La'gent Hotel Shinjuku Kabukicho — Hotel in Tokyo

We recently returned from our trip to Tokyo. We stayed at this hotel for 11 days. We chose this boutique-style hotel instead of a larger hotel in the area hoping it would be less crowded. We made the right choice. By the time we left the hotel, we felt like family. Thank you to everyone who made our stay so memorable.||This review is lengthy, but I wanted to be helpful to those considering this hotel. I will talk about a few areas of our experience specifically so you get an idea of why it is the perfect place to stay.||The Location||It is a 10-minute walk to Shinjuku Station East exit where you pick up your JR Pass. I would suggest if you are arriving at Shinjuku Station with luggage, that you take the short Uber/taxi ride as the streets are busy with locals and tourists. We watched many people with their luggage, and phones in the air, trying to maneuver their way to their hotel. The Uber/taxi cost is minimal, and worth it. We took a taxi from Haneda airport. It cost approximately $90CAD. That was also worth it after a 12-hour flight and an hour long line through immigration and customs.| |Turn left out of the hotel, it is a 5-minute walk to all the sights, shopping, food and fun in Kabukicho. Turn right, and there is a Family Mart 1 minute away and some great Korean restaurants. ||Although close to all the action, the hotel is far enough way that it is a quiet area. The location close to the train stations was a great home base for us to enjoy many of the tourist activities throughout Tokyo. We used Google Maps to find subways and trains. Transportation can be crowded at times, but easy to use if you have a Suica card. Don't forget to buy a Japanese sim card for your phone before you arrive. It worked great as we travelled all over Japan.||The Rooms||We had a family room, Japanese style. We are a family of 4 including 2 young-adult sons. The room was immaculate, with a small refrigerator, and there was plenty of space to store our suitcases behind the door. There were a few hangers and hooks and because we use 'packing cubes', we were able to empty our luggage and store our things on the shelves throughout the room. The bathroom was large and the shower had great pressure. I had read Japanese mattresses were firm, and I love a soft mattress, and to my surprise, the bed was extremely comfortable. The pillows were great too. A great night sleep was no problem. It was perfect.||The Front Desk||We've stayed at many hotels around the world, and the staff at this hotel is the best. They are soft-spoken and thoughtful, multilingual and helpful. They assisted us time and time again with a variety of requests. If you forget anything, they have it. We were offered and received refreshed towels and pajamas each day. Nice touch.||The Onsite Restaurant & Bar||This is where we met some awesome guests from around the world. Masahiro is extremely friendly, professional, and provided excellent service. It was a relaxing place to visit each day to set up our logistics for the next day. The food is good too; we enjoyed the snacks - it was great to have somewhere onsite to rest and have a drink after a long day before we ventured out for the evening.||If you are looking for a personalized experience at reasonable prices in the Shinjuku Kabukicho area - look no further. Don't hesitate -...

Boutique Hotel is great if planning to just stick with this neighborhood (not planning to travel by train a lot while in Tokyo). We got a western size room (9th floor traditional). Larger space and nicer compare to Godzilla/Gracey hotel (which was already all booked). Good for a party needing 2-3 beds vs 1. Our friend just booked a room with us for 3 ppl (1 couple with 1 single, the room came with 3 beds).

Location is great for drinking/nightlife for young adults. But it is kind of in the Korean district, so you have to go a little further to get Japanese (non-Koreanish) food. It's a tourist location with lots of tourist traps (pay more for low quality or non-authentic in service, food, etc). Not very close to a train station. Before this location, we've lived (for 1 week) 1 stop north. And can say that this hotel is good for anyone planning to stay and not travel out of this neighborhood? Everything is kinda in 2 hotspot areas...this area and the next train stop south for most people visiting Tokyo.

There is a family mart maybe 2 small blocks away. Hotel says sink water is clean to drink but we still bought our own water. Seen only foreigners at this hotel. If we had to visit Tokyo again, we may stay closer to a train station because we like traveling out of tourist areas but still enjoy the nightlife options here.

Love that they give pj's to use while staying here. A new pj shirt each day. Each room already has shampoo, conditioner, body wash. Front door amenities includes toothbrush, razors, hair brush, hair tie, lotion, toner, makeup remover, etc. Travel Eye contact case and solution for 200yen is nice. 1st floor with a cafe/bar. Staff understands some English, more than many places. Dining table space is great for anyone working remote, or just want space. Tv plays local channels like news but also drama and cartoon.

Mattress was comfy. For our friend who sleeps on ultra plush back in LA, this has been the least stiff mattress so far out of the past hotels stayed at in Tokyo in a week. Large shower space. Mini fridge needs to be turned on before use. Window can be opened for fresh air. Toilet flushes on its own compare to other hotel toilets. Laundry is 2nd floor. It's a duel washer and dryer, no detergent needed (think it's included, and dispenser on its own?). 500yen for our larger load to wash and dry (2hours). And extra 100yen for 30min extra dry needed for jeans and thicker shirts. When finish drying your clothes, it may still feel moist but it might not be...just need to take it out to air out for a second or so to feel that it is...

We've spent 3 nights at this hotel and overall, it was a decent experience.

The positives:

From a location perspective, it doesn't get any better than this. If you want to be in the heart of Tokyo and experience what this city is about, this hotel is perfect. You're 5 minutes away from the famous Godzilla Road. The closest subway station is Otemachi (2 minute walk). As a tip, whenever you're using Google Maps to navigate to the hotel, always use the route which includes the Tozai Line, in order to get to Otemachi. It's a bit longer, but all other options will have you walking about 15 minutes to the hotel, which won't be fun especially if you're carrying luggage.

Some people have mentioned that they felt the area was unsafe and I can't say I agree. Sure, it's lively, but I didn't see anything scary happening. You have to remember the area that you're in. If you want complete peace and quiet, look for an accommodation in a residential area.

The check in was done pretty fast and the staff spoke very good English. We even received a free drink coupon to use at the hotel's bar, which was a nice gesture. The staff was also kind enough to store our luggage for free when we checked out until later in the day.

We stayed in a Superior Twin Room and well... it was ok. Nothing to write home about. The hotel looks good and it was pretty clean. You had all the basic amenities that you would need.

The Negatives:

The room size was not that great. It was pretty difficult for us to open our 2 medium sized luggage bags at the same time and we felt pretty cramped in the room, but I guess this is the price that you have to pay for being in such a central area.

The hotel is located right next to a hospital, which means that you will probably hear ambulance sirens throughout the night. If you're a light sleeper, this might not be the best place for you. Besides this, the area is...