Sheraton Miyako Hotel Tokyo — Hotel in Tokyo

This was my first trip to Tokyo, and being loyal to SPG properties, I selected the Sheraton Miyako. In making my selection, I spoke with the hotel’s concierge, who assured me that the hotel was centrally located, and that as an SPG Platinum guest, I would be treated very well. This was enough for me to book the hotel.

Unfortunately, the hotel is not centrally located. It is located in a quiet residential neighborhood, well south of the main parts of Tokyo. While it is convenient to Haneda airport (just 25 minutes by taxi), the convenience stops there. The hotel is several rail stops or subway stops away from any of the popular business and tourist areas. And the Meguro station is at least 2km away from the hotel, so it is quite a walk. The hotel does run free shuttles every 15 minutes, but not during the full operating hours of the subway or the Japan Rail. But because of the distance of the hotel from the rail station and the main sights of Tokyo, each trip wasted more than an hour in transit time. (The Shirokanedai subway station is a bit closer – about 1km from the hotel – but if you want to take the Japan Rail Yamanote line, which is the main circle line through Tokyo, you still have to take the subway to Meguro from Shirokanedai.)

The hotel itself is worn and dated. In a country like Japan which prides itself on cleanliness and appearance (you could literally eat off the floors in the Tokyo subway), the Sheraton Miyako just felt dirty. Chipped paint and wood, peeling wallpaper, worn (and dated) carpeting, and mildew/cracks in bathroom caulking, all made the property unappealing.

The room itself was probably the smallest room I’ve ever had. It was so small that the bed had to be pushed up against the wall so that a single nightstand could be placed on the other side of the bed. While I was only one person, and therefore could exit the bed from the side which wasn’t up against the wall, this would have been quite a challenge for anyone sleeping with a significant other. The only way for the second person to get out of bed would be to climb over the other person (or ask him/her to get up.) And there was also no power outlet anywhere near the bed for charging a cellphone.

The bathroom was also quite small (and very worn and dated). It had a small tub/shower combination, a single sink, and a toilet, all crammed into a very small area (and with minimal counter space). Drawer space was minimal, and I had to leave many things in my suitcase because there was simply no room to unpack everything.

When I checked in, I was told that I had been upgraded as a Platinum member. The room I received, however, felt more like a downgrade. Looking at the various room types on their webpage the day after I checked in, I saw that every other room type was larger, and that there were sections of the hotel that were recently renovated and upgraded. As a Platinum guest, I’ve never received such a poor room from any hotel in Asia.

I probably should have complained about the room being unacceptable as soon as I checked in, but it was late and I was tired. (I had advised the hotel well in advance that I would not be arriving until after 11pm so that they could block a good room for me and keep it held until my late arrival). I regret not complaining, because my whole stay was miserable.

The breakfast offered to Platinum guests (in the 2nd floor club lounge) was quite minimal, and things were not re-stocked with any speed or frequency. Compared to the excellent hotel buffets found in other SPG properties throughout Asia, this one was a serious let down.

The hotel caters to both Asian and Western guests, so most of the signage (which unfortunately is limited and not terribly useful) is in both Japanese and in English, and a good number of the staff speaks enough English to make most communication feasible. The staff, however, was not very friendly, and was a bit too cold and sterile for my liking. I don’t think that I ever saw a smile in 4 days.

And while 2 of the main hotel restaurants did have bilingual menus, the Japanese restaurant did not. I would have lied to try a Japanese meal at the hotel, but without a menu that I could read on display, this wasn’t going to be possible. And the staff made no effort to try to accommodate me with translations or an English language menu. If the hotel were part of a local Japanese chain, or some independent hotel, I wouldn’t necessarily expect English language menus (although I would certainly appreciate it if they did). However, this hotel is part of a U.S.-based chain, and as such, caters to Western travelers, so to expect bilingual restaurant menus is not unreasonable.

Speaking of food, I should also share one other horrible experience with the hotel concierge. One evening, I asked the concierge to recommend a restaurant which served authentic Kobe beef. Rather than offering a reservation, the concierge said: “Oh, that’s very expensive. Are you sure that you can afford it?” Taken aback by this wholly inappropriate comment/question, I responded by stating that I was well aware of the cost of real Kobe beef and that I could afford the meal. Not leaving well enough alone, the Concierge continued by asking: “Are you sure you can afford it? What is your budget?” I responded by telling the Concierge that she shouldn’t worry about the price, and that I could afford the well-known high price tag for Kobe beef.

Apparently, many of the better restaurants serving Kobe beef are closed on Sundays, and this was a Sunday. But rather than trying to find a restaurant that was open (a good number of restaurants are still open on Sunday), the concierge then proceeded to try to tell me that Kobe beef wasn’t worth the price and that regular cuts of Japanese beef were just as good. She went as far as to say that Kobe beef is really just a tourist scam. I suspect that most foodies would disagree. (I should also note that because of the hotel’s inconvenient location, the better known restaurants specializing in Kobe beef, even if they had been open, would have been an hour away based on the transportation paradigm I discussed above.)

At this point, I thanked the concierge for her time, and told her that I’d just do my own research and find a restaurant that served what I was looking for. And indeed, I did that.

