Mitsui Garden Hotel Ginza Premier — Hotel in Tokyo

LOCATION|It is within walking distance of Shimbashi train station (some 6/7 minutes). Though it is slightly out of the way from Shinjuku/Shibuya area, it is not that far to travel to bytrain. One of the upsides of staying here is you can enjoy a bit of quietness. On route to the station, you can find many retail shops. There are lots of eateries and shops inside the Shimbashi station. ||The hotel is stunning from the outside. It is located just slightly away from the main road. Family Mart is next door, which is perfect to pick up snacks. Don Quixote is also nearby, and if I am not wrong, is opens till really late (2 am, I think). ||I am not sure about places to eat nearby, as I never availed this opportunity. ||HOTEL|The hotel’s bestselling feature is the view. From reception to breakfast area, and to bedrooms, you will get a good view of the city’s skyline. The hotel is situated on the 16th floor, accessed via elevator and opens up to the stunning of the city’s skyline. On its right, near the sofa areas, you can see Tokyo tower. You can sit on the sofas and watch the views, or use the long work table near the window.| |There is a toiletries buffet bar opposite the elevators, for guests to pick up necessary products. This is a good practice to help reduce wastage. The hotel offers eco-friendly options for housekeeping. ||Aside from the view, I loved the aroma in this hotel. There was a beautiful fragnance wafting all over the place. It was called Starlight View, and the oil was available for purchase. I wished I had purchased more than one bottle. ||ROOM|I chose a Moderate Queen room, which is adequate for a single person, but maybe not for two people. It has a couple of stunning features to wow the guests. One of the features is the eye catching floor to ceiling view of Tokyo’s skyline. I particularly requested and was granted a good view on a top floor prior to my trip. I was on floor 22. I spent every night, sitting by the window ledge, staring at the view. Then I would go to bed, watching the view until I fell asleep. ||The second feature is the bathroom window, which has a special button to unblur the view so that you can see the gorgeous skyline via the bedroom. I could see the skyline from the shower area, but not the bathtub, which is hidden behind the wall. ||Complimentary pyjamas are offered, as well as plentiful towels. There is a small sofa next to the desk with a chair. The hall way has a built in spacious wardrobe. There is a wall covered with mirror opposite the wardrobe, which is useful for checking the room door from the bed. ||BATHROOM|The bathroom is corner shaped, and very spacious. I liked the way the bathroom is designed, separately shower/bathing area from the toilet via glass door. There is plenty of space near the sink areas to spread your toiletries. The toilet has a wash function. I can’t remember now if it has heated seat function. ||BREAKFAST|There is a lot of variety to choose from; Japanese breakfast to continental. I tried dinner at the hotel one evening, and though the menu is limited, the meal itself...

The hotel's in a great position, Ginza but on the border with Shimbashi, and therefore close to Shimbashi Station, with Shiodome Station and Ginza Station also within easy range. There are many sights, shops and eateries in the vicinity. ||The staff were very nice and helpful. I appreciated being able to weigh my suitcase on a proper scale brought out from behind the reception area. An issue with the mute button on the tv was quickly fixed. The hotel is full of beautiful floral arrangements. ||It was my second stay, two nights in a deluxe king room which was bigger than the room I had the previous time and made it easier to re-organise my luggage, this being the final stay in a six-week trip. The attractive room had a fabulous view of Hamarikyu Garden, the river, the bay, buildings, roads and Shiodome Station. I loved it. There was also a sparkling city view from the bathroom. ||I enjoyed a comfortable king-sized bed, a great long desk/bench, lots of lights, a safe, a good-sized fridge, a large tv and a corner lounge with small table. A nice fabric artwork on the wall. There was complimentary water, juice, cold tea, beer and champagne. A corkscrew, plates and cutlery were provided. It was great to have a coffee machine, with lovely little Nikko fine china coffee cups. The machine was preset for the size of the cups. Each morning, a complimentary newspaper. ||The bathroom was well-designed with a separate shower and the nice deep bath with shaped back-rest beside the window. It was fun seeing the night view while bathing. One drawback was that the sink tap had very poor pressure for running cold water, which meant the electric jug or a glass had to be filled from the bath. ||The housekeeping could've been better. The hotel's branded writing pen disappeared (I'd left it on the table), the black tea bags weren't replaced, and one afternoon I found sticky coffee underneath a saucer.||The breakfasts are definitely one of the attractions here, particularly the delicious dishes cooked while you wait. Everything though is well-cooked, fresh, and tastes good. ||This was my second stay, and I will very likely...

Stayed for a total of five nights in May 2023.

The rooms were acceptable (if you want larger rooms, then you should upgrade or pay the premium at other 5 star hotels). There was certainly enough space for us. We had two luggages and it was fine. Keeping two luggages open would certainly be challenging so one of us unpacked and pushed the suitcase under the table. There was more than enough room to the clothes neatly stacked/hanging in the wardrobe.

The bathroom was spacious and extremely enjoyable. I particularly love the deep and big bathtub which I used daily. The water pressure and temperature is consistent so there were no surprise burst of cold/hot water.

Bottled water is provided (in the mini fridige) and is refreshed daily. The room also comes with a tiny iron and a trouser press.

The service is the standard you come to expect from Japanese staff - fast and perfunctory. No problems checking in and out. I don't see an issue that some others have with the hotel being 'overrun' by international tourists. It's a hotel; get over yourself.

Breakfast could do with a little more variety but what was provided was very good. There's a station that served specials daily. Only thing was that the specials don't change so we had mango and coconut crepe and duck something. Think it was canapes or something similar throughout. The bread selection was decent with brioche, croissant, danish pain au choc just to name a few.

Location is great. It's not beside any main lines but everything else is within walking distance (Shiodome/Shimbashii/Ginza stations). If you wanted a station to be right next to the hotel, then you book a hotel that is located so (it's ridiculous to complain about this. It's your job to make informed bookings!)

I like how close it is to the Ginza shopping belt. For something even closer, just right across the street, there's a Don Quixote that's open from 7am-2am. Fantastic for loading up snacks/sourvenirs, especially if you go early in the morning and avoid the tax relief queues!

Lastly, the view from the lobby and rooms are fantastic, especially if you get a room that faces...