception because we arrived in Tokyo around 8AM and the check-in time is at 3PM. Because of this we had time to visit nearby attractions without the hassle of carrying our luggage and saved us from renting lockers.

We booked semi-double bed non-smoking room in the main building for 3 nights. From the outside, you can tell that the hotel is old. The room was clean, especially the bathroom. However, there was a feeling and smell that the building was really old - from furnitures to the linens.

What we liked most during our stay is the bakery downstairs, which we will return to if we come back to Japan.

Personally, we may not stay here again. There are plenty of other hotels with same price, that are more near to the train stations - but maybe not in Shinjuku. We also stayed in Sotetsu Fresa Inn near Tokyo Stn after our stay here, and we loved it.

But again, we’ll still recommend it for someone who doesn’t mind what I already mentioned. I would actually give it a 3.5...

The Sunlite Shinjuku is only 30-seconds from Shinjuku Sanchome Station Exit E1, but exit E1 is a good 8-minutes walk from the closest platform of the station, so accessibility might be an issue for some.||||The Sunlite Shinjuku is a basic Japanese business hotel, targeted toward travelling businesspeople and others who on overnight stays and who are not carrying more than a small cabin bag (wheeled or otherwise). The closet is simply a couple of pegs on the wall, just sufficient to hang a suit and shirt, and storage space is otherwise non-existent.||||The shower-toilet is just large enough to contain a shower, washbasin, and toilet-bowl. Basic amenities are provided though.||||The room is very clean (as is the case with most Japanese hotels), but it really is just a place to sleep. There is barely enough space to put a notebook PC, and definitely no space to relax and read a book.||||It's a good hotel for one or two nights, but for anything longer or if you're travelling with a larger suitcase, you'll do better at a more expensive tourist hotel such as one of the Mitsui Garden chain, or of course at an international class hotel (albeit at 5x the price). I stay at the Sunlite because the Fukutoshin Line running through Shinjuku Sanchome Station is only two stops to Kita-Sando Station and my Tokyo office, but I only ever stay for two...