I would really like to be able to find one good thing to say about the property, but frankly, I can’t come up with any positives. This hotel was a serious disappointment, and not worth any price (and certainly not worth the rates that...

We stayed at the Sheraton Miyako in March and was not impressed. I booked a room with 2 single beds at a sale rate.

When I arrived at the hotel, they were very happy to advise me that they upgraded me to a deluxe twin room. I was asked for a King/Queen bed and was informed there were none available, nor was there any other rooms available for my upgrade, because of renovations.

We got to our room and discovered there was 2 single bed with one of the beds against a wall and no air conditioner..heat only... Air conditioner was only available seasonally. SPG website description for the hotel describes rooms having air conditioners....which is partially false.

As there was no windows that opened in the room for fresh air, this meant the room was very warm and stuffy with no air movement. The hotel would not move us to another room with a window...saying there was none, they only gave us a noisy fan for the room. NOT IMPRESSED!!

After an uncomfortable night of sleeping we got up to explore the city. Before leaving hotel, I again approached the front desk and advised my issues and concerns...all they could say was "so sorry". This was a constant theme.

When we returned later that day we had a couple of drinks in the club lounge and then went to bed early as we were heading to Kyoto for a day trip the next morning. At approximately 930pm, I received a phone call from the front desk manager waking us up, advising they had just read my posting on TripAdvisor and wanted to offer us the choice of 2 different type rooms for us and wondered if we wanted to move then next day. I explained were were sleeping and would speak with them in the morning over breakfast.

The next morning at 6am I saw the manager of the club lounge who advised he was authorized to offer me 2 rooms. Both had queen beds; one had a window that opened the other didn't. Neither had working air conditioning. The room which allowed the window to open was a Smoking room, which we quickly turned down as we did not smoke and would smell of cigarette smoke which was confirmed by the manager. The other room would only give us queen bed but still would be stuffy..so we turned this room down as well. Again I expressed my displeasure!

When we returned from Kyoto in the evening, we had a parcel delivered to our room. The person who delivered the parcel was a manager and we started to discuss our situation. Much to my shock, he inadvertently said "...upgrades are based on the how much you pay for the room". This horrified me to hear a manager saying my status as a Platinum member did not count...only $$$.

We stayed one more night in the hotel and never heard from any other managers regarding our issues. When we checked out they were very cold and dismissive our my concerns again saying "so sorry".

Although the hotel stay was uncomfortable there were only 2 items which got good marks at the hotel; the concierge and the shuttle to the train station, both were well organized and convenient.

One thing I noticed which may have contributed to the lack of SPG recognition is this hotel is jointly run by 2 hotel chains..The Miyako Hotels and Resorts and Sheraton.

The reason I am posting on this review site is because the hotel did not send me a SPG questionnaire/review after I checked out. This is standard practice when a SPG member stays at a participating hotel.

Although the hotel is very conveniently located, I would...

This was my 2nd stay here, and I am writing another review because of their fabulous new Club Lounge!

But first of all, I feel many reviewers on here are highly unfair: This is an older hotel, but it is well kept. All those Platinum members who are complaining about missing room upgrades need to realize that this facility only has a very limited number of suites. And we are talking about a very busy and big city here. So these suites seem to go to guests actually paying for them. However, the staff has always upgraded me to a bigger size Deluxe Room. In general, while not huge the room sizes here are pretty decent. Again, we are in cramped pricey Tokyo here, not in Dallas or Bangkok. But here's the good news: They just opened a very comfortable Club Lounge on the 2nd floor. The breakfast they serve there is excellent. Tea is being served all afternoon, and cocktails all evening (hard liquor stops at 8pm). Their food and beverage offering is so generous that I would actually recommend non-Platinum members consider booking a room with Lounge access. And for you Platinum members: Take advantage of your free Club access and make this Club your living room. It will help you get over your suite trauma...

Some of the other points:

The hotel is in a residential area. Not much is in the immediate vincinity except for Happo-En, which is around the block. It is a private Japanese garden-style park that is used for weddings. They let you in if they are not too busy with wedding guests, and if you ask politely. It is pretty big and provides for some impressive views of Japanese landscapes in the middle of the city. They also have a bonsai collection with some of the exhibits being over 1000 years old.

The Subway station is an easy 5 mins walk away and takes you quickly anywhere in the city. It is 5 stops to Ginza, and a quick transfer to anywhere else. The Subway system is clean and efficient and easy to use. Just make sure to buy a Pasmo card at any ticket machine (5$) and pre-load it with a few bucks. It lets you go anywhere you want by simply swiping the thing at entry and exit.

The hotel also offers complementary shuttle transfers to Meguro station 1 mile down the road. From there you take again a Subway, or u board a commuter train. The most important communter train line stops there which takes u to Shibuya in 6 mins, Shinjuku in 12 mins.

Other than that, the staff has always been extremely helpful, the hotel lobby is very elegant and festive. I recommend it for drinks and snacks. I have never had any issues connecting to their fast internet. The rooms are clean and of decent size for this big city. The bathrooms are clean but more functional than stylish. Conveniently, one of the Narita Airport shuttle busses stops right at this hotel.

In short: I find this to be a very pleasant hotel option in Tokyo with an...